Location: Carreg Cadno, WalesPhoto: Ian AldermanRunner: Damien ThomasThe experience: On the southern edge of Brecon Beacon National Park and at an altitude of 538m, the peak of Carreg Cadno sits above the once industrious brick-manufacturing village

Leaving on a jet plane for an overseas event? Lucky you! Here’s how to make sure you hit the ground running and avoid having a racing holiday from hell. Bon voyage!BEFORE YOU GOGetting A VisaWithout the correct visa you might never get off

at these altitudes (2784 metres). Taking your woolly hat to the South of France in August may seem bizarre, but runners came up against -4°C temperatures at the summit last year. And for those tending towards masochism, a separate ranking is run for those carrying

’s 10 toughest marathons. The course is 1650m above sea level, and it’s in a game reserve. I told him he was mad.He kept badgering me, until eventually I was converted to his way of thinking, much to my wife’s disapproval.Altitude was certainly going

. If that sounds too strenuous, there are also two shorter races: the two lakes trail is a 22K event starting at Plagne Bellecote and climbing up to Dou du Plaz to join the 6000D course, while the Randoplagne is an 11K race that links the various high-altitude

- there was an elephant on the course. As we waited for a helicopter to shoo it away, the words of the Kenyan commentator rang in my ears: "This is the only marathon in the world where lions run free on the course!"Held at an altitude of 1,680m and with 300m of ascent

square in front of the church.NOVEMBER 26 - AKAMAS MULTITERRAIN HALF MARATHONThe Multiterrain Half-Marathon starts in the Smigies forest at an altitude of 274m. From here there is a steady climb up through the Akamas forest until it thins out and becomes

: April 26Madrid’s most important athletic event has seen around 200,000 runners attempt to complete the 42.2K run within the six-hour time limit, but only 120,000 have been successful to date – it is without a doubt survival of the fittest. The well

: the Rotterdam Marathon is, quite possibly, one of the fastest courses in the world. The nearest you will come to a hill are the underpasses and occasional bridges, It’s the largest one-day sporting event in the Netherlands and also attracts a large number

on the course for six and a half hours and that this is not only the first marathon for most of them, but some of them haven’t even tackled a road race before. Their secret? They’ve been training on the high-altitude, sun-baked lava fields of Hawaii, where