Go ! The Indefatigable Extreme Team

Almost raised during the Athens Classic Marathon for the Homeless World Cup Foundation (and we are still counting)

It is indeed an Extreme Team this bunch of friends from . In June 2007, the inaugural Greek Extreme Team took to the streets and mountains of beautiful , as part of last year’s "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007". There were four members, last year, who set out to conquer the Alonissos Trail Marathon, aiming to raise to contribute to the worldwide appeal for the Homeless. All four (Gabi, Yiannis, Nick and Chris) managed to complete the of what is a very difficult marathon course. More importantly, the fundraising target was comfortably achieved.

In all, we were very proud to contribute to "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007" (that is, almost 20% more than initially targeted). It was a great achievement attributed to the sea of friends of supporters of the Greek Extreme Team who eagerly poured in their monetary donations.

This year the team members had their eyes set on the Athens Classic Marathon (Sunday, November 9), with things being a bit different compared to 2007. Firstly, the group expanded from four (4) to twelve members (12) -all of them are amateur runners, eager to add some extra purpose to the fun of running a marathon!

The fund raising target was raised from 700 to 800 British pounds and we all took to the streets and parks of training hard and inviting the support of our friends.

Pasta Party

Furthermore, this time around, we added an extra (and delicious) dimension to our fundraising effort: We threw in a pasta party at a great restaurant in central (its name is “Querido Coucou” and the address , Exarhia Sqaure. Not to be missed, if you visit the Greek capital). Tina the owner provided (at no charge) the place, the music, the spaghetti dishes and the drinks and we took to the task of filling up the place. And we did. Over 70 people attended our pasta party, contributing some 635 British pounds to our fundraising target.

It was a night of great fun, surely to be re-enacted in the course of next year’s fundraising marathon (yes, we are already making our plans for next year).

Day

It was another glorious day on Sunday, November 9. Somewhere among the 10.000-strong crowd that lined up at the start, just before 9.00 am local time, were the twelve members of the Greek Extreme Team. All 12 managed to cross the finish line (with Gabi embarrassing us all, finishing after 3:23:00, well ahead of everyone else). All 12 did superbly in making their very best toward contributing to the Homeless World Cup Foundation.

Not over yet

The fundraising effort continues. As of Monday night, November 17, £ 1,271.00 had been raised. If you wish to make a contribution, please refer to www.justgiving.com/teamgreece.

Our team members

Gabi Naegele (the only woman of the Greek Extreme Team so far), Vasilis Papastergiou, Sergios Milis, Vaios Mesdanitis, Aristotelis Papageorgiou, Nikos Valatsos, Giorgos Frantzoglou, Giannis Tsilis, Periklis Papapanagis (our team's coach), Kostas Kourtelis, Giorgos Moshos, and Chris Alefantis.

These are the names of the members of the Greek Extreme Team for 2008. All of them have already committed themselves for 2009. We would be very happy to hear from people from other countries who may wish to join us.

runners, in particular, who would like to run the Athens Classic Marathon (which is the real thing in terms of history and course difficulty…) are vigorously encouraged to join our 2009 adventures.

For more information: chrisa@galera.gr

WE ARE EXPANDING!...

Friday, October 17

Vasilis Papastergiou, Giorgos Moshos and Sergios Milis are the new members of our team. They put their hands up, eager to add some extra purpose to the fun of running a marathon.

Welcome guys!

By all accounts, everyone is training very hard (?), counting down kilometres and days, as there are only three weeks to go (or thereabouts) to the Athens Classic Marathon.

Tomorrow -Saturday, October 15- we will be all attending the "Klotsia sti Ftohia" (Kick Off Poverty) documentary. It is an excellent production tracing the history of the Homeless Greek Team as well as the personal stories of everyone involved in last year's campaign.

The documentary will be screened at "Microcosmos" Cinema Complex (106 Syggrou Ave., Athens). It will "kick off" at 5.00 pm sharp and it is a Free Event.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Early morning on Sunday, November 9, the members of Greek Extreme Team will be positioning themselves at the starting line of the Athens Classic Marathon. Gabi Naegele, Vaios Mesdanitis, Aristotelis Papageorgiou, Nikos Valatsos, Giorgos Frantzoglou, Giannis Tsilis, Periklis Papapanagis (our team’s coach) and Chris Alefantis will be hoping to enjoy (!) the 42,195 kilometres journey, cross the finishing line and reach the fundraising target that they have set for themselves: 800 pounds (just over 1000 euros).

 This is the fundraising target we are hoping our friends and supporters will assist us to master, in support of the Homeless World Cup.

This year’s new members are training hard and oozing with confidence that the feat of last year’s team will be repeated.

Last year’s members ran the Alonissos Marathon, comfortably crossing the finish line (well, sort of…) and beating their fundraising target. Our initial target was 700 pounds and –thanks to the huge hearts of our friends and supporters- we managed to raise 977 pounds (for more information: www.justgiving.com/chrisalefantis).

 

The same formula that was used last year will be applied this time around as well. Here is how it works: All we are asking is 0.20 euro cents per kilometer run. Let's say that Helen from Melbourne wants to take a punt on Periklis. If Periklis completes the Marathon, Helen will have to donate 42 kilometers X 0.20 euros= 8.40 euros (well done Periklis!). If Periklis runs 20 kilometers, Helen will be donating 20 kilometers X 0.20 euros= 4 euros.
Alternatively, Helen can place her money on all of us!  If the unthinkable happens and all five of us complete the Marathon, Helen will donate 42 kilometers X 0.20 X 5= 42 euros.
Our friends and supporters can, of course, choose a combination. That is, make a "one-off' donation as well as making a donation per kilometer run. 

Contact:

chrisa@galera.gr

www.galera.gr

+30 210 3843983