Must-Run International Marathons

Look­ing for a new runner’s high? Be bold and dar­ing, like your run­ning shoes, and try some­thing new – an inter­na­tional run. Des­ti­na­tion unknown will pro­vide more than a travel adven­ture — you’ll get 42.195 kilo­me­ters strolling amidst some amaz­ing beaches and his­toric archi­tec­ture. Pos­si­bly the best part is that the race is filled with thou­sands of for­eign run­ners (tech­ni­cally, you would be the for­eign one)? That means there’s exotic beers some­where near that fin­ish line. Strap up your laces and restore your glyco­gen with some of these amaz­ing inter­na­tional marathons.

Athens Marathon, Greece
If you choose one inter­na­tional race in your life, it bet­ter be Greece. This is the sacred ground where ancient gods and heroes birthed marathons for west­ern civ­i­liza­tion around 490 BC. Phei­dippedes, a Greek mes­sen­ger, was sent from the Bat­tle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Per­sians have been defeated. Today, the Novem­ber marathons still fol­lows the route that lit­tle mes­sen­ger boy ran.

Berlin Marathon, Ger­many
Branded by BMW and rec­og­nized as a party, you know this marathon is one-of-a-kind. Run through the his­toric sites of Germany’s cap­i­tal city, while you lis­ten to var­i­ous bands on the course. This Sep­tem­ber marathon takes you through parts of East and West Ger­many. Did you know Ger­many has a care­free drink­ing pol­icy? From train sta­tions to city streets, you know Berlin­ers will be start­ing up a party some­where near the end of the course.

Stock­holm Marathon, Swe­den
Run through the city and the Baltic shores as you are encour­aged by thou­sands of friendly Swedish fans. The city of con­trasts brings life to tired legs as you run past his­tory, inno­va­tion, islands, small towns and big cities. This May to June marathon starts in the after­noon and ends at the 1912 Olympic stadium.

Aus­tralian Out­back Marathon, Aus­tralia
This is not only a run­ning event, but also a unique expe­ri­ence. Explore the out­back by foot as you run amidst Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Explore hues of orange and reds as you run, and shades of pink, pur­ple and yel­lows as the sun­sets later in the evening. This race takes place dur­ing Australia’s win­ter months, and is reg­u­larly held at the end of July.

Tokyo Marathon, Japan
For those who want a chic Asian expe­ri­ence, come to Tokyo. Slo­gan, “The Day We Unite,” rings true for many run­ners who come together to run for a cause. Run amidst the busy streets and high rise build­ings as you expe­ri­ence this classy run. Held near the end of Feb­ru­ary, get ready to carbo-load on sushi and if you can’t read the signs, no wor­ries, just fol­low the guy in front of you.

Stan­dard Char­tered Mum­bai Marathon, India
For a unique Asian expe­ri­ence, explore the Mum­bai marathon. India is a spe­cial place, and no bet­ter way to view life dif­fer­ently than through miles and miles on the road. This is the largest charity-generating plat­form in India. The tro­phies, like the race, have a deeper mean­ing, which show­cases the energy, his­tory and geog­ra­phy of Mum­bai. The race is also spe­cial to local Mum­baikars, as well as run­ners, who emo­tion­ally con­nect with the marathon as run­ners over­come the hur­dles of life and the seven pil­lars. This includes rit­ual, shock, denial, iso­la­tion, despair, affir­ma­tion and renewal. The race is held in Jan­u­ary, which is the cooler month of India.

Mara­tona de Rio, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Oh Brazil.  The land filled with beau­ti­ful beaches and gor­geous women. The race takes place dur­ing the cooler month of July, and the course is amidst the beau­ti­ful shore­lines and city streets of Rio. Run­ners view spec­tac­u­lar views of the moun­tains and famous land­marks such as Christ the Redeemer. After the race, relax tired legs on the beach and have your­self a nice day filled with run­ning, sun, sand and sea.