The 12 Most Insane Endurance Races on the Planet

By Joe Russo                 

The 12 Most Insane Endurance Races on the Planet

Image Credit: AP

With the Tour de France getting underway on Saturday, Americans now have another international sport to divert their attention from the World Cup. The 21-stage, 2,276-mile competition is an incredible exhibition of human potential, but there are many other lesser-known feats of endurance just as worthy of appreciation.
Here are a dozen of the most boundary-stretching, envelope-pushing competitions in the world today.

1. Race Across America

The Race Across America lives up to its name, covering 3,000 miles from coast to coast — from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md. Unlike the Tour de France, this race is not run in stages but clocked from start to finish. First one across the line wins.
 

2. Badwater Ultramarathon

At 135 miles, the Badwater Ultramarathon is not exactly your average marathon. This non-stop race in the middle of July features two grueling uphill stretches, one of which is 23 miles continuously uphill that ends up being more than 6,000 feet in vertical climb.
 

3. Antarctic Ice Marathon

There's the extreme heat and then there's extreme cold — the Antarctic Ice Marathon race begins in November only a few hundred miles from the South Pole in the Ellsworth Mountains. As if running on ice weren't hard enough, the average windchill is minus-20 degrees Celsius, or minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit.
 

4. Marathon des Sables



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When the Discovery Channel dubs a race the toughest footrace on Earth, you should take notice. Spanning up to 156 miles depending on the course, the Marathon des Sables route is planned meticulously months in advance and is not shared with the competitors until race day. That's a lot of work for a six-day jaunt through the Sahara Desert.
 

5. Pikes Peak Marathon

This race warrants inclusion on the bucket list female runners. The Pikes Peak Marathon was the first to have a female finisher, Arlene Pieper, in 1959. The third oldest marathon in the United States, the course travels as high as 14,115 feet above sea level and runners climb a total of 7,815 feet.
 

6. Iditarod Trail Invitational

With 350- and 1,000-mile options, the Iditarod Trail Invitational is capped at 50 competitors. Starting the week before the world-famous sled dog race, there's quite the list of prerequisites that a perspective racer must accomplish before hoping for one of the few available spaces. No winter experience? The organizers offer a few training sessions to see whether runners can handle the conditions and physical toll.

7. Jungle Marathon (Floresta Nacional de Tapajos)

Named CNN's World's Toughest Endurance Challenge, racers trek through dense jungle in high heat and humidity. Covering 42 kilometers (a full marathon), 122 kilometers or 254 kilomters, runners traverse the Floresta Nacional de Tapajos in Brazil.

8. The Barkley Marathons

A secretive competition, the Barkley Marathons cover more than 100 miles and nearly 60,000 feet in cumulative elevation, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice. Runners only get 60 hours to complete the unmarked journey without the use of GPS or other electronic devices. Only 12 of the just over 800 entrants have successfully completed the journey.
 

9. Chasqui Challenge

Covering 100 miles and reaching as high as the ruins of Machu Picchu, the Chasqui Challenge is not only a physical challenge, but a logistical one. Runners pay upward of $3,000 for their entries into the exclusive trek and spaces sell out routinely five or six months in advance — all to run through the Andes Mountains to cover the equivalent of four marathons.
 

10. Death Race

Imagine a twisted amalgamation of the Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder and every frightening episode of the Amazing Race all rolled into one unimaginably difficult challenge: the Death Race. Taking place in the Green Mountains in Vermont, the events typically take competitors upward of 70 hours to complete. Challenges during the race have included hiking 30 miles while carrying heavy rocks and chopping wood for two hours straight for physical punishment while other stages have including memorizing the names of U.S presidents and Bible verse for recitation after climbing to the top of one of the mountains peak in the area.
 

11. Yak Attack

Sure, the Tour de France is tough. But how about a bike race through the Himalayan Mountains? Meet the Yak Attack. Climbing as high as 17,769 feet, riders travel for three days through the hot deserts at the base of the mountains and then must cross the Thorong La Pass, exposing riders to equally brutal snow and cold. At $3,750, the race is out of reach for most, especially since that cost does not include travel to the race location.
 

12. Enduroman Arch To Arch 

            

Most people want to travel from London to Paris, but not very often in this fashion: 87 miles from the Marble Arch in Lond to the coastline in Dover, a swim across the English Channel to Calais, then 181 miles on a bike to the Arc de Triomphe. There may be few more grueling ways to do some sightseeing in two of the world's most famous cities.

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Top 6 Toughest Adventure Races in the World

As posted in Wenger's Writers by Sarah Esterman and with my personal thoughts about each race.

For most of us, completing a marathon in itself is an accomplishment to feel pretty proud of. But there are some who aren’t’ satisfied with the 26.2-mile feat, no matter how rough the conditions. These are the “freak” athletes who compete in some of the most physically taxing endurance races on the planet: adventure races. Through all kinds of extreme weather, these athletes trek across rocky terrain, summit mountains, wade through deep jungle swamps and more, testing their physical and mental strength just because they can.

