Holiday MARATHON FEVER

MARATHONS ARE NO LONGER THE PRESERVE OF BOSTON, LONDON AND NEW YORK. THE TREND HAS SEEPED INTO THE WILDEST PLACES, FROM PHUKET TO THE HIMALAYAS. SAM FRY REPORTS ON THE RACES TO RUN, AND WHERE TO SPEND THE REST OF THE HOLIDAY AT COMO HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE

The first marathon was run by Pheidippides, a Greek who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to the capital, Athens, to announce victory over the Persians in 490 BC. In modern times, this Greek messenger’s athletic feat has become a fitness obsession. More than half a million people run a marathon in America every year, according to Running USA, with 50,000 of these competitors taking part in the New York Marathon – the largest of its kind in the world. Marathon running is also becoming a unique reason to travel, with races taking place in almost every corner of the globe, from Afghanistan to the South Pole.

Exhausted, Pheidippides fell onto his face in the Athenian dirt at the end of the first ever marathon. These days, runners are booking stays in luxury hotels for the end of their race, and slipping into Javanese Royal Lulur Baths instead. The holiday marathon trend is taking off. “It’s a really intimate way to connect with a destination,” says Eve Persak, consultant nutritionist at COMO Hotels and Resorts and a keen marathon runner herself. “Travel and running both celebrate the exploration of boundaries and beg the question: how far can I go? One requires a passport to hand. The other requires two feet.”