The World's Most Remote Marathon: our editor's media trip to St Helena

Us runners appreciate unspoiled nature. It’s our happy space, away from our place of work & the daily grind. Clean unpolluted air, wide open spaces, contrasting landscapes, interesting animals & plants, etc. 

Running in new places is always an exciting adventure. Turning down a path you’ve never run provides a sense of discovery - exploring something new. What lies further down the road? What will I see, hear smell, see - who might I meet?  This sense of adventure is a powerful driver of fun & fulfilment that many of us lose as we grow out of childhood and into the routined life of deadlines & responsibilities.

In my job I’m extremely fortunate to discover more than my fair share of new places, faces & spaces. Our lives are shorter than we wish & this incredible planet of ours has more hidden gems than we will ever have time to explore. We are also sadly caught in a race against time as populations grow so natural spaces are swallowed up by man-made buildings & pollution.  

St Helena island, a small volcanic mountain peak floating thousands of miles away from any continent in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, has no factories, no pollution and a fascinating landscape.  Less than 4000 people live there. With its radically contoured topography the island that was once merely a stopover for trading ships only became accessible by air in recent years. The tiny runway was an engineering feet in itself, much like the steep roads & water systems designed by our own Boer war prisoners a century ago.  

When you first see the land rise out of the ocean, the jagged barren rock cliffs surrounding the airport & capital of Jamestown dispel any preconceived ideas of palm trees & white beaches. It’s nothing typical or anything like you have experienced before. Therein lies the magic of exploring the unknown. 

Over the next week on our adventurers' media trip, what was first a shock to the senses slowly crept under our skin. There is a massive contrast between humid green tea plantations & forests filled with ferns against desert-like dry valleys running steeply down to hidden bays & beaches, each guarded by fort structures dating back to Napoleon's incarceration.

It’s a unique island in many ways but what creates the rare atmosphere of being lost from civilisation is the remoteness of a place that was once on the trade routes and later the producer of sisal and rope, but the Suez Canal and the invention of synthetic rope ended both eras. The historical remnants of both of these times remain, plus the fortifications built by the British Empire to protect the island and keep Napoleon imprisoned. It’s as if the tiny island had vanished. A place the world forgot. There’s something very romantic about stepping back in time, exploring a space that’s been abandoned and still stands as it did a long way back in time.  

The governors stately British monarchy styled residence, with enormous grass lawns where Jonathan the 196 year old tortoise enjoys roams free, is where all the races except the 5km start. The tea, sisal & coffee plantations create a leafy fern filled scenic run course that undulates around the higher elevations, passing historic sites before dropping down fast through the drier lands towards the turquoise oceans & the finish in the quaint historic cobblestoned streets of Jamestown. Every distance ends with the flying descent so expect jelly legs & a big smile as you pass through the historic arch to applause & a rare finishers medal. 

What made our travel experience to St Helena more unforgettable was the abundance of sea life in the warm ocean that we immersed ourselves in daily. Swimming to & snorkelling on shipwrecks crowded with tropical fish, just 100m off the seafront finish esplanade, was safe & spectacular. With protected waters prohibiting commercial fishing the scuba diving and deep sea fishing is on another level. Caves filled with fish and pods of dolphins passing on every boat trip, plus pretty much guaranteed daily sightings of whale sharks are a dream for nature-loving active people. 

Runners will enjoy an array of trails to run or hike with 26 postbox hikes to explore pre and post race day.  These routes are superb and almost always enjoyed away from it all, without other humans. 

My team & I are privileged to have been appointed to create & host this unique new adventure week and marathon - on the outer edge of the world. A unique course, which like the famous Jacob’s ladder, will stand forever for visitors to run and be certified is super cool. Welcoming the first ever finishers home on my birthday is a gift I never imagined and am so grateful for.