East Macedonia & Thrace
Trigono Trail Run
A night race on the far edge of Greece. The gun goes at 18:00 at a hikers' refuge four hundred metres from the Bulgarian border, and all 30 km are run by headlamp on forest path. Down to Mantenia, up to the abandoned village of Gyalia, out to border pyramid 393, with a third of the course on the Bulgarian side. At the finish the refuge's welcome-to-winter feast is waiting: bean soup and boiled goat.
Every section of this page was checked against the organiser's pages, ITRA and the GPX on 25 Sept 2026
Mantenia Trail 30K
ITRA 1 ptsDistance - 30 km
Ascent - 1,021 m
Vert / km - 34 m
Time limit - 5 h
Start - Sat 18:00
Course profile coming soon: recon for this distance is in progress.
Terrain & tactics
The organisers describe the course by places, not kilometres: Mpara, Mantenia, Gyalia, border pyramid 393, Gyalia again and back to the refuge. Mpara stands at 463 m and Mantenia at about 190 m, so the race opens with 270 m of descent in the dark. Then comes the climb to Gyalia, the abandoned village at about 530 m: over 330 m in one go. Keep something for it. Nothing here is high: the ground runs between about 190 and 530 m, and the 1,021 m of climbing comes from many short rises in and out of gullies. All 30 km are on forest path by headlamp, where roots and stones show up late: take the descents slower than your legs want. Five water stations with water and energy snacks, but the rules give no kilometre for any of them, so start with a full flask. You must pass the control at the pyramid within four hours, inside a five-hour overall limit: if you reach it right on four hours, you have one hour for the way back.
Headlamp Spare batteries Mobile phone ID card or passport Waterproof or windproof jacket Your own cup or soft flask