THE STORY BEHIND RETZAKAS
The beginning
The Plokamiana Cultural and Sports Association with other associations and institutions of the region, from 2014 to 2018, successfully organized nature trails and hikes in the wider area with the participation of many people from all over the prefecture of Chania.
Hiking excursions to the big and small Retzakas, hiking to Traotrypa, walks in our villages, routes that gave us the opportunity to discover the hidden beauty of the area with the pleasure of walking in nature.
Actions that stopped abruptly with the advent of covid-19.
The idea
Since May 2021, running entered our lives and we started running ourselves in various sporting events in Crete. We liked the whole atmosphere, the people, the friends, the routes and slowly little thoughts were coming down in the depths of our minds.
So we get to November 2021 and the basic idea has come. Why don't we have a race in Plokamiana and the surrounding area? Since we used to organize walks and nature trails, why don't we turn it into a trail race? And so the "Rezakas Trail Run" was born, we got to work immediately and the thing "got away".
It's fate was to succeed...
The establishment
The love of the world? The time period of it took place? The beautiful scenery? The waterfall itself? The work we did on all levels? Our experience of the Lafonisi Route? All of these contributed to the "Retzakas Trail Run" taking root in everyone's hearts, our work was recognized, establishing itself as a new trail running event in Crete. This makes us happy and gives us strength, but it also burdens us with the responsibility to continue to improve in the years to come.
The Retzakas is now well established and will take place every year on the first Sunday of February.
The continuation
By the end of our first event in February 2022, planning for the 2023 event had already begun. Combined with the results of the online questionnaire answered by the participants of the event a few days later, we decided to introduce a second, longer and more challenging course.
New route, new markings, new material, new breath to the event. Seeing that the "Retzakas Trail Run" is getting bigger and more refreshed, we moved forward in the summer of 2022 to redesign our logo with a more modern design that describes better the style of our trails.
