Page 49 - Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

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SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES

MAIN IMAGE Participants running along the Champs-Elysées
BELOW (left to right) Runners beside the Seine; competitors
at Place de la Bastille

4 MORE MARATHONS TO
RIVAL LONDON

EVEREST MARATHON, NEPAL The highest marathon in the
world at 17,000 ft (5,180 m). Runners even have to walk up to
the start at Gorak Shep, which helps acclimatize to the oxygen-
depleted air. Held in November (www.everestmarathon.org.uk).
ATHENS, GREECE The original first run, from Marathon to the
Greek capital held in 490 BC. Unlike the heroic Phidippides,
today’s runners don’t do this marathon in full military gear. Hot
and hilly, every November (www.athensmarathon.com).
ICE MARATHON, ANTARCTICA Try running 26 miles (42 km)
in -20°C (-4°F), buffeted by katabatic winds, at a 10,000-ft
(3,050-m) altitude and a few hundred miles from the South
Pole. Madness, every December (www.icemarathon.com).
TWO OCEANS, SOUTH AFRICA This 35-mile (56-km) ultra-
marathon, the “world’s most beautiful marathon,” links both
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Held on the Saturday of Easter
weekend (www.twooceansmarathon.org.za).

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