Pass The Passport

The best of

My top 25 races around the world (and the ones I'm still chasing)

Running is how I see a lot of the world. A race gives a trip a point, and there's no better way to see a city than running through the middle of it with the roads closed.

These are my 25 favourite races: the ones I've run first, with my times, then the big ones still on my list.

14 of 25 ticked off

  1. Berlin Marathon ✓
  2. Marathon du Médoc ✓
  3. Chicago Marathon ✓
  4. Midnight Sun Marathon ✓
  5. Greenland Marathon ✓
  6. Rome Marathon ✓
  7. London to Brighton Ultra ✓
  8. Thames Path Challenge ✓
  9. Rat Race Santorini ✓
  10. Amsterdam Marathon ✓
  11. Little Rock Marathon ✓
  12. Spartan Beast, Andorra ✓
  13. Spartan Ultra, Liberec ✓
  14. Hoover Dam Half Marathon ✓
  15. London Marathon
  16. Comrades Marathon
  17. Marathon des Sables
  18. Great Wall Marathon
  19. Antarctica Marathon
  20. Polar Circle Marathon
  21. New York City Marathon
  22. Tokyo Marathon
  23. Boston Marathon
  24. Sydney Marathon
  25. An Ironman
  1. A man wearing a medal standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

    1 Berlin Marathon

    Berlin, Germany✓ Been: September 2026

    The flattest and fastest of the World Marathon Majors, finishing through the Brandenburg Gate.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:14:54 (my marathon PB)
    When it's held
    September
    Getting a place
    A ballot that opens months before; charity and tour-operator places too.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  2. An enormous inflatable wine bottle with a Marathon du Médoc label against a blue sky.

    2 Marathon du Médoc

    Médoc, near Bordeaux, France✓ Been: September 2026

    A marathon through the Bordeaux vineyards with wine stops at the châteaux. Nobody runs it for a time, which is why I've done it twice.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My times: 6:11:56 (2016) and 6:09:18 (2026)
    When it's held
    September
    Getting a place
    Entry opens months ahead and sells out. Fancy dress is expected.

    Find a hotel

  3. Chicago's skyline lit up at dawn across the water in Grant Park, on Chicago Marathon morning.

    3 Chicago Marathon

    Chicago, USA✓ Been: October 2026

    One of the World Marathon Majors, flat and fast, through 29 neighbourhoods with huge crowds the whole way.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:36:24
    When it's held
    October
    Getting a place
    A lottery, a qualifying time or a charity place.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  4. Tromsø and its island spread across the fjord, with snowy mountains beyond

    4 Midnight Sun Marathon

    Tromsø, Norway✓ Been: June 2018

    It starts in the evening and you run through the night in full daylight, 350 km north of the Arctic Circle.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:24:47
    When it's held
    June
    Getting a place
    Enter online; places are easy to get compared with the big city races.

    Find a hotel

  5. Dan standing in the snow above Ilulissat in Greenland

    5 Greenland Marathon

    Ilulissat, Greenland✓ Been: May 2022

    A marathon in a small Arctic town next to the Ilulissat Icefjord, with icebergs as the view.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 4:36:05
    When it's held
    May
    Getting a place
    Enter online; it's a small race, so the travel is the hard part.

    Find a hotel

  6. Rome Marathon
    Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

    6 Rome Marathon

    Rome, Italy✓ Been: March 2026

    A marathon through 2,000 years of history, starting and finishing by the Colosseum.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:17:50
    When it's held
    March
    Getting a place
    Enter online; it doesn't need a ballot.

    Find a hotel

  7. The last light of sunset over the South Downs during the London to Brighton ultra.

    7 London to Brighton Ultra

    London to Brighton, UK✓ Been: May 2024

    A hundred kilometres from London to the sea, over the North and South Downs to the sea.

    The numbers
    102 km. My time: 16:03:45
    When it's held
    May
    Getting a place
    Enter online with the organiser, Action Challenge.

    On my bucket list

  8. Thames Path Challenge

    8 Thames Path Challenge

    London to Henley, UK✓ Been: September 2018

    A hundred kilometres along the Thames, from Putney out into the countryside to Henley.

    The numbers
    100 km. My times: 17:33:26 (2014) and 13:41:22 (2018, my 100 km PB)
    When it's held
    September
    Getting a place
    Enter online with Action Challenge; you can walk, jog or run it.

  10. Kayakers paddling past the towering caldera cliffs of Santorini

    9 Rat Race Santorini

    Santorini, Greece✓ Been: October 2022

    Kayaking and running around the Santorini caldera, with the white villages above you.

    The numbers
    44 km of kayaking and running. My time: 5:50:00
    When it's held
    October
    Getting a place
    Book through Rat Race, who sell it as a race weekend.

    Find a hotel

  11. Amsterdam's famous 'dancing houses' leaning over the water on Damrak

    10 Amsterdam Marathon

    Amsterdam, Netherlands✓ Been: October 2022

    A flat route along the Amstel and through the city, starting and finishing in the 1928 Olympic Stadium.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:48:39
    When it's held
    October
    Getting a place
    Enter online; it fills up but there's no ballot.

