Running races in Thessaloniki, Macedonia & Thrace by month

The racing map: Thessaloniki, Central, Western and Eastern Macedonia & Thrace

Thessaloniki is Greece's second-largest city, built on the Thermaic Gulf, and the capital of Central Macedonia, according to Wikipedia. Around it lie three administrative regions with an active racing calendar: Central Macedonia (capital Thessaloniki; seven regional units — Thessaloniki, Imathia, Pella, Pieria, Kilkis, Serres, Chalkidiki), Western Macedonia (capital Kozani; units Kozani, Grevena, Kastoria, Florina), and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (capital Komotini; units Drama, Kavala, Thasos, Xanthi, Rhodope, Evros).

The bib2bib catalog lists 28 verified, upcoming events across these three regions, mostly road running and trail, plus one triathlon in Thessaloniki.

• Central Macedonia (including Thessaloniki): 20 races
• Western Macedonia: 2 races
• Eastern Macedonia and Thrace: 6 races

Early October 2026 (4–11 Oct): ten races in one week

The first weekend of October packs the busiest week in the whole regional catalog, from Chalkidiki to Western Macedonia.

• 13th XeSkouriaZo Mountain Race — 4 October 2026, Megali Panagia, Chalkidiki — 5/15/25 km
• 17th Panhellenic Road Race «Lignite Memories» — 4 October 2026, Ptolemaida, Kozani (Western Macedonia) — 21/5 km
• 6th Flamingo Run Kalochori — 4 October 2026, Kalochori — 1 km kids / 5 km / 10 km
• 8th North Olympus Trail Vrontou — 4 October 2026, Agioi Apostoloi (Dion municipality), Pieria — 6/13/21 km (full detail under "Mount Olympus races" below)
• Pella Half Marathon — 4 October 2026, Giannitsa — 5.5 / 21.1 km
• Serres Half Marathon — 4 October 2026, Serres — 5/10/21.1 km
• 1st Triathlon Challenge Thermaikos 2026 — 11 October 2026, Nea Michaniona, Thessaloniki — sprint and super sprint triathlon, super sprint duathlon (full detail under "Triathlon" below)
• Kastraki Trail — 11 October 2026, Grevena (Western Macedonia) — 1/3.5/10/17 km
• Minotakis 1926-2026 — Feres, Evros; announced without a confirmed date — the official notice does not yet give a date, distances or route; the 11 October figure is not confirmed — confirm before travelling
• Run for Katerini — 11 October 2026, Katerini — 8 km

Late October 2026 (16–31 Oct): from 100 miles to the Evros river

The second half of the month brings the region's most popular race, the Thessaloniki Night Half Marathon, alongside two ultra trail events.

• ROUT Classic 100 Miles — 16–18 October 2026, Chaidou (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) — 182 km, roughly +9,000 m
• Thessaloniki Night Half Marathon — 17 October 2026, Thessaloniki — 21.1/10/5 km & 1 mile (full detail below)
• 1st Honour and Memory Race of the Cretan Volunteers Battalion — 18 October 2026, Kato Milia–Ritini, Pieria — 10 km (full detail under "Mount Olympus races" below)
• Virgin Forest Trail — 22–25 October 2026, Paranesti (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) — seven distances, from 0.8 to 162.651 km
• Pallatideios Semi-Mountain Run – Krousovitis Trail — announced for 25 October 2026, Sidirokastro, Serres — 1/6/27 km; no 2026 organiser or municipal proclamation has been found yet — confirm before registering
• South Olympus Forest Trail — 31 October 2026, Palaios Panteleimonas, Pieria — 10/54 km (full detail under "Mount Olympus races" below)
• Trigono Trail Run — 31 October–1 November 2026, Kyprinos–Pentalofos, Evros — 7/27 km

November 2026: from Paiko to Xanthi

November has six catalog entries, from city trail races to the 12th Democritus Half Marathon of Xanthi.

