3 unique marathons in unusual places

Running a marathon can be an opportunity to discover unusual and unique places while running the 42.195 kilometers of a marathon. We have listed three marathons in Europe that have a unique feature and take place in places that have something magical. Running these marathons is an opportunity, beyond the sporting performance, and for the space of a long weekend or a short week to discover these three places full of history and a unique flavor: the 'original' marathon that goes from the city of Marathon to Athens in Greece, the Istanbul Marathon and the Bosphorus in Turkey, and the Mont Saint Michel Marathon in France in the bay surrounding this unique place in the world.

The original marathon from the city of Marathon to that of Athens

The first unique marathon in an unusual place is a bit like a return to the roots or a pilgrimage to where the marathon myth was born. It is 490 BC. The Athenians are at war with the Persians around the city of Marathon, about forty kilometers northeast of Athens. A soldier named Philippides is tasked with informing Athens of his army's victory. Legend has it that he ran from the city of Marathon to Athens to bring the good news. He arrived in Athens, delivered the news of the victory before collapsing and dying of exhaustion.

Running this historic and original marathon is a bit like paying homage to this courageous soldier and coming more than 2500 years after this mythical episode in the history of Athens to run on the same original route that goes from the city of Marathon to that of Athens. You couldn't make it up, the starting city is called Marathon, hence the name given to this mythical race during the first Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896.

Fortunately, the race is now very well organized like any modern marathon event with a marked course and refreshment points placed all along the marathon. You will follow in the footsteps of Philippides for the duration of a marathon without, however and fortunately, having to relive the difficult conditions of his legendary and original race. Last important point to know about this original marathon from the city of Marathon to that of Athens, the finish is judged in the middle of the Panathenaic stadium where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were organized in 1896.

Between the original route from the city of Marathon to that of Athens and the arrival in a stadium linked to the history of the Olympic Games, you will experience a unique marathon, full of history and symbolism in an almost initiatory place, the one where the race of a soldier took place who would become a myth and who would give birth millennia later to a unique and famous race on all continents, the marathon. A race that remains a highlight every 4 years of the Olympic Games with an arrival in the middle of the Olympic athletics stadium and a delirious crowd to celebrate these mythical figures of sport that are the marathon runners.

The Istanbul Marathon

The Istanbul Marathon is unique because it is the only marathon that starts on one continent, in this case Asia, and ends on another continent, Europe. The marathon starts on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and crosses the famous strait on one of the great bridges connecting the two banks of the Bosphorus. 42 kilometers further on, the finish is in the old city of Istanbul on the European side, not far from the Topkapi Palace. The marathon is run partly along the banks of the Bosphorus, which remains a unique place in the world, a magnificent strait 32 kilometers long and which connects two seas, the Black Sea to the north of the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara to the south, which allows you to reach the Mediterranean Sea further to the west. It is also a strait located in the middle of a gigantic city, Istanbul with more than 16 million inhabitants, a city full of history with its magnificent palaces like that of Topkapi where the sultans of the Ottoman Empire resided and its famous mosques like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia or Saint Sophia.

On the marathon side, you should know that the Istanbul marathon course is relatively flat. After crossing the bridge spanning the Bosphorus and taking you from Asia to Europe and a long descent bringing you back to the Bosphorus, you will stay on the European side of the Bosphorus and make a long round trip along the coast overlooking the Marmara Sea. You will get closer to the city's old airport and then return on the same path again towards the Bosphorus. At the very end of the marathon, you will have to go back up towards the old city on your left. The last kilometers of a marathon are already difficult, so when you also have to do them uphill, it clearly adds a little spice to the finish and you have to grit your teeth for a few more moments. But once this last difficulty is behind you, you will long remember a unique marathon in the middle of a gigantic city and taking place along a magical place, the Bosphorus Strait.

The Mont Saint Michel marathon

To complete our list of 3 unique marathons in unusual places in Europe, we return to France on the Atlantic coast in the famous bay of Mont Saint Michel. Mont Saint Michel is a unique place, an island almost intermittently at the mercy of the tides. It is also a place full of history with ancient origins dating back to the end of the first millennium AD.

Running a marathon from the town of Cancale to the west of Mont Saint Michel and then along the large and magnificent bay of Mont Saint Michel, it is a rare opportunity to discover this legendary place that is the bay of Mont Saint Michel and then to finish the marathon in front of this unique destination in the world, Mont Saint Michel.

On the marathon side, it's a rolling course that's conducive to performance that awaits you. The Mont Saint Michel marathon is also one of the rare marathons in the world where, in clear weather, the finish is visible from start to finish. It can be both motivating when the goal is getting closer and a little demotivating when there's still a long distance to go to get closer to it. In any case, it remains a unique marathon in an unusual and famous place well beyond the French borders.

Istanbul, Marathon-Athens and Mont Saint Michel are three unusual and magical destinations for running unique marathons in places full of history and famous throughout the world. Three invitations to travel and discover mythical places while taking on a major sporting challenge: running a marathon.