Saturday, July 28

Finally, the tournament is kicking off tomorrow. All 48 teams that had declared their eagerness to be in Copenhagen have made it. And this in part is due to all of our friends and supporters who have contributed to this fundraising effort.

A huge thank you to all of you guys. We will keep in touch, we are sure.

A big thank you to the organizers of this extraordinary football as well as social event. They are indeed giving poverty and social exclusion a good kick through the wonderful world of football.

Friday, June 8 

 

  What an effort!

 We went, we conquered and we are still in recovery! The Galera Extreme Team, backed up by a sea of friends and supporters did a superb job in the Alonissos Marathon. Four of our members positioned themselves behind the starting line last Saturday (June 2), all four of them crossed the finishing line!

 Gabi Naegele, Nick Valatsos, Yiannis Apostolakos and Chris Alefantis traveled to this beautiful part of the world to take part in the marathon and contribute –step by step, up the mountainous, extremely difficult course of Alonissos- to the Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007.

Gabi Naegele finished 1^st (!) in the women’s category in 3:54:04, earning a huge wave of applause by the crowd on the island and back at home.

Yiannis Apostolakos walked the whole course (!!!) exhibiting all the qualities of a person determined to do his bit for the Homeless World Cup. Yiannis walked the distance of 42.195 kilometers in 8 hours and 30 minutes, forcing the event organizers to come up with a special –out of the official program- prize. At the medal ceremony, later that night, Yiannis’s effort was rewarded with a commemorative trophy and the cheers of the crowd present.

 

Nick Valatsos crossed the finishing line after 4:39:44 in the 14^th position, showing his great spirit and dedication to the sport and the cause itself.

Chris Alefantis took his time but still managed to finish 11^th overall after 4:38:36.

The battle between Nick and Chris in the latter stages of the marathon will go down in history, for its intensity and excellent sporting spirit. It was an emotional roller coaster, all the way to the finish.

A special thanks, to the organizers of the event. Yiannis and Maria from Hellas Sport 4 you, the City of Alonissos, Constantina and the whole contingent of volunteers at the water stations whose words of encouragement were the best “energy drink” in the world. All those involved were just superb.

The athletes from the rest of the field were equally supportive. We thank them and we congratulate them all for their efforts.

The post-marathon soreness felt by all runners was effectively treated with a good swim in the crystal clear waters of the Aegean and the feast that followed at Kyra Katinas taverna in Steni Vala.

Our Greek speaker friends can view the results online (www.runningnews.gr).

We will definitely see you all in Alonissos next June.

 Our very generous friends

Our friends and supporters have been quickly to respond to our Alonissos successful endeavor, offering their donations and we are ever so close to surpassing our first target of 1,000 euros.

Since our return, Sofia Tavoulari (26 euros), Yiannis Tsilis (10 euros), Areti Katsouras (21 euros) and Filippos Doupis (5 euros) have already made their cash donations.

There is definitely more to follow and we will be updating the site as soon as the donations are deposited.

Not to forget that there is an extra 100 euros to be donated by Gabi, Nick, Yiannis and Chris. This amount of money was initially destined to pay our marathon registration fees. The organizers kindly declined to accept it, as part of their contribution to the Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007. (Nick Valatsos has already made his electronic donation).

 Alexandre and Theo, thank you…

Alexandros Daniilidis has donated 300 GBP and Theodoros Karakasis has donated 20 GBP. Dear friends, please accept our warmest greetings and a very sincere “thank you” from all of us. From Athens to Copenhagen, from to -we are sure. Keep in touch.

 What’s next

We are not so sure yet. It is still in the planning. What is for sure is that our effort will continue right up to August. We will be keeping you posted. (It may be a party. Who knows?)

Thursday, May 31 -updated

 Off we go!

Gabi is already in Alonissos and the rest of the team is packing up their sporting gear for the trip. It is a three hour drive from Athens to the port of Agios Konstantinos and then another four hours by boat to reach Patitiri, the port of beautiful Alonissos.

 

 

 The organizers of the event have been really eager to assist us in every way possible and we look forward to catching up with them at the pasta party on Friday night.

We have been advised that there will be about 100 people taking to the roads and mountains of Alonissos for the three running events, the all terrain marathon, the 23 km run and the 10 km run. It is going to be fun.

 The bets are flowing in

In anticipation of our first mission, our friends have been pouring in their support. Gabi and Chris have attracted two major bets!

 Yiannis Behrakis has placed 5 euros for every kilometer run by Gabi! In other words, if Gabi goes the full distance, 210 euros will be going straight into the "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007".

 

  Yiannis Kalaitzis has targeted Chris to come up with a world class performance and complete the marathon. The 5 euros per kilometre donated by Yiannis surely will be a huge incentive for Chris.

 To sum it up, if Gabi and Chris complete the marathon, a total of 420 euros will be contributed by the two “Yiannises” to what is a great worldwide effort!

On the other hand, Sophia Tavoulari has checked the form list and decided that Nick Valatsos is the man to watch!

 Sophia is betting on Nick not only to cross the finishing line but to do so well ahead of the rest members of the team! Sophia is donating .50 euros for every kilometre run by Nick.

