In Halkidiki, where long summer weekends already draw visitors from across Greece and abroad, a new kind of event is being introduced this year, one that shifts the focus from staying in place to moving through it.
Porto Carras Athlos will take place from May 29 to June 1, 2026, over the Holy Spirit weekend, at the Porto Carras Grand Resort in Sithonia. The three-day program brings together running, swimming, and a broader set of activities built around participation rather than competition.
The name “Athlos” comes from the Greek idea of effort or challenge, but here it is used in a more personal sense. The emphasis is not on times or rankings, but on the decision to take part, to move through the landscape, and to share the experience with others.
Races are organized across multiple distances, from 1 to 21 kilometers, with routes that pass through the marina, pine-covered hills, and vineyard areas of the Porto Carras estate. Open water swimming events of 1, 3, and 5 kilometers will take place along the calm waters of the Toroneos Gulf.
Around the races, the weekend opens up into something less structured and more social. In the same stretch of coastline, you move from a morning run through the pines to a volleyball court set up by the water, or onto a golf course where footgolf turns the fairway into something closer to a game you already know, just played at a different scale.
Beach volleyball camps will be led by Olympian Efi Sfyri, whose presence anchors the program in something more than casual participation. Her sessions bring a level of structure and experience that contrasts with the otherwise open, drop-in rhythm of the weekend.
Food and wine sit naturally within that flow. The Porto Carras estate, home to one of the largest organic vineyards in Greece, becomes part of the route rather than a separate stop, with tastings and meals folded into the same landscape people spend the day moving through.
Set along a nine-kilometer stretch of coastline in Sithonia, the resort has long been associated with summer tourism in northern Greece. With Athlos, the idea shifts slightly, from visiting the landscape to actively moving through it, combining travel, activity, and shared experience in one place.
For those already planning time in Greece at the start of the summer season, it shifts the experience slightly but noticeably, from staying by the water to moving through the place itself, alongside others doing the same.
Registration is currently open through the event platform more.com.