Around the World in 80 runs

We ran in Tirana a good course around the Artificial lake and the Great Park. In the streets girls were performing folkloric dances.

• Selected book: “The succesor” by Ismail Kadare.

We ran the Antarctica Marathon in King George Island, a land of battering winds, penguins, magical glaciers and ice-dappled waters.

• Selected book: “Who goes there?”, by John W. Campbell.

We ran in the Reserva Ecológica Costanera in Buenos Aires during the extreme heat wave of summer 2023.

• Selected book: “Cuentos completos”, by Julio Cortázar.

Route along the Paraná river, in Iguazú (11 kms), where three countries meet: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

• Selected book: “Ficciones”, by Jorge Luis Borges.

“Run Melbourne” slogan comes true along the streets of the financial district, pedestrian riverbanks and lush parks next to Victorian houses.

• Selected book: “The mystery of the Hansom Cab“, by Fergus W. Hume.

We ran on a very hot day in the idylic town of Baden, famous for its thermal baths.

• Selected book: “The world of yesterday”, by Stefan Zweig.

While working for a few weeks in Andorra, we used to run in its capital, Andorra la Vella, and in Sant Julia de Loria.

• Selected book: “Els andorrans som així”, by Pere Moles Aristot.

The Sofia Marathon takes you back in time: you run amongst impressive state buildings and endless boulevards lined with Soviet skyscrapers.

• Selected book: “Under the yoke”, by Ivan Vazov.

During the 2014 Brazil Football World Cup, we enjoyed running in the beaches along the Bahia Coast.

• Selected book: “Veronika decides to die”, by Paulo Coelho.

We ran the 10K of the 21K of Montréal event, in the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in the Parc Jean Drapeau.

• Selected book: “Alias Grace” by Margaret Atwood.

We ran under the rain and a strong sun in the good track of Parque Simón Bolivar in Bogotá, the vibrant capital city of Colombia.

• Selected book: “One hundred years of Solitude”, by Gabriel García Márquez.

We ran with the Colombian troops and the police forces under the rain in the Race for the Heroes, organised in Bogotá.

• Selected book: “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, by Gabriel García Márquez.

We struggled in the heat running from Bocagrande to the old city of the “Jewel of the Caribbean”, Cartagena de Indias.

• Selected book: “Love in the Time of Cholera”, by Gabriel García Márquez.

Toko Ningana! We “shaked the town” of Kinshasa along with 700 locals in the 4th edition of the “Congo River Marathon”

• Selected book: “Heart of Darkness“, by Joseph Conrad.

We caught a glimpse of the brown waters of the Congo River as we ran through Kinshasa, with embassies and armed guards in Gombe and vibrant yet chaotic traffice everywhere else.

• Selected book: “Vagabundo en África”, by Javier Reverte.

Tallin’s Half Marathon offers a nice course, starting and finishing in the beautifully medieval Old Town, you later cross forests and run along the Baltic Sea!

• Selected book: “The Ropewalker” by Jaan Kross.

In one of our “vanlife” trips, we ran in the sandy paths of La Camargue, in the south of France.

• Selected book: “Madame Bovary”, by Gustave Flaubert.

We almost completed a half marathon during a casual run to and from Château de Chenonceau, next to the river Cher.

• Selected book: “A woman of thirty”, by Honoré de Balzac.

We ran on snowy paths through coniferous forests, above the Arctic Circle, at minus ten below zero… with elves at the aid stations and Santa Claus hanging the medal on you. This is the Rovaniemi Arctic Marathon.

• Selected book: “Purge”, by Sofi Oksanen.

We ran 42k through the streets of Berlin, ending up racing to the iconic Brandenburg Gate, and witnessed Kipchoge stop the timer at 2:01:09.

• Selected book: “My century”, by Günter Grass.

Running along Annalong’s Coastal Path allows you to observe the daily life of a Northern Irish town without the beautifying filter of tourist enclaves. 

• Selected book: “Banjaxed”, by Grainne Tobin.

We ran the London Marathon, our first Marathon Major, while we were living in this great city, and were able to enjoy it from a local’s perspective.

• Selected book: “Hard times”, by Charles Dickens.

Running 10 kms around London city centre to the beat of music bands and drummers was an electrifying experience.

• Selected book: “Capital” by John Lanchester.

A nice 10k run organized professionally in Hyde Park, but without the massification of other London events.

Here is where I set my PB in 10k: 48m48s!

• Selected book: “Journeys”, by Stefan Zweig (Hyde Park chapter)

We ran a very local race with a beatiful course, along the seafront, in Athens.

• Selected book: “Heart of Ulysses”, by Javier Reverte.

The Polar Circle Marathon in Greenland is about extremes: extreme weather, extreme running conditions, and extreme beauty.

• Selected book: “Artic drift”, by Clive Cussler.

