Greek X Hero is an extreme triathlon for experienced athletes who want to exceed their limits. At the time of the race in Corfu Island the weather is quite unstable and even though it does not have high mountains the geomorphology of the island makes the race quiet challenging. Temperatures range from 0 to 32 degrees Celsius.
The race begins from the Queen's jetty in Mon Repo, next to the church where Prince Philip of Edinburgh was born - the husband of Queen Elisabeth II. of England. The water temperature at this time of the year is between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius. The swimming route is quiet challenging even though it follows the coastline. Reaching the Gulf of Garitsa and passing the outer part of the Old Fortress, the sea has many streams, and the constant waving makes the swim quite difficult and needs attention. The athletes are compensated by the beauty of the Fortress and the Old Town. Coming out of the water, the athletes enter and pass through arcades entering the Old Fortress where they find their bikes at T1 and then cross the bridge over the moat heading to Corfu town.
On the bike leg the temperature ranges from 0 to 32 degrees Celsius. The route follows the island’s almost entire coastline with amazing views, but it is also very technical since it enters traditional small villages on narrow streets and challenges the athletes with constant ups and downs. The route has three passes, one quite demanding at 60 km to the highest point of the island with gradients up to 17%, the second climb leads to Sokraki at 70-75 km with 22 hairpins, and the third one at Viston with an ascent up to 18 %. The rest of the race does not move at high altitudes but the continuous ups and downs give a total altitude of 3750m at 186km.
T2 is located in the village of Kinopiastes, from where the 40km long run with 1850m altitude begins. Athletes will be fascinated by the beautiful beaches of Kontogialo, Glyfada and Ai Giorgi with their unique views, but the route has great difficulty due to the peculiarity of the terrain. The athletes have to run either on sandy beaches or jump from rock to rock, then climb steep hills of up to 15% and run downhill on slopes up to 32% until they reach the picturesque village of Liapades at 30 km through huge olive trees. Here is T2A, where they continue to run together with their supporter, climbing the last 10 km together up to the famous Angelcastle (Angelokastro).
