The Ultra Marathon is a race made for people who already find the normal marathon too easy for them. I know that that sentence sounds a bit unbelievable, but it is quite actually true. There is a rare breed of individuals who take it to another level and run races with distances that exceed 100 miles and in the worst terrain. Some people find it awesome, while some say it is insane. How about you? What do you think?
Well if you are ones who think it is great and wants to join in the fun, then this is your lucky day. We have compiled for you a list of the most difficult ultra marathon races in the world. Here they are.
The Badwater Marathon
Named as “the world’s toughest foot race”, the Badwater Marathon happens every July. It is a torturous 135 miles race with a total of 14,600 ascents in mountain ranges and also a jaunt in the Death Valley. A lot of brave souls have failed to finish this race mainly because of the sweltering weather.
The Jungle Ultra Marathon
If you have both love forests and ultra marathons, then this is the perfect race for you. The Jungle Ultra Marathon takes place in the Peruvian cloud and rain forests. Its main obstacles are the 9,000 feet downhill terrain and 70 river crossings. You need to traverse all that in 90 degrees heat and 100 percent humidity. To make matters worse (or great to some) you need to be self-sufficient carrying with you your hammock and your supplies. The upside of this race is that you get to see some really beautiful virgin forests and also interact with the indigenous tribes in the area.
Marathon De Sables
Extreme weather conditions seem to be the favorite obstacle of ultra marathons, and the Marathon De Sables took it to the next level. This ultra marathon is a 156 miles long footrace in the Sahara Desert. Yes, you read that right. The Sahara Desert. Imagine running five and a half marathons in 100-degree heat and on loose soft sand. If you like that idea, this could be your adventure of a lifetime.
Dragon’s Back Race
If you love the great outdoors and is constantly intrigued how it feels like to run of the roughest terrains, then this is the race for you. The Dragon’s back ultra marathon takes place in the Welsh mountains that have a total of 56,000 feet of ascents in total. People who have joined this race get exposed to the altitude and the difficult terrain. It is 188 miles of pure struggle.
Self Transcendence Ultra Marathon
The name might make you think that the race includes a part where the runners need to do some yoga poses. That is absolutely not the case. It got its name because is the ultimate test of a human’s limitations. It is a 3,100-mile race in normal terrain. In fact, all you need to do is to run around a single city block in Queens, New York 5,649 times. You are only given 52 days to finish the race which means you need to run 60.78 miles per day. The best times for this race is 41 days, 8:16:29 for a male category and 49 days, 14:30:54 for the female category.
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