While working in Hungary’s charming and monumental capital city, we used to run in Margaret Island, an oasis of peace in the middle of the city live.

• Selected book: “The door”, by Magda Szabó.

We ran Iceland’s Volcano Marathon: a challenging course that takes you up Hverfjall volcano.

• Selected book: “Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was”, by Sjón.

In Bali, we ran at dawn along the dark and impressive basalt cliffs home to Pura Tanah Lot, “the temple of the land in the sea”, while the sun turned the sky pale pink, and our footsteps were echoed by the roaring of the waves.

• Selected book: “A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul: Inspector Singh Investigates”, by Shamini Flint.

In May, running along the impressive cliffs of Howth Head allows you to enjoy every shade of green in its luscious nature, the limpid blue of the Dublin Bay sea, the fierce yellow of the gorse, and the violets of its heathers.

• Selected book: “Ulysses“, by James Joyce.

Running amongst the most beatiful buildings, the massive Piazza del Campo, famous for the Palio, the Cathedral or the Palazo Salimbeni.

• Selected book: “Don Camilo”, by Giovanni Guareschi.

We really enjoyed going up and down the hills in the Cinque Terre coast, around La Spezia: we went from town to town, marvelling at their beauty.

• Selected book: “The Borgia”, by Mario Puzo.

We ran Asia’s biggest marathon on a spectacular sunny day and the first cherry blossoms. The always surprising Tokyo with its avenues full of advertising billboards, Shinto temples and communication towers that are symbols of progress.

• Selected book: “Shogun”, by James Clavell.

Our footsteps echoed in gorges that hide lost civilizations, and we put ourselves to the test climbing dizzying slopes under a blazing sun.

• Selected book: “Appointment with Death” (“Cita con la muerte”) by Agatha Christie.

We ran a lap around Almaty’s city centre for the Half Marathon, not an easy one, with the stunning background of the snowed peaks of the Tien-Shan mountains.

• Selected book: “The Nomads” (Volume I of the “Kazakh Trilogy”) by Ilyas Esenberlin

On a quiet September morning we enjoyed a run around the vast urban spaces of monumental Bishkek, with a gigantic Kyrgyz flag, soviet murals, a ferris wheel and the snowed Ala-Too mountains in the background.

• Selected book for travelling to Kyrgyzstan: “Jamilia” by Chingiz Aitmatov.

A running route across the beautiful Bastejkalna Park and around Riga’s City Center seeing landmarks like the iconic BlackHeads House and the Cathedral.

• Selected book: “Soviet milk“, by Nora Ikstena.

We ran the Manobegimas race of 10k, a part of the Marathon Vilnius Sunday: a great course on a sunny day to finish our Baltic Challenge in Lithuania.

• Selected book for travelling to Lithuania: “Vilnius Poker“, by Ricardas Gavelis.

As preparation for the Madagascar Half Marathon, we ran a little over 5 kilometers in the spectacular setting of Ivalo National Park in Madagascar while the sun was setting.

• Selected book: “Terre Cruelle“, by Gilbert Colombié

In the Madagascar marathon, a demanding race through rocky and sandy terrain, I was the first woman in the half marathon. But my best reward was running in such a setting.

• Selected book: “Beyond the Rice Fields“, by Naivo

We felt like professionals running on a rubber track in the KLCC park, right in front of the Petronas Twin Towers. We competed with locals on a 1,2 kms loop around magnificent gardens.

• Selected book: “Time for a tiger”, by Anthony Burgess.

The Sofia Marathon takes you back in time: you run amongst impressive state buildings and endless boulevards lined with Soviet skyscrapers.

• Selected book: “A Siberian Education”, by Nikolai Lilin.

We ran with sculptures all around us and stray dogs (who were as fast as us) in this well organised half marathon, flat and with a lot of hydration.

• Selected book: “A spare life” by Lidija Dimkovska.

Two centuries after Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote “The ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around“, in Norway they reimagine the experience in a much more festive way: running on the frozen Tisleifjorden lake.

• Selected book: “Sixteen Trees of the Somme”, by Lars Mytting.

We ran at dawn around the “Cinta Costera”, above Pacific Ocean’s waters, and in the Casco Viejo, enjoying its colourful streets.

• Selected book: “La rebelión de los poetas“, by Juan David Morgan.

We completed the half marathon distance of the “Lima42K” in a perfect day for running, and became finishers of the “7 Continents Challenge”!

• Selected book: “Contra viento y marea (Making waves)”, by Mario Vargas Llosa.

We ran in the historical centre of Warsaw, and we even saw the great Palace of Kultur, also known as “Stalin’s last erection”.

• Selected book: “The doll”, by Boleslaw Prus.

Dressed with Santa Claus hats, we ran in the center of Lisbon, illuminated with Christmas lights, for the traditional São Silvestre race.

• Selected book: “Pereira maintains”, Antonio Tabucchi

During the Russia World Cup 2018, we ran in the sea resort of Sochi, right before the Spain vs. Portugal game.