 Theodora Arvanitidou will be donating 5 euros as soon as Gabi crosses the finishing line, Yiannis Karagiannidis has come up with 20 euros and sends his best wishes to all members of the Greek extreme team and Yiannis Tsilis (a keen marathon runner himself, who works hard to break the 3.15 barrier) is donating 10 euros.

Matina Vandorou will be donating .50 euros for every kilometre run by Chris and Filippos Doupis has kindly donated another 5 euros. 

Thank you all!

 A warm welcome...

 ...to two new members of our extreme team. Gabi Naegele and Yiannis Apostolakos have joined in our quest to conquer Alonissos and contribute to the "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007". Gabi is a keen marathon runner and a huge challenge for the rest members of the team. The way it looks we will need to be at the peak of our form to keep pace with Gabi!

 Yiannis is the coordinator (and mentor) of Anagenissi Football Club. Anagenissi is a special team consisting of people with mental illness. This will be the first marathon that he will run and/or walk. Whatever he chooses to do, his time in Alonissos will be his personal best.

 A huge thanks to both Yiannis and Gabi.

 A great gesture from the organizers of Alonissos Marathon

 The organizers of Alonissos Marathon have responded in the most positive of ways in our request to join the "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007". They have eagerly agreed to release our teams from the obligatory 25 euros registration fee. From our part we have undertaken to forward the money saved to the "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007". The kind gesture was extended to our team a few days ago, when there were only five of us. As a result the "Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007" can count on an extra 100 euros from our runners. We are hoping that the offer will be extended to cover our new friends.

 The City of Alonissos, the Alonissos Sports Association, Alonissos Sports Club, SEGAS, the Prefecture of Magnisia and HellasSport are the official bodies who run the marathon. They are the people to whom we owe a "big hurray"!

 More news…

 Fugitive is a huge fan of GALERA magazine. He is also a very good friend. We do not think he is really a fugitive. What we do know is that he has a big heart. The “fugitive” has joined the long list of friends who are actively supporting our fundraising effort. Thank you.

 (Monday, May 14)

Dear Nick, Micken and Anna thank you so much for you donations!

 

We have also had a pledge from another friend and supporter. Areti Katsouras is placing her money on Chris to complete the marathon! Areti is donating 0.50 euros on every kilometer run by Chris. In other words, when he crosses the finishing line, automatically 21 euros (approximately 14.5 GBP) will be going straight to the Team Appeal for Copenhagen 2007!

(Friday, May 11)

Alonissos here we come!
>
>
> The Greek Extreme Team is getting into the full swing of things and it is
> really rearing to go! Led by the two head coaches (yes, we do have two of
> these guys!) of the Homeless Team of Greece Periklis Papapanagis and Fanis
> Boukas, the five-member Extreme Team has its eyes set on Saturday, June 2
> and the Alonissos Marathon (www.alonissosmarathon.com) in its quest to
> contribute to the worldwide appeal for the Homeless. Periklis, Fanis, Nick, Manos and Chris have been piling up the
> miles during their rather intense training regime with one goal in mind:
> To go the full distance in order to achieve the fundraising target they
> have set for themselves.

Why are we doing it?

Just refer to http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/team-appeal. It says it all.
>
> Our target
>
> Our team has set a target of 1000 euros. This is the amount of money we
> would dearly like to collect and contribute to the "Team Appeal for
> Copenhagen 2007". We are very optimistic that our friends and supporters
> will be doing their bit to assist us.
>
> How we have planned it
>
> We are asking our friends and supporters to make a minimum donation of 5
> euros. In addition, we have worked out a way to engage all those
> interested in our attempt to conquer Alonissos Marathon. Take a punt on
> one of the members of our team to go the full distance and run the whole
> 42,195 meters of what is an extremely difficult marathon!
Our friends and supporters might as well opt to have a bit of a game with
their friends. Pick a member of our Extreme Team each and support it all the
way to the finishing line.
>
> Here it's 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.
>
> About Alonissos
>
> Alonissos is a beautiful Greek island in the northern part of the Aegean
> Sea. Absolutely wonderful. For more information please refer to
> www.alonissos.com
>
> Join us
>
> Are you planning a trip to Greece in late May-early June? Join our Extreme
> Team and come along to Alonissos to prove your fitness and help the
> Homeless! All you have to do is contact us and we will take care of
> everything else. Just do not forget to bring along your running gear. A
> post-marathon swim in the blue waters of the Aegean is a memory you will
> treasure to eternity, not to mention the fresh fish in the Greek taverna
> nearby...
> And what about our friends living in Greece? An open invitation is
> extended to everyone to join our Extreme Team.
>
> Other activities
>
> Well, we would like to organize a few more activities over the next couple
> of months. Surely, we will manage. We will be keeping you posted.
>
> Contact us
>
> By visitig the websites:

> www.justgiving.com/ChrisAlefantis

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/team-appeal
> www.galera.gr
> www.homelessworldcup.org
http://www.homelessworldcup.org/groups/greece

> By e-mail
>
> galera1@otenet.gr
> chrisa@galera.gr
>
> By phone
>
> +30 210 3843983 (work)
> +30 6942 768470 (mobile)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>