INTRODUCTION
Today running is more than just exercise. Marathons are no longer just for fitness junkies, and the sport has spawned a surprisingly rabid and diverse subculture. Sure, people still run to get into shape, but these days just as many do it to meditate. Some do it for the high or just to clear their head, while others enter races as a way to make a dozen friends all at once. Many stick to pavements, though more are running off-road and into the wilderness. Regardless of how or where they do it, most runners agree that it is the great grounding constant in their life.
Most runners will also agree that moving through a landscape while also breaking a sweat has an oddly profound effect on one’s sense of place. Whether you’re repeating a well-worn loop close to home or exploring an exotic new land while travelling, running affords a deeper understanding of a town or city and its citizens. Unlike a walking tour, it has a way of forcing more self-reflection, while also allowing you to cover more ground in a short amount of time. In fact, one of the best, and quickest, ways to get to know an unfamiliar place is by competing in a local race, and it is perhaps the only way one can work out and go sightseeing all at once.
Indeed, running now has a surprisingly symbiotic relationship with travel itself – experienced vagabonds insist it cures jetlag, while running seems to be the one exercise we actually do when travelling, whether for a short business trip or during a round-the-world adventure. There is nothing easier than stuffing a pair of running shoes into our luggage, and those running shoes can now take us to places such as Everest Base Camp, the Australian Outback and even to the North Pole. As more and more people seek out running travel adventures, organised races are popping up in the most extreme corners of the globe. And not only marathons – ultra-distance events are booming.
And this is perhaps the most remarkable thing to happen in the world of running in the past decade: those of us who used to run a few miles after work now run 10Ks; those who used to run 10Ks now run marathons; and those who have run a couple of marathons now have their eyes on ultramarathons.
In this book are 200 of the greatest runs on the planet, in some 60 countries across all seven continents. The 50 featured runs are first-hand accounts, written by people who are not only passionate about running – some even do it for a living – but also about the idea that to have run somewhere is to know it. These are stories that will convince you there are times when a run is the way to see a place.
You’ll learn why the 120-year-old Boston Marathon has become a symbol of pride for America’s oldest major city, and how a simple run from Bondi to Coogee beaches allows you to become one of Sydney’s fitness-mad beach bums (if only for an hour). You’ll understand why a stage race like the Sahara’s brutal 156-mile (250km) Marathon des Sables sears its way into your psyche, and how a quick run around Québec in winter reveals the city’s beauty.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Each of the five chapters in this book includes a special collection of runs from that particular region, from easy-access park runs and city loops to iconic marathons and epic ultras. A colour-coded key on the contents page will help you identify which are easy, which require serious fitness and fortitude, and which fall somewhere in between (based almost entirely on distance and elevation gain). Accompanying each main story is some practical information to help you follow in the author’s footsteps. The authors have also included three extra routes or races that have a similar character to their featured run, but may be closer to home or more accessible.
It’s important to point out that there are a handful of insanely difficult runs in this book that only a few of us will ever be able to do. In many cases, the people who have written about them are professional runners, paid to train on a daily basis. But the armchair adventure value of these tales cannot be overstated. You will no doubt become parched just reading about Death Valley’s Badwater 135 and become dizzy reading about the notoriously disorienting Barkley Marathons. These are stories that will inspire you to kick things up a notch, to train for something bold and, perhaps, someday sign up for a race you never thought possible.
Whichever runs you decide to add to your bucket list, take the time to source and study your own detailed maps and to gear up properly for any routes that might take you off the beaten path. Be kind to your fellow runners and even kinder to the wild landscapes you travel through. Be prepared for a few weird looks from locals and, most importantly, never forget to pack your running shoes.
© Courtesy of the Great Ocean Road Marathon
running the Great Ocean Road in Australia
© Francesco Riccardo Iacomino | ronnybas | 500px
Positano, a picturesque pit-stop on Italy’s Amalfi Coast