 If you’re feeling up to the challenge, here are the six toughest: 

Marathon des SablesSahara Desert

Translating to “Marathon of the Sands,” the Marathon des Sables bills itself as one of the toughest footraces on Earth. And chances are they’re not wrong: this 6-day trek through some of the most inhospitable conditions on the planet is not for the weak of heart. Besides the 100-degree heat keeping even your sweat from cooling you (since it evaporates immediately in the intense heat) and the added difficulty of running through sand, the landscape does little to help with your mental anguish since you will see nothing but rolling sand dunes for miles. A total distance of 156 miles, you basically have to run a full marathon each day of the race. Reading the description of the race, it sounds exciting. My personal thoughts, why not. I have several friends whom I raced with especially that of my Cambodia multi staged race has done this race in the past and others will be doing this year. They said it is worth joining. I think to myself , why not. I will make this part of my list of future races. 

Badwater Ultramarathon

Death Valley, California

Imagine running 135 miles nonstop on pavement from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, California in temperatures reaching up to 130 degrees. Oh, and don’t forget the elevation climb of over 8,500 feet. Sound miserable? That’s why the Badwater Ultramarathon is also widely recognized as one of the world’s hardest footraces. And be sure to pack an extra pair of shoes (or two), because it is not uncommon to completely burn through your shoes during the race in the grueling mid-July heat. With the initial excitement brought by supposedly being one of a support crew in one of the participant of this race but did not push, a dream was formed. Never this race drawn interest in me, but reading the qualifications and the toughness of the race course and most especially watch two movie about this race in the past year's event, it ignites my curiosity, and belief that I too can do this race. I hope to be part of this race in the future. Will work on the qualifying races in the next 12 months. 

Jungle Marathon

Manaus, Amazonia, Brazil

Here’s a few questions organizers of the Jungle Marathon suggest you ask yourself before even thinking of attempting the race: 1) Can you handle 104-degree heat in 99 percent humidity? 2) In Primary Jungle with a dense canopy and not even a peek of sunlight? 3) Anaconda-infested swamp crossings? 4) River crossing with caiman and piranhas? 5) Huge elevation gains on muddy, often slippery, slopes? 6) The only sleep you get is accompanied by the sounds of howler monkeys and jaguars? 7) All of this for 150+ miles? If you answered yes to all of these questions you may very well be insane, but you might also be able to manage completing the Jungle Marathon. Well done, you. Un-imagineable for me at this very moment. I cannot think of a way how on earth will I be able to survive this kind of race and return home one piece and breathing. So a no no at this time. Who knows in the future.

Coastal Challenge

Costa Rica

Organizers of the Coastal Challenge race up Costa Rica suggest racers “be ready for anything.” That’s pretty good advice, considering racers—either solo or in teams of up to four—will likely encounter reptiles, getting completely lost in the jungle and huge cliff drop-offs. The 6-day race covers up to 155 miles includes rainforest and mountain trails, single track across ridgelines, coastal ranges, beach reefs, rocky outcroppings and more. Oh, and be prepared to run into a few crocodiles. This race draw my interest last year. A multi staged race but will only carry hydration for the day, with stations of food and hydration in between. But running with crocodiles could be very challenging. But despite that, I thought of doing this race in the future.

Godzone Adventure Race

Queenstown, New Zealand

In the Godzone Adventure Race, teams of four navigate, trek, mountain bike and canoe across a 310-mile route over the course of 6–7 days. Oh, and the race is unsupported, meaning each team has to fend for themselves and there are no daily check-ins with food, water or other provisions. Which means there’s no designated time for sleep, forcing teams to choose whether it’s more important to push forward and attempt a win, or get some sleep to sustain energy—a tough call. Adventure race has never been in my list for I am weak on bike and swim and most especially on land navigation. May be in the future when I will be able to hone my skills on those discipline.

Patagonia Expedition Race

Chilean Patagonia

Known by some as the “Race to the End of the World,” the Patagonia Expedition Race has also been called, “The Last Wild Race” because of its challenging terrain and is unofficially considered the Ironman of adventure races. Both a physical and mental challenge, the 10-day race involves trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, roping and more across more than 300 miles of Southern Patagonia territory including glaciers, rivers, swampland, mountains and more. Basically, if your team of four finishes this race you can say you’ve completed the toughest adventure race on the planet. And you’ll have supported a great message while doing so, since one of the reasons the organizers started the Patagonia Expedition Race was to help raise awareness and conserve the fragile environment in the region. Patagonia is always a place I love to go and visit, but doing an adventure race on this part of the world is unthinkable for me. The mountain bike could be very challenging but  think is possible. It will entail so much land navigation but being with the team I think it is something manageable. I am not closing my door on this race. Who knows in the future I can hone my skills on the other discipline. 

Three out of six that draw my interest of doing in the future. But more than the physical strength that is much needed on this races, the cost are just really head over heels. All of it are just really expensive, basically multi staged races are just really expensive but worth joining. So will save for it, as I always believe, the universe will conspire for as long as I will it badly. 

If it's meant to be its up to me. Bring on.