For children with cancer around the world:
Five Cypriot marathon runners/mountaineers climb legendary Mount Olympus to the highest peak in Greece
Together, we continue steadily with dedication and through action for children and adolescents with cancer in Cyprus and around the world. For every child who deserves a real chance for treatment and for life.
Two years after the Marathon of Hope & Love, when approximately 500 runners from Cyprus took part in the Athens Marathon wearing the ELPIDA Foundation shirt and sending a message of solidarity to children with cancer and leukemia, the story continues.
From 2 to 6 September 2026, five marathon runners/mountaineers will carry ELPIDA’s message on a demanding mountain route towards Mytikas, the highest peak in Greece, on the legendary Mount Olympus.
Taking part in the initiative are Professor Loizos G. Loizou, President of the ELPIDA Foundation, Elena Lena, Elina Ioannou, Andreas Antoniou and Savvas Adamou.
From marathon running to mountaineering, the message remains the same: endurance, perseverance, solidarity and love for children and adolescents facing cancer.
A marathon symbolizes endurance and the sustained effort needed to keep going. Climbing a mountain symbolizes the difficult path, perseverance, overcoming challenges and the determination to continue, step by step.
With every step towards the summit, we carry a message of courage, love and solidarity to children and adolescents facing cancer and to their families.
By climbing Mount Olympus, we are taking ELPIDA’s message even higher:
Every child, wherever they may be, deserves the opportunity for treatment and for life.
This year’s initiative also carries an important international dimension. Through the international activities of the ELPIDA Foundation and the Cyprus International Action Plan for Children and Adolescents with Cancer, Cyprus is extending its efforts far beyond its borders, supporting children with cancer, particularly in countries where access to diagnosis, essential medicines and effective treatment remains difficult.
The summit we ultimately strive for is a world in which no child with cancer is denied the opportunity for proper diagnosis and effective treatment simply because of where they were born.
Mytikas, the highest summit of Mount Olympus, at approximately 2,918 metres, is one of the objectives of the route. The final ascent towards the summit will always depend on weather and mountain conditions and, above all, on the safety of the participants.
For ELPIDA, after all, the success of this initiative is not measured only in metres of altitude.
It is measured by the message we carry:
For every child with cancer, wherever they may be.
Strength + Love = Hope
ELPIDA Foundation for Children with Cancer and Leukemia
2–6 September 2026 – Mount Olympus, Greece
For further information: +357 22 515354