• Paiko Half Marathon — 1 November 2026, Goumenissa — 5/21 km
• Run for Korinos — 1 November 2026, Korinos, Katerini — 5/10 km
• Syzathlos — 15 November 2026, Seich Sou, Thessaloniki — 5/14/21 km
• Lailias Wolves Races — 21–22 November 2026, Serres — 1.2/8/30 km, up to +1,600 m of elevation gain
• Nymfaia Mountain Races — 22 November 2026, Nymfaia Forest, Komotini, Rhodope — distances still to be announced by the organiser
• 12th Democritus Half Marathon of Xanthi — 29 November 2026, Xanthi — 5/21.1 km

Winter and spring 2027: Kalikantzaros Trail, Serres, Thermaikos

The catalog already lists three events for early 2027, ahead of the Alexander the Great Marathon in April.

• Kalikantzaros Trail 2027 — 31 January 2027, Serres — 8/21 km
• 5th Circuit Greece Serres Ultramarathon — 12 March 2027, Serres motor circuit — 6/12/24-hour endurance format
• 4th Thermaikos Coastal Half Marathon "Antonis Matzaris" — 21 March 2027, Thermaikos municipality, Thessaloniki — half marathon / 10 km / 5 km / 1 mile

The Alexander the Great International Marathon: from Pella to Thessaloniki

The 21st Alexander the Great International Marathon is scheduled for 4 April 2027, run between Pella and Thessaloniki, with 1, 5, 10 and 42.195 km distances, according to the bib2bib catalog. The race's own website (atgm.gr) calls it "the biggest sports event of Northern Greece", an event held since 2006. The 20th edition, in April 2026, drew what the same site describes as a record turnout of 16,500 runners from around the world across the marathon and the 10,000 m.

The Pella start is not incidental: ancient Pella was the capital of the kingdom of Macedon from the 4th century BC until the Roman conquest of 168 BC, and the birthplace of Alexander the Great in 356 BC, according to Wikipedia. The modern archaeological site sits in the Pella regional unit, in Central Macedonia.

The Thessaloniki Night Half Marathon: two editions in the catalog

The 2026 edition is scheduled for 17 October, with 21.1 km, 10 km, 5 km and 1 mile distances, according to the bib2bib catalog. The official proclamation file (hosted on thesshalfmarathon.org) is named with "14th" in its title, i.e. the 14th edition. On the race's own site, a live countdown on 29 September 2026 read roughly 18 days — consistent with the 17 October date.

The catalog already carries the 2027 edition too: "International Thessaloniki Night Halfmarathon 2027", on 16 October 2027. The same race name and date appear on the official AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races) world calendar, confirming this is an internationally recognised event.

Mount Olympus races: three events in Pieria

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, topped by Mytikas at 2,917.727 m, sitting on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (between the Larissa and Pieria regional units), according to Wikipedia — in mythology it was held to be the seat of the Twelve Olympian gods. The bib2bib catalog has three upcoming events around the mountain, all in Pieria (Central Macedonia).

North Olympus Trail Vrontou (4 October 2026) is confirmed by its own organiser, the Vrontous Mountaineering Club of Pieria, to run "on wild paths of Northern Olympus, in the area of the Dion municipal unit", starting at Agioi Apostoloi, 4 km west of the village of Vrontou — so this is genuinely Mount Olympus, not an unrelated same-named range. It is followed by the South Olympus Forest Trail (31 October 2026, Palaios Panteleimonas, 10/54 km) and the Honour and Memory Race in Ritini (18 October 2026, 10 km).

The area's most historic event, the Olympus Mountaineering Marathon starting in Litochoro, ran this year on 5–6 September 2026 (36th edition, 5/15/41.91 km, per the catalog) — just before the window this guide covers — and returns every year in early September.

Triathlon in Thessaloniki: Triathlon Challenge Thermaikos

The only multisport race in the regional catalog is the 1st Triathlon Challenge Thermaikos 2026, on 11 October 2026 in Nea Michaniona, Thessaloniki. It offers a sprint triathlon (0.75 km swim / 20 km bike / 5 km run), a super sprint triathlon (0.4 / 10 / 2.5 km) and a super sprint duathlon (2.5 km run / 10 km bike / 2.5 km run), according to the catalog.

Practical notes for visitors: the airport and where to check details

Thessaloniki is served by Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia" (IATA code SKG), an international airport 13 km southeast of the city, in Thermi, according to Wikipedia. bib2bib does not cover flights, transfers or accommodation — each race's own official page remains the source for registration, deadlines and logistics, and the two races with a still-pending 2026 proclamation (Minotakis, Pallatideios) are worth double-checking before registering or travelling.