Looking over eight of the toughest races in the world
Running is a great activity and sport for almost everybody. Looking back at the progression of my running experience it made me wonder why anyone would take up running. It starts out as a one mile jog for fitness. Then one day a suggestion to try three miles. Very hard and a vow to never do that again. Then a challenge to run the first Capital 10K. It was the hardest run I had ever done. Then a few more and someone suggest doing a 15K (9.3 miles). Why not? Next up was the half marathon distance down in San Antonio. Not as bad as I had anticipated. Then the suggestion of doing a full 26.2-mile marathon. I politely declined that offer. But I trained with the partner and next thing I entered my first marathon down in Houston. I wanted to break four hours. I made a 3:45 time because I sprinted the last 200 yards. I couldn’t walk up curbs or even sit down as my legs locked up. That was to be a onetime thing. Then 16 marathons later it was suggested we try a 50-mile race. Common sense finally got through to me and I stopped at 26.2 miles. Each one was a hard step up and it made you wonder why you kept on with each new challenge in distance.
Maybe the old answer to the question, “Why do you climb mountains?” is “Because it is there.” Here in San Marcos the “Texas Water Safari” race down to the coast is considered to be the toughest canoe race in the United States. It tests both the mental and physical capabilities of any person that enters the race. And yet it seems to grow in popularity each year. My wife sent me a list of the eight most difficult races to run. After reading through the demands required for these races the question of, “Why would any sensible person even think of doing a run like that?” It reminded me again as to why did I take up running if it was so hard to advance each step? And another question is, “Who in the world ever thought up a race like that in the first place?” Look over the list of eight and see if any of the races appeal to you.
1. “Berghaus Dragon’s Back” in Wales is a five-day trail run covering 315 kilometers (50+ miles) of which 15,500 meters of the trail is unmarked. More than 50% of the runners do not finish. They probably got lost in that unmarked section of the race.
2. Barkley Marathon in Tennessee is a 100-mile race around a 20-mile loop five times. The challenge is that the race has 65,000 vertical feet to climb. Since 1986, it has only been finished 16 times.
3. Jungle Ultra is 140 miles through the Amazon jungle. It descends 10,000 feet to the jungle floor and crosses 70 rivers and streams in 90-degree temperatures.
4. Ultra Trail DuMont Blanc is 171 kilometers (about 106 miles) at an altitude of 2,500 meters (think that 1,760 yards make a mile – a meter is three inches longer than a yard) so there is not a lot of oxygen available for runners that must run in wind, cold, rain, and snow.
5. 6633 Ultra is run in the Arctic Circle over 8 days to cover 350 miles. The challenge is running in temperatures that are often at a minus-25 degrees below zero. Only 11 runners have finished in seven years.
6. World Marathon Challenge is the most unique challenge. Runners must run seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. This includes over 48 hours of flying time commuting to each marathon.
7. Bad Water 135 in California starts in Death Valley (85 meters below sea level) and finishes at Mount Whitney (2,530 meters above sea level). The runners cross three mountain ranges and have an up and down run of 4,450 meters upward and 1,859 meters running downward.
8. Marathon Des Sables is a six-day run of 251 kilometers (155 miles) across the Sahara Desert where the temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). The runners have six days to complete the distance. The longest segment is 90 kilometers (55.6 miles) in length.
Reading over the challenges presented by each race, it makes me wonder why anyone would even attempt such a race. It must all come back to the statement, “Because it is there.” I am glad I had enough sense to quit at 26.2 miles (well, make it 29 miles at Boston because of late arrival).
