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A Swiss Alpine Races
This is as beautiful – and tortuous – as it sounds: the Swiss Alpine
races take runners through verdant upland meadows and deep woods
on primitive running trails. Runners travel through tunnels, over
high wooden bridges, up flights of steps and through mountain villages,
with only yodelling spectators to break the silence. Two of the
three races (the 28-kilometre Landwasserlauf and the 67-kilometre
‘marathon’) begin benignly enough on a stadium track in Davos (at
5,000 m), a centre for high-altitude sports training in Europe.
The mid-distance Sertiglauf covers the last 39 kilometres of the
marathon course, providing runners with the challenge of crossing
the 3,000 m Sertig Pass. Founded as recently as 1986, the races
already attract more than 2,000 runners from over 20 countries to
the south-eastern, German-speaking quadrant of Switzerland. A training
camp, held the week before the race, includes alpine running and
hiking in the mountains to help runners to acclimatise to the altitude. |
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C Boston Marathon
Qualifying for Boston has become a goal for runners everywhere.
Arguably the world’s most famous marathon (now over 100 years old),
Boston was known to sports fans decades before there was any such
thing as a running boom. While the event has been modernised to
accommodate the financial realities of big-time marathoning, Boston
retains many of its charms and traditions from the old days. One
is the Monday noon start (Patriots Day in Massachusetts) at Hopkinton's
village green. The Boston experience includes Hopkinton’s crowded
and frantic start, the deafening cheers from the women of Wellesley
College, the reality test of the Newton Hills (including, at 17
miles, the infamous Heartbreak Hill) and a downtown Boston finish
in front of thousands of spectators. Runners take over the city
the weekend before, with exhibitions, warm-up runs along the Charles
River and famous-runner sightings among the leading activities.
Moderately demanding qualifying standards limit the field to about
7,000 and add prestige to the event. |
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B Stramiliano 15km & Half Marathon
Italy’s electrifying Stramilano breaks the pattern for road races
by holding separate events in four classes of running. On the Saturday,
thousands of spectators jam the streets at the heart of the city
of 1.7 million people to watch 200 élite men run a four-lap half-marathon.
The next day's citizens’ 15-kilometre race draws a field of around
50,000 from 50 countries to trek from the Piazza Duomo (the square
in front of Milan's massive white marble cathedral, which dates
from 1386) to Arena Stadium. About 2,500 non-élite runners opt for
a half-marathon that begins and ends in the stadium. Finally, there’s
a 6-kilometre junior fun run from the Piazza Duomo to the stadium.
Founded in 1972, Stramilano is one of the best deals in international
road racing. For the equivalent of £5, runners receive a programme,
medal and T-shirt. Until recently, the race has been largely unknown
outside Italy, even though Milan has long been Italy's centre for
finance, sport and some of the greatest northern Italian cuisine. |
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D New York City Marathon
The ‘big daddy’ of the modern big-city megamarathon, the New York
traces its humble origins to a four-lap run around Central Park
which took place in 1970, with 55 finishers. When the race went
citywide in 1976, the world took notice, and the field has now ballooned
to nearly 30,000. Apply early for entry – more runners are rejected
than accepted through New York's lottery system. The race starts
at the world’s largest suspension bridge, the Verrazano Narrows,
and finishes among falling autumn leaves in stately Central Park.
The meandering point-to-point course (with some hills) passes through
all five New York boroughs, giving runners a rich sampling of the
city's many ethnic neighbourhoods and subcultures and weaving them
through crowds of enthusiastic spectators. The race-support covers
every imaginable runner need, from foreign-language translation
to psychological trauma counselling. |
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E The Medoc and Graves Marathon
It may not be the ideal race to set a world best in, but if it’s
fun and frivolity you want throughout your 42 kilometres, then Médoc
has it in abundance. It features an extraordinary party in the grounds
of an ancient château, a route that cuts through the cloistered,
manicured private vineyards of the region, and the kind of hospitality
and atmosphere that no other event can match. Fancy dress is the
order of the day, with wide-eyed villagers turning out to cheer
on hordes of runners as they make their slow progress from the wine
parishes of Pauillac, St Estèphe, St Julien and Margaux. Finishers
get an open-air supper and take home a wooden-cased bottle of claret,
a pendant cast as a bunch of grapes and a knapsack to carry the
goodies in. Understandably, the French make up the lion’s share
of the field, but although large tour groups are discouraged, single
competitors or small independent groups are welcomed with open arms.
Apply early – it’s the most popular marathon in France and always
heavily over-subscribed. But with all that for under a fiver, it’s
not hard to understand why. |
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G London Marathon
Inspired by Chris Brasher’s trip to New York in 1980, the race has
now surpassed its older American cousin in numbers of applicants,
entrants and finishers. In 1994, with the finish moved from Westminster
Bridge back down the Mall to the steps of Buckingham Palace, the
number of finishers reached a historic high of 25,000. The now familiar
flat-to-downhill course, starting at Greenwich Park and on Blackheath
Common and passing the Cutty Sark, the Tower of London and the Houses
of Parliament along the way, packs in more history than a secondary-school
textbook. Competition for places is intense, with the lottery for
‘open’ spots denting more than a few British club runners’ ambitions.
Not only is the race the world’s biggest in numerical terms, it
also raises the most money for charity. Cartoon characters, charging
rhinos and Zulu warriors all find their way onto the start line,
with thousands of pounds riding on their successful finish. |
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F Bolder Boulder
Set in the Rocky Mountain foothills and with the presence of a core
of élite athletes and a fitness-mad population, one of America’s
largest 10- kilometre races is a natural outgrowth of the Boulder
Community. Few cities do a better job of giving 30,000 runners a
memorable day without losing them in the masses. Some 40 wave starts,
in which runners are grouped with those of similar ability, ensure
a smooth, uncrowded course. The ‘citizen’ divisions begin first,
so that later everybody gets to watch separate fields of élite men
and women sprint to the tape in the 51,000-seat Folsom Field stadium.
To take your mind off the gruelling nature of this hilly, mile-high
course, there are entertainers performing along the way, including
belly dancers, gymnasts and rock bands. There are 10 prizes for
each age group, and all finishers receive a certificate with their
official time and placing. The race has gone from strength to strength
since 1979, when local banker Steve Bosley and Olympic gold medallist
Frank Shorter created the event. |
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