• Selected book: “Crime and Punishment”, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

We ran the first Riyadh marathon, in a country that lives between the most closed tradition and the desire for modernity.

• Selected book: “Seven pillars of wisdom”, by T.E. Lawrence.

We ran accross the Ada Bridge while serbian flags were waving and through the historic center, still with ruins of the NATO bombings.

• Selected book: “Catch the Rabbit”, by Lana Bastašić.

Running in Singapore feels like being in a science fiction movie, due to the exuberance of its flora, like that of an imaginary planet, and the glass-enclosed verticality of its modern buildings.

• Selected book: “King Rat”, by James Clavell.

On a cold February morning, with sleet falling from very grey skies, we took part in the “Gyeonggi International Half Marathon”. We ran the streets of Suwon, filled with sky scrappers and tiny shops, in a race popular with locals.

• Selected book: “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee.

Our first marathon, in our city. The most special race in my life, when we became marathoners in front of our family.

• Selected book: “The time of the doves” (“La plaça del diamant”) by Merçè Rodoreda.

We ran in El Rocio, seing the “Blanca Paloma”, and crossing paths with locals that were still partying on the first day of the year 2024.

• Selected book: “El club de los acontecimientos extraordinarios”, by Marta Padilla.

We ran up the Medellin castle, in the town where Hernan Cortes was born, and we also ran past its Roman theather.

• Selected book: “Los girasoles ciegos”, by Alberto Méndez.

We ran in the forests of Navarra, going uphill to celebrate the first day of the year.

• Selected book: “La ciudad de los prodigios”, by Eduardo Mendoza.

We ran in the beautiful Sevilla, in the Plaza España and along the river Guadalquivir, passing by la Torre del Oro and seeing the Giralda in the background.

• Selected book: “La reina del sur”, Arturo Pérez-Reverte.

We ran in the beaches of Northern Spain and the old town of Comillas on a cold December morning.

• Selected book: “Rimas y leyendas”, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer.

While living in Geneva, I was able to qualify and run with the elite athletes in the “Escaladelite”, part of the “Course de l’Escalade”, a true tradition in Geneva.

• Selected book: “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley.

We ran with local kids and across the Zarafshon river on a suspension bridge which deck was made of wood while the sun was setting in the legendary Fann mountains.

• Selected book: “Hurramabad” by Andrej Volos.

Following on the footsteps of the famous “The beach” character, we ran on marvelous beaches in Koh Samui in Thailand.

• Selected book: “The beach”, by Alex Garland. 

We ran with the locals and went up the “Cristo Rei” in the relatively unknown capital of Timor-Leste, Dili.

• Selected book: “The crossing”, by Luis Cardoso.

We traveled to Tunis to run a race which takes place from 1986, and crosses Lake of Tunis, finishing at the feet of the Clock Tower.

• Selected book: “The English Patient”, by Michael Ondaatje.

We travelled back in time to run along the Goldern Horn and the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

• Selected book: “The new life”, by Orhan Pamuk.

In a land of luxury, high tech and unapologetic ostentation, we recovered after a marathon. We ran 5 kilometers around the tallest building in the world, in Dubai, where every bit of land has been reclaimed from the harsh desert.

• Selected book: “The Dog”, by Joseph O’Neill.

In 2017 I completed a dream of mine since I was a kid watching on TV thousands of runners crossing the Verrazano bridge: Running the NYC Marathon!

• Selected book: “The catcher in the rye”, by J.D. Salinger.

We ran across historical railway bridges in downtown Chicago and alongside Lake Michigan for the Chicago Marathon on a very rainy day.

• Selected book: “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, by Audrey Niffenegger.

We finished the oldest and most legendary urban marathon in the world, becoming Six Stars Finishers.

• Selected book: “A drink before the war”, by Dennis Lehane.

We ran along Montevideo‘s seafront and its beaches, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of this beatiful city.

• Selected book: “Alive: the story of the Andes survivors”, by Piers Paul Read.

In 2024 I celebrated my birthday by running in Tashkent. Discovering a new city very early in the morning, enjoying its wide avenues, parks and monumental buildings with a lot of marble and a Soviet taste. 

• Selected book: “The Devil’s Dance” by Hamid Ismailov.

We ran 5 kilometers along La Guaira beaches, mixing with the locals returning home, on a Saturday afternoon.

• Selected book: “Iphigenia” (Ifigenia), by Teresa de la Parra.

We ran in the Parque del Este, in Caracas, enjoying its diverse attractions in the middle of the complete chaos that the capital city of Venezuela is.

• Selected book: “Latidos de Caracas“, by Gisela Kozak Rovero,

We ventured into the wild, from Canaima to Ucaima falls, and ended up running next to Canaimas airstrip while planes where landing.

• Selected book: “Canaima“, by Rómulo Gallegos.