Route & information
15 km Trail Race of the Santorini Experience
Location: Oia - Desalination Plant
The 15 km route begins with a slight downhill for approximately 250 meters on a wide dirt road, then follows a steeply uphill path 1,250 meters long with an average gradient of 12%. Subsequently, the path narrows and the terrain changes, featuring numerous stones, so increased caution is required. The gradient is downhill until the 2.5 km mark, where the 1st aid station will be located. The route then transitions to asphalt for about 660 meters with a moderate uphill gradient, before re-entering a path where the ground is soft and somewhat loose soil, so a little caution is needed as it is relatively slippery, with a very steep gradient for approximately 700 meters offering breathtaking views. At this point, pay attention to stay as far left on the path as possible.
The steep uphill ends at 3.8 km at the chapel of Profitis Ilias, followed by a downhill cemented path until 4.5 km, and then approximately 500 meters remain until the 2nd aid station located at 5 km. The next approximately 2 kilometers are also quite uphill on stable but rather hard ground, passing through Imerovigli with the view continuing to be stunning. We continue until the entrance of Fira to reach the church of Agios Gerasimos, where the 3rd aid station and the turnaround point are located. The return route is the same except for the section after the 11th km, where before the chapel of Profitis Ilias, we take the paved path (also requiring considerable caution) located on the right until we reach the asphalt again at 12 km, and after about 600 meters, we re-enter the path for the return where we encounter the maximum gradient just before 13.5 km, which approaches 40% for 100 m (!). The last 1.5 km of the route are downhill.
Technical characteristics of the route:
Start-finish altitude: 146 m.
Turnaround point altitude: 277 m.
Maximum altitude: 334 m.
Minimum altitude: 135 m.
Total positive elevation gain: 834 m.
Maximum gradient: 37.6%
Route terrain: dirt path with embedded stones in some parts, asphalt, paved.
