World’s Toughest Endurance Races (Only 1% Can Finish)

If you're looking to push yourself beyond your limits and see if you've got what it takes to complete some of the toughest endurance challenges in the world, then listen up. Over the years, event organizers have trawled through maps with smiles on their faces, no doubt, searching for seemingly impossible and painful terrains for their challenges. Some of these have become iconic and downright scary. However, one event that bucks that trend is Spartathlon. Whilst the event itself started in the 1980s, it in fact revives the footsteps of Pheidippides from way back in 490 BC. The story that everyone is likely familiar with is that of Pheidippides running from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce Greek victory, a distance of about 25 miles, hence the creation of the marathon distance. First, he actually ran from Athens to Sparta to gather Spartan troops to help the Athenians in combat against the Persians. The distance was much more than one single marathon, more like six marathons stacked one on top of the other, some 150 miles. Pheidippides supposedly actually ran this in one and a half days. This becomes the cutoff for Spartathlon, 36 hours to complete 150 miles on a mountainous course. Actually, talking of mountainous races, call me biased, but here in the UK, we do a pretty good job of creating some grueling events. Introducing the Dragon's Back Race, widely considered to be the toughest mountain race in the world. Let me tell you why. The race takes in 236 miles or 380 kilometers, starting at Conway Castle in the north, running down the spine of Wales to Cardiff Castle, traversing the highest peaks in Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons along the way. Now, it's actually split into six stages completed on each day and for a good reason. Four of the days hit well over 3,000 meters of elevation. In total, athletes need to cover around 17,400 meters of elevation. That's almost two Everestings. It's bonkers. Now, let's step into ultra-endurance royalty, Marathon du Sable. Now, imagine this, running 160 miles or 257 kilometers across endless sand dunes and rocky plains of the Sahara Desert. Yes, this is a brutal endurance feat both physically and mentally. It's split across seven days with the longest day often reaching around 90 kilometers. To add to the challenge, you must carry everything you need except a tent. They kindly have one ready for you at the end of each day. Now, I actually know a few crazy folks that have done this and taking it on. The common complaint is, unsurprisingly, the sand. It gets everywhere. Your sand admin needs to be tip-top if you want to avoid blisters, but also the heat. Temperatures can reach as much as 50 degrees Celsius or 122 degrees Fahrenheit. I think it's time we discuss triathlons. Again, call me biased, but I think they're pretty epic and it doesn't get much more epic than Norseman Extreme Triathlon. Now, I was actually fortunate enough to do this myself in 2019. Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt such emotion in an event as when I crossed the finish line of the Norseman. It was unreal. Now, you start the day by jumping off the back of a ferry into the dark and cold waters of a fjord in Norway. Now, you swim 3.8 kilometers back to shore surrounded by these dramatic and steep mountains. Then you jump on your bike to tackle 180 mountainous kilometers in, well, typically Norwegian conditions. If that wasn't enough to finish you, then the run, certainly well, 42.2 kilometers with the final half all uphill, you start by crawling up the insanely steep zombie hill. I'm not afraid to admit it, this bit actually broke me. At the top of this, something odd and iconic with this event happens. The first 160 to cross this mark may continue to the very top of the mountain and gain the coveted black Norseman finisher t-shirt whilst everyone else finishes the same distance but lower on the mountain to gain the white finisher t-shirt. Of course, just finishing Norseman is an incredible feat, but there is something quite special about that black t-shirt. Are you a bit hot in here, Belinda? I'll just take my jumper off. Okay, well, how about swimming? Well, they don't come much more iconic than the English Channel swim. The English Channel is a narrow strip of water, in case you're not aware, that separates England from France. As the bird flies, it's approximately 21 miles, but most end up swimming further due to currents and tides across this narrow strip. This is one of the main reasons that makes the channel crossing so iconic and tough. It can vary from mirror-like conditions to wind force six and wave heights in excess of two meters. The water can be incredibly cold, there's also a good chance of meeting jellyfish, seaweeds, and the occasional plank of wood. I should probably add that wetsuits, in a traditional sense, are not allowed with the channel crossing. It's also one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world with 600 tankers passing through and 200 ferries, sea cats, and other vessels going across daily. Now, I've experienced this firsthand. Not swimming, I actually cycled, which is a long story, but the logistics of organizing for the right conditions and available support crew and boat is almost as big of an endurance fee as the crossing itself. The idea of swimming from one country to the other is quite something. On average, a solo crossing takes around 13 hours and 33 minutes, whilst for a relay, it's somewhere in the region of 12 hours and 46 minutes. Back to running and another unique event that has captured everyone's attention in recent years, the Barclay Marathons. Now, not only is this event near impossible to complete, I mean, only 20 have ever finished it, it's perhaps one of the most bizarre events you'll ever come across. Now, the Barclay course was the brainchild of Gary, Lazarus Lake, Cantrell, and Carl Rawdog Hen. The idea for the event was inspired upon hearing