Adventure Marathons

Standards and principles for Adventure Marathons

All Adventure Marathon courses are characterised by magnificent scenery and/or a unique cultural atmosphere. They will be rewarding and adventurous to runners and spectators alike. The scenery of the course is substantial, and surface, ascents, weather and other smaller obstructions are not taken into consideration. For that reason, an Adventure Marathon will always be a more physically demanding run than traditional marathons, and it will contain elements of cross-country running, trekking and mountain running. However, the basic characteristics of running must be retained, and obstructions, which cannot be defeated in running, are kept on an absolute minimum.

These standards must be followed in order for a marathon to earn the title of Adventure Marathon:

1) The course must follow the classical marathon distance of 42.195 m.
2) Various surfaces must occur on the course, and the route cannot appear homogenous. The surface can consist of asphalt, rock, gravel, sand, earth, ice, water, stairs, fallen branches and trunks etc.
3) Abrupt ascents must be part of the course. As a minimum there must occur 5-10% ascents spread over 5 to 10 km, unless the marathon is taking place in high altitude.
4) At least one of the following extreme elements must appear on the course: high altitude (more than 2,000 meters), steep, extended ascents, sand dunes, cold/frost or heat (more than 30 degrees Celsius)
5) The course must be difficult to such an extent that the runners will be finishing 25-75% later than at an average marathon. No more than 10% of the runners are supposed to use less than 3h15min. The average time must be higher than 4h30min.

List of Adventures Marathons

The Great Wall Marathon - May 17th 2008
The Big Five Marathon - June 28th 2008

The Great Tibetan Marathon - July 19th 2008
The Polar Circle Marathon - October 18th 2008
The Taj Mahal Marathon - 2009