28 RUNNER’S WORLD
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NIESEN STAIRWAY RUN
The virtiginous
staircase up the face
of Mount Niesen in
Switzerland is usually
closed to the public,
but on one very
special day every
June it opens for the
world’s longest
single-staircase race,
giving you a great
chance to put your
glutes to the ultimate
test up 11,674 steps,
a distance of 3.4km
with a fierce 1,669m
of ascent. You’ll enjoy
breathtaking views
of the Bernese
Oberland region –
green pastures,
lush woodland and
pristine snowy alps.
June 2020 (date tbc),
niesen.chCOLOMBO MARATHON
If sandy-white
beaches, palm trees
floating in the breeze
and tropical terrain
are your thing, you’ll
love this popular race
in the capital of Sri
Lanka, but be warned:
the challenge of
running through
bustling city streets in
brutal heat should not
be underestimated.
Recovering on a sun
lounger by the warm
Indian Ocean should
sweeten the pill.
Three quarters of the
race is along a coastal
route so you’ll have
an almost constant
confirmation of the
beauty of the event.
October 6,
srilankamarathon.orgAUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
MARATHON
Go walkabout in the
outback in the shadow
of Uluru, Australia’s
best-known natural
landmark. The
massive sandstone
monolith that
dominates the race
is sacred to the
Aboriginal people
in the area and they
prefer if people do not
climb it. While it is
certainly a sight to
behold, the red-hued
landscape is equally
formidable. The
terrain is dusty trails,
dry shrubs and dunes.
If Crocodile Dundee
did marathons...
July 2020 (date tbc),
australianoutback
marathon.comKHAO YAI TRAIL
MARATHON
If you’ve seen Danny
Boyle’s film The
Beach, which starred
a young Leonardo
DiCaprio, you might
be familiar with the
sheer perfection of
Khao Yai National
Park, where the leap-
from-a-waterfall
scene was filmed.
The race is held here
on a mixture of sand
roads, singletrack
and steep slopes.
Expect panoramic
views of the tropical
landscape while
chattering exotic
birds and monkeys
fill the trees along
the race route.
November 3,
tigerbalmtrail.com