“The more restricted our society and work becomes, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom.”
— Sir Roger Bannister
Although retailing at $19 and $39 respectively, these two books are going to cost me A LOT of money over the years!
Author Kimi Puntillo became the first woman to complete a marathon on every continent thus earning herself two Guinness World Records in the process. In Great Races, Incredible Places – 100+ Fantastic Runs Around the World, Puntillo outlines her favorite marathons, but also races of varying distances that she has participated in on her many travels.
She cleverly divided her book into amusing categories to whisk the reader away to enthralling events around the world. These categories include: Because It’s There; Eat, Drink, and be Merry; Give Peace a Chance; Listen to the Music; Spiritual Experiences; Running Wild; Sweet; Team Sport; and Tourist Attractions. From wine lovers to history buffs, for runners who enjoy dressing up for races, (or running nude for that matter) to those who enjoy team challenges, runners of all levels will undoubtedly find races in this book that will appeal to them.
One race that particularly caught my attention was the International Peace Marathon of Kigali, Rwanda. After everything this African nation has been through with the genocide of 1994, how rewarding would it be to run here in support of the people’s efforts to promote reconciliation? According to the event website, your marathon can help several local charities and projects from building schools and orphanages to restoring women shelters for widows of the genocide.
Another race that I found remarkable was the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Although I usually seek out low-key events with a limited field, this 7.5 mile event with 65,000 runners would admittedly be quite a spectacle to witness and be a part of.
In the Team Sports chapter, the Myomed Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage and the Nike Hood-to-Coast Relay are, in my opinion, worth checking out. Both these team relay events are roughly 200-miles long involving teams of twelve runners, two vehicles and twenty-four hours. Hundreds of teams enter and each runner usually completes three legs of approximately five to eight miles in length while the team vehicles leap-frog ahead to the next relay exchange area throughout the day and night. Can you think of a better way to spend a weekend with your running buddies?
Kimi Puntillo offers some travel advice and limited training hints throughout this collection. Near the end of the book, the reader will find index tables with further details on race websites, distances, along with the month of the events, average temperatures and location. This quick reference guide for 100+ races detailed in the book is quite helpful.
On a recent trip to the U.S. West Coast to compete in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-miler (I suffered a DNF at 50-miles as the altitude and heat got the best of me) my wife and I made a pit-stop at the Zombie Runners store in Palo Alto, California. More than just a place to purchase running apparel and accessories, Zombie Runners is also a Café, a library and basically an ultra running shrine. Here I purchased (like I needed another book on running) the second book reviewed in this issue: Extreme Running, by Kym McConnell & Dave Horsley.
Unlike Great Races, Incredible Places which includes shorter races, Extreme Running features events that would make even the most seasoned ultra runner shudder. In this coffee-table sized hardback, multi-sport gurus and adrenaline junkies Kym McMonnell and Dave Horsley describe three or four of the most grueling running events held on each of the seven continents.
There are detailed accounts of some of the renowned classics like Death Valley’s Badwater 135, the Sahara’s Marathon des Sables, South Africa’s Comrades Marathon, the Inca Trail Marathon in Peru, and Le tour du Mont-Blanc in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. But what left me stunned and fascinated were the more obscure and frankly somewhat insane events.
For instance, I had previously heard of the Yukon Arctic Ultra in Whitehorse. I was aware of the marathon and even the 100-mile events, but I was awe-struck when I read that the race also has options for 300 and 460-miles single stage runs. Our mild winters have me complaining and I could not imagine running for nearly six days, unaided, in the harshest winter conditions imaginable.
Another single stage marvel is the Trans 333. Held in different countries every year, this is the “World’s longest single stage desert race”. Checkpoints are at every twenty-two kilometers, runners must carry a mandatory survival kit along with three liters of water and they have a maximum of 108 hours to complete the distance. The authors cite: “The endless fatigue, the monotonous isolation of a small field in a vast desert and a course of 333 km, make this event one of greatest individual challenges left to the modern-day adventurer”.
Although you may not be interested in ever attempting these mind-boggling adventures, the next time you are dreading your Sunday morning long run, a quick scan through these pages will remind you how resilient the human body and spirit can be. How these athletes conquer such daunting courses under the most demanding conditions will make your twenty-five kilometer long run seem insignificant and almost laughable. If you do have the gumption to attempt some of these astonishing challenges, please make sure your life insurance policies are up to date.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
wow. now that’s what you call extreme running!
Thanks for the comment Paul. I wonder if there will ever be a point where “extreme” simply becomes “stupid”. Perhaps when safety becomes an issue? But then again, many, many races are less than safe.