AFRICA
The Safaricom Half Marathon Who needs a Land Rover when you can race across Kenya’s grasslands on foot, in the name of conservation?
LEWA HOUSE
ORIENTATION Start/End // Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Distance // 13 miles (21km) Getting there // Lewa is a four-hour drive, or a 45-minute flight, from Nairobi. Where to stay // The nine lodges on Lewa usually book up long in advance with corporate groups and the like, but overseas guests stay at Maridadi Camp – an ‘athletes’ village’ with canvas tents and campbeds set up for runners and spectators.
START
FINISH
AUSTRALIA
A tour of Tasmania’s Freycinet Peninsula This devilishly delightful trail run covers it all, from the high ground of the Hazards to the pinot grigio-clear waters of Wineglass Bay.
More info // www.safaricommarathon.com
Things to know // Don’t worry, in Lewa’s two decades hosting this race, no one has ever been mauled by a lion. The starting line is kind of disorganised. Runners aren’t stacked according to pace or anything like that, plus it’s a fairly narrow path. So don’t dawdle – weasel your way up close if you want to avoid having to trudge slowly behind the hordes until things thin out.
Top of Mt Avos overlooking Wineglass Bay, Tasmania ©Visual Collective/Shutterstock
ORIENTATION Start/End // Parsons Cove Distance // 18.6 miles (30km) Getting there // Coles Bay is 115 miles (186km) north-east of Hobart;
START/FINISH
WINEGLASS BAY
PROMISE BAY
104 miles (167km) south-east of Launceston. From there, continue to Parsons Cove along Honeymoon Bay.
stunning location. There’s basic, cheap walk-in camping on the shores of Wineglass Bay.
When to go // This trail is doable all year, but conditions on the higher part can be very cold and potentially treacherous in winter (June to August).
More info // www.parks.tas.gov.au
Where to stay // The Freycinet Lodge offers four-star cabins in a FREYCINET
Things to know // Runners, like walkers, are urged to tackle the track anti-clockwise, to help halt the spread of a deadly plant pathogen, Phytophthora (root rot).
