
Chaos, folklore and a “park run”: Tirana Marathon
We ran in Tirana a good course around the Artificial lake and the Great Park. In the streets girls were performing folkloric dances. Could have been a great race but the organization was not up to the standard, with chaos at the starting line.

Running in Santa’s home: the Artic Marathon in Finland
Running 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.

At the feet of snowed mountains: the Almaty Half Marathon
We ran the largest sport event in Central Asia: a tough half marathon, with 700m altitude and uphill the first 7 kilometers, but with the stunning background of the peaks of the Thian Shan mountain.

Skopje: sculptures, graffiti and stray dogs running the marathon
In Skopje, North Macedonia's capital, a city with more sculptures than residents, ornated bridges and too many graffitis, we ran a well organised half marathon with stray dogs following at a decent pace.

Running by the Baltic Sea in Tallinn Half Marathon
Tallinn is a Half Marathon to enjoy! It offers a very nice course, flat and wide: starting and finishing in the beautifully medieval Old Town, you later cross forests and run along the Baltic Sea!

“Our race” in Vilnius Old Town: the ManoBegimas 10k
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.

Mura, mura! Winning the Madagascar Half Marathon
In the Madagascar marathon, a demanding race through rocky, sandy terrain and unforgiving sun, I was the first woman in the half marathon. But my best reward was having run through a setting of extreme beauty, the Ivalo National Park.

Lima42K: a perfect race in Perú to complete our 7 Continents Challenge
On a perfect day for running, 19,000 runners took the streets of Lima, painting them with the bright yellow of the official shirts. We were two of them, to finish the half marathon and complete our 7 Continents Challenge!

Toko Ningana! The Congo River Marathon
We absolutely enjoyed taking part of the Congo River Half Marathon in vibrant and chaotic Kinshasa, with military men shouting "courage!" and hundreds of locals with colourful tshirts running. This is a marathon like no other, in a country that will surprise you, unnerve you and fascinate you a the same time!

Running in the chaotic streets of Kinshasa
One rainy day we caught a glimpse of the brown waters of the Congo River as we ran through Kinshasa's richest neighborhood, Gombe, with many embassies behind high walls with barbed wire and heavily armed guards everywhere.