Hardest Foot Races: Since ancient Greece, when Pheidippides ran the first marathon to tell the people of Athens that the Persian army had been defeated, long-distance running has been seen as a way to measure how fit and strong someone is.
Since then, many foot races have been held all over the world. We still look for ways to push ourselves on foot, even though that historic run happened 2,500 years ago.
But in the modern world, we’ve found ways to make the pain and suffering of long-distance running even worse by coming up with even sneakier ways to hurt ourselves on the track and road.
Some races that happen every year are so hard that just finishing them seems almost impossible. These are the world’s hardest foot races. Here are five examples of some of the most crazy things.
Marathon des Sables
The Marathon des Sables, also called the “Marathon of the Sands,” takes place every year in the Sahara Desert of Morocco. It is a six-day stage race that goes 156 miles through one of the harshest places on Earth. That is like running a race every day for almost a week straight. Participants in the MdS have to be fit, but they also have to be able to take care of themselves.
For each part of the race, they have to carry all of their gear and supplies, including water, on their backs. They also have to find their way across a course that is remote and empty. These things make it clear that it is one of the hardest races in the world.
The Badwater Ultramarathon
Every July, a group of tough endurance athletes gather in California to run an ultramarathon across the hottest place on Earth. They begin in Death Valley National Park’s Badwater Basin, which is 279 feet below sea level, and finish at Mt. Whitney’s Whitney Portal, which is 8,360 feet above sea level.
In between, there are 135 miles of fields and mountains that must be crossed without stopping. Those who finish Badwater in less than 48 hours get a badge and a belt buckle, but they don’t get any money. The race is over in less than 24 hours for the best runners.
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra
Trail du Mont-Blanc goes through three countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland. It is 103 miles long, goes through the Alps, and gains more than 31,000 feet in elevation.
The route goes around Mont Blanc, one of the most famous mountains in the world, on a road that is both beautiful and hard. Competitors in this race have also had to deal with bad weather. On the same day, they could face heat, rain, snow, sleet, and both hot and cold temps.
Jungle Ultra
Peru’s Jungle Ultra is another stage race. It covers 143 miles over five hard stages in the Man National Park area of that country. It starts in the cloud woods of the Andes and drops more than 10,000 feet to the Amazon Basin. High temperatures and humidity make it hard for runners to move, and they still have to carry all of their supplies, water, and equipment with them through each part of the race. Some of the dangers are swarms of insects that bite, snakes that are deadly, and other strange animals.
Barkley Marathons
Tennessee seems like an odd place for what could be the hardest running race of all time. Runners in the Barkley Marathons have to finish five 20-mile loops on an unmarked path that goes through Frozen Head State Park, which is known for its very rough terrain.
More than 65,000 feet of elevation gain are on the course, and competitors must finish in less than 60 hours to make things even harder. The first race was in 1986, and in the 30 years since then, only 14 people have been able to finish it. That should give you a good idea of how hard the Barkley Marathons are.
If your local 5K and 10K runs aren’t giving you much of a challenge these days, why not try one of these?
Any one of them is hard enough to push even the best runners to their physical limits, and they all take place in beautiful outdoor settings that are amazing to see. If you want a new challenge in running, one of these will give you exactly what you’re looking for.
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