So, you think you’re tough? How about a vertical marathon?

by Annie Scott on

You may be able to run 26 miles, but can you climb 73 stories? Singapore’s Swissötel is holding its annual vertical marathon next month to, once again, test human strength and endurance.

On November 22, 1,600 stair masters from across the world will gather in Singapore to race up 73 stories of glory. This year’s race will include 12 of Singapore’s top youth athletes as competitors, and there is an assortment of age and gender groupings for you to try and conquer.

1,336 steps. I don’t even do that on a gym machine. The world record is currently held by German stair climber Thomas Dold, who made it to the top in 6 minutes and 52 seconds in 2008.

There’s also a little something new this year:

“A brand-new category called the Lovebirds’ Challenge will witness more than 80 pairs of lovers taking their relationships to unexplored new heights, with potential marriage proposals awaiting atop the helipad, upon completion of the vertical race.”

Would you climb 73 stories to get someone to marry you? That’s love.

Adding insult to injury, the run takes place at 7:00 AM (but don’t worry, that’s 7 PM in New York). Click here for more information.

Adventure Sports Week begins in Idaho

by Kraig Becker on

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho plays host to Adventure Sports Week 2009 , which got underway this past weekend in beautiful Farragut State Park, located just outside the mountain community. Hundreds of endurance athletes descended on the region to take part in the first time event, which is already becoming one of the premiere outdoor sporting competitions of the year.

Billed as “10 days, 24 races, 1 big party”, Adventure Sports Weekly has something to offer just about anyone who enjoys an outdoor athletic challenge. For instance, things kicked off this weekend with a triathlon clinic, and ramped up from there with two orienteering competitions, a pair of duathalons, and three triathalons, including an official XTERRA series event, which was won by Dan Hugo and Melanie McQuaid in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.

Things don’t slow down any next weekend either, when the adventure racers take center stage for the Crux and the Crucible races, both of which combine mountain biking, trekking/trail running, and kayaking, amongst other discplines. There will aslo be marathon and half-marathon length trail runs, a paddling race, and more.

With the summer heating up, it is definitely time to head back outside and have a little fun in the wilderness. It’s also not too late to sign up for one of the remaining ASW events. So, head on over to the website, pick something that looks like fun, and break out the running shoes. Why not join the party in Idaho?

Photo of the Day (4.17.09)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

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It’s officially race season– Boston’s world-famous marathon is this Monday, St. Louis’ is on Sunday, and Nashville’s is next Saturday. It’s enough to make even the most shiftless degenerates among us think about maybe getting in shape. Possibly. (Screw it, there’s always next year.)

The photo above from flickr user ultraclay! was taken in 2006 at (obviously) the Thomas G. Labrecque Classic, a four-mile race in New York’s Central Park. This year’s TGL race is going to be held this Sunday in Central Park, so if you’re in New York, head on out there to see some of the whitest thighs this great nation has to offer.

Want your photo considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Upload your pics here.

Irishman Runs Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, in Six Days

by Kraig Becker on

Irish endurance runner Richard Donovan completed an impressive series of runs a few days back when he completed his seventh marathon in just six days. Even more impressive than that however, is that each of those marathons was run on a different continent.

The World Marathon Challenge got underway on January 31st when Donvan ran a marathon in Antarctica, covering the 26.2 miles n 4 hours, 39 minutes, 29 seconds in temperatures hovering around 0º Fahrenheit. Upon completing that race, he immediately hopped on a plane and flew to Cape Town, for his second run on the same day. From there, it was on to Dubai, where the temperatures soared dramatically, but Richard completed his third marathon in two days on the 1st of February.

The next destination was London, where the city was experiencing its worst snowfall in years, but Donvan pushed through, and logged his 26.2 miles, at three in the morning no less, before jetting off to Toronto, for yet another marathon. He completed the South American leg of his challenge by running a marathon in Santiago, Chile. The last of his runs took place in Sydney, Australia on Thursday, February 5th.

All told, Richard completed his journey in just 5 days, 10 hours, and 8 minutes, collecting 26,719 frequent flyer miles in the process. According to this story from the Independent, his only opportunities to eat and rest were aboard the airplanes he was flyng on, which caused him to battle sleep deprivation and jet lag the entire was as well.

What were Richard’s motivations for undertaking the World Marathon Challenge? To raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in Darfur, and to raise funds for the Irish charity GOAL.

Running a Marathon from Marathon

by Iva Skoch on

New York wasn’t the only place with a big marathon going on yesterday. The “original” Marathonas to Athens marathon took place on Sunday. The 42.195km (that’s 26.2 miles) course traces an approximate, possible route of the legendary run of Greek soldier Pheidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Greeks over Darius’s Persian army in 490 B.C.

Of course, since it’s ancient history, there’s disagreement over whether the run happened at all, let alone which of two (or more) routes the runner took (south along the coast, then around the mountains, or simply over the mountains). (Worse yet, Herodotus has him running 145+ miles to Sparta to ask for help in the battle, rather than to Athens afterwards.)

Depending on who retells the legend, the runner either said, “we won,” “masters, victory is ours,” or “victory!” Either way, he died immediately at the end of the run. (Athens’ triumph over the Persians was somewhat short-lived, as Darius’s son, Xerxes, came back ten years later and burned Athens to the ground, following the famous Spartan stand at Thermopylae, popularized in last year’s movie, “300.”) It also makes you wonder why people actually run marathons.

Anyway, probably the best part of the current official race is the fantastic finish into the ancient Panathinaiko stadium (pictured right), which got it’s beautiful, and famous, white marble around 329 B.C.

This year was a record turn-out of over 4,000 runners for the 25th anniversary of this exact course. And, I’m happy to report from the ground that all made it, joyous and victorious.