{"id":2462267,"date":"2017-01-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/uncategorized\/around-world-183-miles\/"},"modified":"2021-06-30T07:02:29","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T07:02:29","slug":"around-world-183-miles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/health\/training-performance\/around-world-183-miles\/","title":{"rendered":"Around the World in 183 Miles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The World Marathon Challenge<\/a> may be the greatest running event you\u2019ve never heard of. This January, more than 35 runners will travel via charter plane to knock out 26.2-mile runs in Chile, Miami, Madrid, Marrakesh, Dubai, Australia, and, yes, Antarctica\u2014all in seven consecutive\u00a0days. \u201cYou\u2019re racing against top athletes in harsh conditions, ranging from the tundra to blazing-hot streets,\u201d says first-timer Michael Wardian, 42, a pro ultrarunner who\u2019s completed some of the sport\u2019s toughest events. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first two iterations of the WMC featured modest fields; just nine men and one woman raced in 2015. That may be because it\u2019s so expensive\u2014the entry fee is nearly $40,000. But the event is gaining traction, pulling in big-name runners like Wardian and Ryan Hall<\/a>, who holds the American record for the fastest half marathon. (Wardian is paying his own way, but Hall\u2019s sponsors are picking up his tab.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI was retired and not even enjoying running very much when I heard about the WMC,\u201d Hall says. \u201cBut the concept drew me in. It\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Wardian has a knack for odd challenges like this one (he holds the world record for the fastest 50K on a treadmill), the WMC is completely out of Hall\u2019s comfort zone. \u201cIt never even crossed my mind to run back-to-back marathons before,\u201d the 34-year-old Olympian says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Running 183.4 miles in 168 hours will obviously be difficult, but race director Richard Donovan says all that continent hopping is the true hurdle. Flights between stages range from two hours (Madrid to Marrakesh) to a cramp-inducing 17 (Dubai to Sydney), and runners will have to adjust their recovery patterns as they go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Competitors spend only 12-to-14 hours on each continent, and that includes the time it takes to clear customs. The WMC kicks off at its most extreme location, Antarctica, where runners must spend 48 hours adjusting to the temperature (average: 16 degrees). After that the group fly\u00a0to Chile and do it all again, no matter what time they happen to land. (Last year the Marrakesh marathon started at midnight.) You can follow their progress at worldmarathonchallenge.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

By The Numbers<\/h2>\n

24:46:56<\/strong>
\n\tFastest total time, set by Dan Cartica in 2016.<\/p>\n

16\u00b0F<\/strong>
\n\tTemperature athletes are likely to encounter in Antarctica, the lowest in the event.<\/p>\n

77\u00b0F<\/strong>
\n\tTemperature they can expect in Australia and Dubai\u2014the highest.<\/p>\n

168<\/strong>
\n\tNumber of hours participants have to complete the race.<\/p>\n

23,612<\/strong>
\n\tTotal air miles covered during the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The World Marathon Challenge may be the greatest running event you\u2019ve never heard of. This January, more than 35 runners will travel via charter plane to knock out 26.2-mile runs in Chile, Miami, Madrid, Marrakesh, Dubai, Australia, and, yes, Antarctica\u2014all in seven consecutive\u00a0days. \u201cYou\u2019re racing against top athletes in harsh conditions, ranging from the tundra … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44696,"featured_media":2149076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"uuid":"ff8bee65313bb61a49f3b13c9abdee44","footnotes":""},"categories":[2553],"tags":[2776,2613],"byline":[1187],"ad_cat":[],"legacy-category":[],"class_list":["post-2462267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training-performance","tag-racing","tag-running","byline-graham-averill"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Around the World in 183 Miles","url":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/health\/training-performance\/around-world-183-miles\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/health\/training-performance\/around-world-183-miles\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/12\/around-the-world-marathoners_h.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/12\/around-the-world-marathoners_h.jpg"},"articleSection":"Training & Performance","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"jversteegh"}],"creator":["jversteegh"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online","logo":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/favicon-194x194-1.png"},"keywords":["racing","running"],"dateCreated":"2017-01-25T00:00:00Z","datePublished":"2017-01-25T00:00:00Z","dateModified":"2021-06-30T07:02:29Z"},"rendered":"