Using a newly-uncovered online tool called CartoDB (thanks
Alex!), I assembled a map of all the marathons available at
arrs.net based on location and number of participants (in 2014). Some have a participation number of '0' because the actual number wasn't available to me.
My criteria was a minimum 50
500 runners, and/or a winning time (male) of 2:40-ish. I've included marathons that don't fit this criteria if they happen to be in an interesting place (such as
Easter Island). Certainly there's also a few I've missed. Among those listed, it's surprising how many marathons can be found deep inside Siberia. Conversely, only a handful of registered marathons exist in the
Rift Valley a.k.a. the heart of running. Might one even claim an inverse relation to marathon density and local talent?
Since it did not take much additional effort, I also included
PM2.5 concentrations (μg/m
3) at each marathon location. The WHO determined breathing values
higher than 25 μg/m
3 are 'less than ideal'. Perhaps factor that into your next 'destination' marathon (and if you'd like to see more discussion and a ranked list of clean-air marathons, check out the piece I wrote for
Canadian Running).
Without further ado, here's the map. Click on individual races to get more info.
In case the above map does not survive, here's a static image:
