Caribbean Marathons You Need On Your Race Calendar
Travel is at its best when it’s exhilarating—when it thrusts you out of your safe zone and pushes you to expand your horizons. While this expansion is usually mental (allowing you to revise your worldview and increase your empathy toward your fellow man), sometimes you may crave a solid physical challenge as well. One of the best ways to scratch that itch is by taking part in some of the most picturesque and punishing events in the world: Caribbean marathons.
Marathon addiction
For the past 10 years, I’ve been dabbling in running. Sure, it started small. Soon enough, though, I found myself taking part in a turkey trot here, a fun 5k race there. Then before I knew it, I had a multi-year streak of completing the Brooklyn Half Marathon. From there, it was a slippery slope that eventually culminated in me running the largest marathon in the world: The New York City Marathon.
I was all the things most first-time marathon runners are. Overconfident out the gate. Underprepared for the pain to come. Exuberant when buoyed by the crowd. Lost in torment during the lonely stretches. And finally, incredibly euphoric at the end.
Once I’d hurtled my broken body across the finish line, I hobbled in agony several blocks to a school where my neighborhood track club (The Prospect Park Track Club) had set up a recovery area. I swear, when I walked through the door and everyone cheered wildly before handing me a beer, it was all I could do not to collapse in tears.
And for some bizarre reason, all I can think of since then is… doing it all again. But while running on the world stage is nice, I prefer something a little more off-the-beaten-path.
Caribbean Marathons
Luckily, there exists quite a robust calendar of running events throughout the West Indies. Here are a few Caribbean marathons and half marathons in the coming months that are worth planning your next Caribbean travel adventure around.
| Date | Event | Where |
| Jan 17 | Bermuda Triangle Challenge | Bermuda |
| Jan 20 | Marathon Bahamas | The Bahamas |
| Jan 27 | Trinidad and Tobago Marathon | Trinidad |
| Mar 15 | The Kingston City Marathon | Jamaica |
| Mar 23 | Dog Days Half Marathon | Grand Bahama Island |
| Mar 31 | Varadero Half Marathon | Cuba |
| Apr 5 | Punta Cana Marathon | Mexico |
| May 19 | Sea to Sea Marathon | Tobago |
| May 26 | Run in Paradise | Antigua |
| Jun 2 | KLM Aruba Marathon | Aruba |
| Sep 5 | Nevis Marathon | Nevis |
| Nov 18 | Global Ports Marabana Cuba | Cuba |
| Nov 25 | KLM Curaçao Marathon | Curaçao |
| Nov 25 | Fort-de-France Half-Marathon | Martinique |
| Dec 2 | Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K | Jamaica |
| Dec 2 | International Cayman islands Marathon | Grand Cayman |
| Dec 9 | Run Barbados Marathon | Barbados |
| Dec 16 | St. Croix International Marathon | St. Croix |
No, there won’t be over 50,000 finishers like in the NYC Marathon. And no, there won’t be two million spectators on the course. But what these races offer is equally appealing, if you ask me.
Instead of spectacle, there’s intimacy. Instead of scale, there’s an actual chance that you, yes you, might win your age group or otherwise qualify for prize money!
Listen, marathons are torturous. They push you to your limits mentally and physically. They punish you relentlessly for hours on end. And yet, somehow, through the process, you find yourself on the other side. And I think I’m hooked.
So, I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping to find myself running in the Caribbean sometime very soon!
Related Posts
When is Lobster Season in the Caribbean?
The 2nd Annual Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon Wrap-Up
