We all know this being trail runners but it seems the average road runner is starting to “get it” that the coolest races are not the ones with 40,000 people around you in New York City, but the lower key races of the beaten path … From the Post-Gazette:
As if finishing a marathon wasn’t tough enough, a growing subset of adrenaline junkies is upping the challenge — augmenting their long-distance runs with jet lag, food poisoning, extreme heat and organizers whose idea of hydration is a can of warm Coke. Now that more Americans are entering distance races, and cities like New York and London have proved that marathons are spigots for tourism dollars, organizers world-wide are adding events.
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With foreign marathon tour packages running as high as $15,000, the events are a natural draw for well-heeled runners. Completing a race north of the Arctic Circle or scaling the 3,700 stone steps at the Great Wall Marathon in China is an exotic antidote to running with the hordes in Chicago or San Diego. The ultimate cocktail-party boast: Running 26.2 miles on every continent. Marathon Tours, a Boston company that packages trips to foreign races, maintains a “Seven Continents Club.” Anyone can join for a one-time $100 fee, but about 160 members have now actually completed a marathon on all seven, double the number from 2003, says company president Thom Gilligan. “We’re literally beating the bushes to find new events.”
