THE GREATEST MARATHONS FOR THE ADVENTUROUS
Planning to tackle the 26.2 mile feat of endurance? Why not make it adventurous too! It’s always much more exciting to run a race through stunning scenery, or terrains in a far-flung location than the ho-hum streets of your own city. From scaling the steps of historic monuments to running along side lions and elephants, there is a trove of challenging adventure marathons that you must try at least once in your lifetime. We bring you 3 of such iconic marathons that are sure to motivate you to lace up and start training.
1. Great Wall Marathon (May)
If visiting the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, then this marathon may be for you. The Great Wall Marathon challenges runners to climb over 5,164 steps of the millennia-old structure and then run through scenic villages and rice fields before looping back to the Wall again to complete the race. With more than 2,500 entrants from over 50 nations participating, the Great Wall marathon has gained much popularity since the first run in 1999. However, runners should expect the race to take about 50% longer to complete than an average marathon due to extreme ascents and descents – all while enjoying stunning views of China’s countryside of course.
Find out more about the Great Wall Marathon here
2.Big Five Marathon (June)
Held in African savannah, this race is a marathon and a safari rolled into one. Named after the famed Big Five African game animals — Leopard, Lion, Rhino, Elephant and Buffalo, the course of this run will see you traverse the hills and valleys of Entabeni Game Reserve in the Waterberg district of South Africa. If you’re lucky, you might run alongside antelope, giraffes, zebras and lions, as the course has no fences, rivers, nor walls to separate runners from the African wildlife! In our opinion, this may just be the most epic way to discover the primordial soul of the savannah.
Find out more about the Big Five Marathon here
3. Athens Classic Marathon (November)
Run the race where it all started! This historic marathon is a recreation of the famed run of Pheidippides, the original long-distance runner who in 490 BC is said to have run this distance in a single day, seeking Spartan backup during the first Persian invasion of Greece. The non-stop, 150 mile trail begins on an ancient battlefield in the town of Marathon, near the Aegean Sea and climbs up toward Athens — making it one of the most challenging marathons to complete. However, once you reach the finish line at the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, your inner champion will never be prouder.
Find out more about the Athens Marathon here
So, if you’re crazy about running, adventure, and travel and looking for ways to combine them all – an adventurous marathon is exactly what you need. Let us know if there are more iconic races you think should be featured on our marathon list.
Planning to tackle the 26.2 mile feat of endurance? Why not make it adventurous too! It’s always much more exciting to run a race through stunning scenery, or terrains in a far-flung
