Many of us like to keep in shape, but the odd trip to the gym is nowhere near enough to prepare anyone for these truly gruelling races around the world ...
Ultraman
Where: Hawaii
For those who think triathlons are little bit too tame, there are Ironman contests. And for those who think that Ironman contests are a mild workout for slovenly couch potatoes, there is the Hawaii Ultraman.
Held on Hawaii's Big Island, the event takes place over three thoroughly brutal days and is split over three disciplines. First up is a 10km ocean swim, buffeted by swells and dealing with whatever conditions the weather throws up. This is followed up a monstrous 421km bike ride and an 84km double marathon run. Only 35 participants are allowed to take part each year, and they have to complete each stage within a maximum of twelve hours. The winners generally manage the whole lot in just under a day, and presumably are completely unable to move for months afterwards.
More details: www.ultramanworlds.com
The Plymouth- Dakar Challenge
Where: From Plymouth, England to Banjul, The Gambia
A novel take on the more established (and infinitely better-funded)
Paris to Dakar Rally, the Plymouth - Dakar is about willpower overcoming rusty engineering. And the fact that it doesn’t even go to Dakar is irrelevant.
The idea is that the route has to be covered, completely unsupported by back-up crews and the like, in a vehicle that costs under £100 (AU$230). Essentially is a great banger run over two continents, risking all manner of trauma in the harsh, isolated conditions of the Sahara Desert.
Just to make things a little more interesting, the organisers have no specialised arrangements with the governments of the countries that are raced through (unlike the Paris – Dakar). Everyone travels as a tourist, having to detail with little problems like Senegal not letting in cars older than five years old (unless customs officers escort them all the way to the Gambian border) and a Gambian ban on right-hand drive vehicles.
The challenge is almost as much about keeping sane with bribe-hungry officials as keeping sand out of the engine.
More details: www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk
The Marathon des Sables
Where: Morocco
Widely regarded as the toughest foot race on earth, the Marathon des Sables is a 243km run that takes place over six days. And, if that doesn’t quite sound gruesome enough, it takes place in the searing desert heat of Southern Morocco. Temperatures can come close to the 50 degrees Celsius mark. Some of the ground is rocky, but 15-20% of it is sand dunes, which are strength-sappingly hard to run on.
Participants have to carry pretty much everything with them too – they’re running almost a marathon a day in the Sahara, whilst also carrying all their food supplies, clothes, medical kit and sleeping bags. And they have to cook for themselves once they reach camp too. It's day four that is the ultimate destroyer — that stage is an astonishing 82km run.
More details: www.marathondessables.com
The Simpson Desert Bike Challenge
Where: Australia
Cycling 580km over five days is tough by anyone's standards, but nightmarishly horrible when it’s across some of the most remote tracks in the Australian outback. Going from Purnie Bore in South Australia to Birdsville in Queensland, the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge sees the cyclists rattle over rough ground that may as well be corrugated iron. And, if the rains come, then they have bogs to traverse.
On top of that, there are the oppressive desert heat, complete lack of shade and swarms of flies to deal with – only the extremely fit have the faintest chance of making it to the finish. It's not known as Satan’s Velodrome for nothing...
More details: www.sdcc.org.au
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Where: Alaska, USA
Extreme heat can be a huge hurdle to overcome, but so can the opposite, and participants in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race have to face bitingly cold temperatures. The race — the biggest sporting event in Alaska — traverses 1,853km from the mountains to the Bering Sea.
It’s not the distance that’s the main problem for the mushers, however. White-outs, extreme blizzards, sub-zero thermometer readings and wind chill factors of up to minus 75 degrees face the chaps in the big coats and their faithful hounds. The record completion time for the race stands at just under nine days.
More details: www.iditarod.com
The Atlantic Rowing Race
Where: La Gomera, Spain to Antigua, the Caribbean
This one is pretty much without competition in the world’s toughest rowing race stakes. Starting on the island of La Gomera, off the African coast, the die-hard oarsmen and women have to make a gruelling trans-Atlantic voyage. There are no motors, just pure arm power, and they have to take on often grim weather conditions as well as being perpetually coated in saltwater.
The 2007 Challenge participants set off on the 2,550 nautical mile mission on December 2, and if previous attempts are anything to go by, they won’t reach the safety of Antigua until the end of January 2008. Most of the 21 boats are crewed by pairs or fours, but two hardy/ insane ocean-goers have decided go solo.
More details: www.woodvale-challenge.com
