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 around the tallest building on Earth, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai
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 Arabian desert.
The Poseidon Half Marathon in the historical Piraeus port of Athens
In the land of Homer's heroes and more than three thousand years after the swift Achilles, we ran the Poseidon Half Marathon in the mythical port of Piraeus, southwest of Athens.
Race for the Heroes (“Carrera de los Héroes”) in Bogotá
Under the rain we ran alongside Colombian military corps, hearing them shouting hymns while splashing water with their powerful treading. We were in a race for the Colombian military heroes!
Running in “the Jewel of the Caribbean”: Cartagena de Indias
We struggled in the Caribbean heat but we were rewarded at the end, when we could run on top of the walls of a old colonial fort and reached the centre of "The Jewel of the Caribbean": Cartagena de Indias.
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.
Run in Bishkek, at the feet of the Ala-Too mountains of Kyrgyztan
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.
Running in Bastejkalna Park and Riga’s Old Town, Latvia
A 5k running route across the beautiful Bastejkalna Park and, if you don’t mind running on cobblestone streets, around Riga’s City Center seeing landmarks like the iconic BlackHeads House and the Cathedral.
Around the walls of the ancient city of Khiva, in Uzbekistan
We ran around the walls of the old Khiva city, a stunning construction of adobe and mud that protects the Itchan Kala, a UNESCO world heritage site with marvels like the Kalta Minor Minaret.
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.