Venice

A run through Italy's magical city of bridges

Venice Marathon

Venice, Italy | Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021

Run through the heart of this world-renowned city built on dozens of small islands along Italy’s Adriatic Sea coastline, where you’ll cross over the iconic bridges that span several of Venice’s canals. You’ll start the marathon — there’s only a full, 26.2-mile marathon and a 10K for this event, no half — about 15 miles outside the city in a small town called Stra, where wealthy Venetians vacationed back in the 18th century. From there, the race runs through an area of the city known as the Riviera del Brenta, where you’ll pass by Venetian villas built back between the 15th and 18th centuries, on your way into the city. The last few miles of the race are “simply unique and unforgettable,” the race organizers say, adding that runners will “cross the Grand Canal on a bridge especially built for the race.”

€60 and up

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A great running read

Ultra Running Heads Upmarket. I’m not sure exactly how you define exactly what an ultramarathon is — for some, it’s any distance longer than 26.2 miles; for others, it’s closer to 100 — but there’s no doubting how popular these races have become in recent years. This fascinating piece, by a Financial Times writer who got to tag along for a gorgeous, extremely challenging run through the Scottish Highlands called Highland Kings, shows just how far they’ve come — the price tag tops $21,000.

“There are thousands of ultra-races around the world and not one of them is like this. People want to do something that no one else is doing, or no one else can do.”

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Words to run by

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”

— Arthur Conan Doyle