    Find a hotel

  12. Colourful oversized Little Rock Marathon medals with my race bibs.

    11 Little Rock Marathon

    Little Rock, Arkansas, USA✓ Been: March 2017

    Famous for having one of the biggest finisher's medals in the world, and a friendly small-city race.

    The numbers
    42.2 km. My time: 3:34:53
    When it's held
    March
    Getting a place
    Enter online.

    Find a hotel

  13. Snow-dusted Pyrenean peaks and pine forest under a bright blue sky in Andorra

    12 Spartan Beast, Andorra

    Andorra✓ Been: September 2017

    A Spartan Beast up and down the Pyrenees, which makes the obstacles the easy part.

    The numbers
    21 km of mountain and obstacles. My time: 5:30:50
    When it's held
    September
    Getting a place
    Book through Spartan Race.

    Find a hotel

  14. Large metal obstacle rig on a grassy slope with people nearby on a sunny day.

    13 Spartan Ultra, Liberec

    Liberec, Czechia✓ Been: August 2025

    A Spartan Ultra in the hills around Liberec, in the north of Czechia.

    The numbers
    My time: 4:29:00
    When it's held
    Late August
    Getting a place
    Book through Spartan Race Czech Republic.

    Find a hotel

  15. Smiling man in orange-lensed sunglasses taking a selfie in front of the Hoover Dam's concrete face.

    14 Hoover Dam Half Marathon

    Near Las Vegas, USA✓ Been: December 2025

    A half marathon in the desert by Lake Mead, towards the Hoover Dam.

    The numbers
    21.1 km. My time: 1:39:15
    When it's held
    December
    Getting a place
    Enter online; easy to add to a Las Vegas trip.

    Find a hotel

  16. London Marathon

    15 London Marathon

    London, UKOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The biggest fundraising race in the world, and my home Major. I'm running it in April 2027.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    April
    Getting a place
    The public ballot opens the year before; or a charity place.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  17. Comrades Marathon
    Photo: Upjav, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    16 Comrades Marathon

    Durban to Pietermaritzburg, South AfricaOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The oldest and biggest ultramarathon in the world, run between two cities, with the direction changing every year.

    The numbers
    About 90 km
    When it's held
    June
    Getting a place
    Enter online; you need a qualifying marathon time.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  18. Marathon des Sables
    Photo: Achim Knacksterdt (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    17 Marathon des Sables

    Sahara, southern MoroccoOn my list

    Why it's on my list: Known as one of the toughest footraces on Earth: a week across the desert, carrying your own food and kit.

    The numbers
    About 250 km over six stages
    When it's held
    April
    Getting a place
    Enter through the organiser, usually well over a year ahead.

    On my bucket list

  19. Great Wall Marathon
    Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    18 Great Wall Marathon

    Huangyaguan, Tianjin, ChinaOn my list

    Why it's on my list: It's two of my goals in one: a marathon, with long sections on the Great Wall itself.

    The numbers
    42.2 km, with thousands of steps
    When it's held
    May
    Getting a place
    Book a race package through the organiser or an agent.

    On my bucket list

  20. Antarctica Marathon
    Photo: Christopher Michel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    19 Antarctica Marathon

    King George Island, AntarcticaOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The marathon on the seventh continent, and the one that completes a marathon on every continent.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    March (King George Island) or November to December (Union Glacier)
    Getting a place
    Places are sold as an expedition package and go years ahead.

    On my bucket list

  21. Polar Circle Marathon
    Photo: Capricorn4049, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    20 Polar Circle Marathon

    Kangerlussuaq, GreenlandOn my list

    Why it's on my list: It starts on the Greenland ice cap itself, a different side of Greenland from the race I've done.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    October
    Getting a place
    Book a race package through the organiser.

    On my bucket list

  22. New York City Marathon

    21 New York City Marathon

    New York, USAOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The biggest marathon in the world, through all five boroughs and over the Verrazzano Bridge.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    November
    Getting a place
    A lottery, a qualifying time, or a charity or tour-operator place.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  23. Tokyo Marathon

    22 Tokyo Marathon

    Tokyo, JapanOn my list

    Why it's on my list: One of the World Marathon Majors, and one of the hardest to get a place in.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    March
    Getting a place
    A lottery with long odds; charity and tour-operator places too.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  24. Boston Marathon

    23 Boston Marathon

    Boston, USAOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The oldest annual marathon in the world, and the one you have to qualify for.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    April
    Getting a place
    A qualifying time for your age, or a charity place.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  25. Sydney Marathon

    24 Sydney Marathon

    Sydney, AustraliaOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The newest World Marathon Major, over the Harbour Bridge and finishing by the Opera House.

    The numbers
    42.2 km
    When it's held
    Late August or September
    Getting a place
    A ballot, or a charity or tour-operator place.

    On my bucket listFind a hotel

  26. An Ironman
    Photo: Francis Franklin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    25 An Ironman

    Races worldwideOn my list

    Why it's on my list: The full-distance triathlon is the big endurance test I haven't done yet.

    The numbers
    3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run
    When it's held
    Races all year round
    Getting a place
    Enter a race through Ironman; the popular ones sell out fast.

    On my bucket list

Pick one, enter the ballot and build a trip around it. Then tell me which race I should add next.

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about that.

More of the best