10 Jun “Nikolaos Papadakis (Papadis)” Nature Run
The 1st “Nikolaos Papadakis (Papadis)” Nature Run, featuring 8.5 km and 2 km races, took place on 30 May 2026 in Vamos, Apokoronas, the birthplace of the late lawyer, author who served for 25 years as General Director of the National Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos”, and played a leading role in numerous cultural, academic and development initiatives in Crete. A total of 201 runners, aged from 4 to 88, took part in the event.
The 8.5 km route passed through Vamos, Gavalochori, the Agios Ioannis trail and Douliana. In the men’s category, Chrysovalantis Tsavalos finished first in 37:04, followed by Charis Balomenakis in 37:59, while Antonis Kokogiannakis and Zisis Soulios shared third place with a time of 38:20. In the women’s category, Alkmini Mountaki won in 42:15, followed by Eleni Polychronaki in 43:42 and Monica van den Bosch in 49:38. In the boys’ youth category, Stratos Kissamitakis took first place in 42:45, followed by Athanasios Arvanitidis in 55:35 and Konstantinos Spyridakis in 55:47. In the girls’ youth category, the winners were Angeliki Kasimati, Georgia Lena and Myrto Padelaki. The 2 km route, held within the village of Vamos, was won in the boys’ category by Dimitris Alexakis (12) in 12:14, followed by Giorgos Kleinakis (11) in 12:59 and Giannis Markoulakis (7) in 13:45. In the girls’ category, Dimitra Krikou (10) finished first in 11:51, followed by Katerina Troulaki (13) in 11:52 and Eirini-Dorothea Kalaitzaki (8) in 12:01.
The race was co-organised by the Tanos Apokoronas Athletic Club, the Region of Crete – Regional Unit of Chania, the Municipality of Apokoronas, the National Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos”, the Agia Sophia Public Benefit Foundation and the Emmanouil Mariakakis Foundation with the support of the Physical Education Offices of Primary and Secondary Education of Chania, the Apokoronas Police Department, the Hellenic Rescue Team of Chania, and the Cultural Associations of Vamos, Gavalochori, Douliana and Tsivaras.
The event was sponsored by SYNKA Super Markets and Samaria Natural Mineral Water.