about the 1977 escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. from the nearby prison. Now, Ray covered only about 12 miles or 19 kilometers after running for something like 54 and a half hours in the woods. Now, firstly, there is no official entry for the event. You simply have to write Lazarus an essay on why I should be allowed to run in the Barclay and pay $1.60 the application fee. If accepted, there are only about 40 spots, just to be clear. An entrant receives a letter of condolence. Then upon arrival, you're required to bring a license plate from the state or country that you've come from as your entrance fee, along with whatever Lazarus requests, maybe a flannel shirt in size large. Then there's no official start time. The race starts anytime from midnight to noon on race day with one hour till race start signaled by blowing a conch. Then the race officially begins when Lazarus lights a cigarette. The weirdness doesn't end there. The route is approximately 100 miles made up of five 20-mile loops, although many estimate it being longer because you will never know, really, because you're not actually allowed GPS watches, there's no official map, no devices are allowed, and the direction changes on each lap. The most important detail, you must collect a page from numerous books dispersed around the route. Without all the pages, you fail. What do you think? It doesn't get much more unique than that, does it? I actually had the pleasure of taking part in a UK spinoff of this event held in a place called Barclay. You can see what they did there. If you can't get into the official event, there is always that option. Whilst we're back in the UK, the Strathpuffer has become the stuff of legend in the mountain biking endurance world. Mark, don't even get me started on the Strathpuffer. I raced this race last year, a 24-hour mountain bike endurance race in the Highlands of Scotland. Brutal conditions, average temperature below zero, 17 to 18 hours of depending on how nice a day you have up there. Constantly wet, constantly cold, brutally muddy. It destroys you and the bike, but you come out the other side smiling that you've managed to make it round. I can't remember how many laps I did. I did finish ninth overall in solo men. It's about a 12K loop, and I think I did about 240 to 250K in total. Jumping back over the pond, Rich also tells me that the Old Pueblo 24-hour race in Tucson, Arizona is equally as hard in its own unique way. Rich did end up in hospital after this one, so maybe we'll just scoot over this one. Now, time for a proper US epic. In 1982, the Great American Road Race began, now known as the Race Across America, or RAM. The name says it all. This is a race from the West Coast of America to the East Coast, approximately 3,000 miles or 4,800 kilometers. Now, unlike many other events of this kind of distance, this is not a stage race. This is a non-stop from start to finish event with the fastest competitors needing slightly over seven days to complete the course. It's in traditional form. RAM is a solo competitor event, a non-stop individual time trial. This has since stretched out into various relay formats too. We've got two-person, four, eight, mixed, et cetera. A race not too dissimilar in its relentless non-stop nature actually has popped up more recently, Badlands, an unsupported 800-kilometer route with over 16,000 meters of elevation through Andalusia. The route begins in Granada in the south of Spain, travels through two deserts, then snakes along the Mediterranean coast before climbing back into the mountains of Sierra Nevada. Maxime from GCN Francais took part in this this year and, well, even as an ex-pro cyclist, showcased just how hard it is. Whilst it's not classed as a race, more a personal adventure, naturally, cyclists try to push themselves to the limit. The fastest riders finish the technical and punishing course in a little over two days. An event that has been on my bucket list for some time now, Ultra Trail Mont Blanc or UTMB. It is widely regarded as the most competitive and toughest trail ultramarathon in the world. It starts and finishes in the town of Chamonix and it follows the route of the Tour de Mont Blanc, 171 kilometers with over 10,000 meters of elevation gain. While the best runners complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners actually take in the region of 32 to 46 hours to reach the finish line. Most runners will actually have to run through two nights to complete the race. In fact, I've actually heard multiple accounts from runners that have experienced hallucinations whilst running UTMB. We do this for fun. To round out, as I am a triathlete, the Ironman World Championships. Famously, this event has been held in Kona, Hawaii each October until recently, but we won't get into that right now. Whilst this is an event that you have to qualify for being the World Championships, the demands of this event are quite extraordinary. The average temperature at this time of year is low to mid-30 degrees Celsius, but the humidity can be well into the 80, if not 90% region. When you take into account that the athletes have to complete a 3.8-kilometer sea swim followed by a scorching 180-kilometer ride on the highway before they hit the marathon in the midday sun, it's pretty mind-blowing. Let's put this in relation. Numerous marathons have actually been canceled over the years when the temperature hit 30 degrees Celsius, approximately 86 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas this is normal for the Ironman World Championships. It's no wonder we have seen some almighty blow-ups and explosions from athletes over the years. There we go. There are some of the world's toughest endurance challenges and events. Let us know if any of them tickle your fancy or if you've actually completed or tried one of these. Let us know in the comment section down below. If you've enjoyed today's video, please give it a thumbs up, give it a like. Don't forget to subscribe.