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. | | |
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. | | |
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. | |
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. | | |
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. | |
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. | | | |