Well, it’s not like I’m working towards a deadline (ish), but I somewhat am. I had hoped to squeeze a run in Canada in for work last month, but that trip got cancelled so I thought I’d group a few countries where I have been over the last decade or so who didn’t, at the time, warrant a write-up (or pre-dated the blog) but now, well, needs must etc…

I should also note that I normally write up some notes in the days after the runs. Here, I’m scratching my brain for stuff from a decade ago in some instances so … I’m doing my best!

Zimbabwe (February 2012)

Going back the furthest, I was in Zimbabwe for work: it was still a little bit recovering from its economic crisis around then and remained plagued by political controversy and economic mismanagement (which is a polite way to put it) so you still have to be a little bit careful: not only did you need to have the gift of the gab (and spare cash) at the numerous police checkpoints, you also just needed to remember that, for many people, racism (both anti-white and anti-black) was a core part of their beliefs.

It’s definitely the only place I’ve been to where I witnessed pure segregation: e.g. at a Golf club, all the blacks were indoors, all the whites were outdoors. Zero mingling.

Day-to-day, it’s of course not like that but, well, one needs to be careful.

In terms of running, I was in Mutare, to the east of the country: it has hot, for sure, and hilly too though, overall, it was OK to do early morning runs.

The streets were wide, cars were relatively scarce, and the vegetation was flush. You just had to be careful no secret police bundled you away (and they were tracking us, which we were very very aware of!).

So, overall, high scores for the scenery and general ease of running. Medium scores for the weather. Low scores for security!

Uganda (February 2013)

Another work-trip to an unusual part of the world, another amazing opportunity.

Kampala, the capital, is, if I remember rightly, like a roller coaster of hills. Inside a chimney. There were some beautiful spots (notably a huge golf course) and it was fun seeing everyone zipping around on the motorbike taxis like lunatics. But by god was the pollution bad. So great for hill reps, bad for everything else running-wise.

I was lucky to be able to get out of Kampala to go to the Bwindi National Park – on the border with DRC – to see the Gorillas. I can’t remember exactly how much it cost, but it was about 1000 euros for a couple of days which would be a lot now, and was certainly a lot on my budget a decade ago. The price is deliberately high to limit the number of tourists, and you can see why: there’s very little there, and very little forest left, with clear lines cut through the hillsides showing where farms start, and the national park ends. I hate to think how much those lines have moved since I was last there.

In terms of running, the main thing one needs to do is be able to run faster than the slowest person in your group when the Silverback charges you. Because, holy shit, that gets your adrenaline going.

This aside, the countryside was beautiful and primal. The villages, however, were very very under-developed and, well, it didn’t really seem like the place where one goes running, unsurprisingly. I did, a few times and got quite a few stares, if only because this is close to where the Pygmy people come from and, as they are known for, they’re smaller than average so me being almost 2m tall didn’t go unnoticed.

Overall, highest marks imaginable for the wildlife, medium marks for safety (the area remains a little dodgy) and low marks for ease-of-access (quite a number of hours driving up mud paths at 10kph to get there!)

Morocco (2015 / 2021)

Clutching straws with this one!

We went to Taghazout, a surfing paradise near Agadir, to spend Christmas learning how to surf (moral of the story: I’m not very good.) Great for surfing (though the sewage going straight into the sea makes the water quality even worse than a British river these days), horrific for running. Hot, small roads, crazy drivers, not much to see. So go there to surf, not to run!

We also got lucky to be invited to a wedding in Marrakech in 2021: some elements still apply in terms of heat and pollution, though it’s a little more scenic and morning runs, if well-timed, could actually be quite pleasant thanks to all the historical buildings and sites you get to run by. You might get mowed down by a car here and there but, that aside, you’ll see some cool mosques!

In terms of scores, close to zero for air quality, and mid-range in the case of Marrakesh for actual feasibility of going running!

Iceland (August 2021)

I was injured though we’d still travelled to Iceland to take part in the Reykjavik half marathon. Inconveniently, covid was still causing hassles all around the world including last minute race cancellations, and this was what happened here. D’oh.

Instead, I got to do what was possibly the most exhilarating run I’ve ever done (though Pippa might describe it as the time of her life she most wanted me to trip over and die, just so she could catch her breath): running up an active volcano to get to see it spewing magma out of the top.

Around the time we were to go out, a volcano on the Fagradalsfjall mountain in the Reykjanes peninsula (south of Reyjkavik) started erupting. It had a cyclical nature so we were unsure whether it’d be erupting as we were there. We got an alert on our phone when we were a few hours’ drive away that it had so – most definitely respecting speed limits, ahem – we made our way there, jumped out into the – let’s be honest – horrific Icelandic summer weather, and started racing up muddy paths to the top of the hill.

And, wow.

One of the most incredible scenes I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness. I could have stayed there for days. For Pippa, who was shivering and whose body was shaking all over because of the cold (“summers” in Iceland … mmmm), a few hours were enough! DRENCHED, we made our way back down to get blood back in our extremities over the next few days.

In terms of other running, I like to think we were unlucky with the weather. It was horrific. Which made even running around Reykjavik a little … wet and windy. But it might otherwise be reasonably nice – it’s a funny place, very villagey and small by most western places’ standards (unsurprisingly, the whole country only has 300,000 inhabitants), but very easy to run in terms of running. My 10k tour of Reykjavik made up for the lack of racing (ish), though I have to say that, other than the funky and well-known church, I can’t recall MUCH that was memorable with the town otherwise! (other than the access to volcanoes, glaciers and other amazing bits of nature which, obviously, is sort of worth it!)

In terms of scores, it gets the lowest score possible for weather, but the highest score possible for natural wonders!

Et voilà. Over to number 80 now!