Somewhere made up of jungle or tundra?
Somewhere made up of jungle or tundra?
Russia
Nepal
Indonesia
North Korea
I'm sure there might be tougher runs, but going from Hawaii to Maine seems up there in difficulty.
Mogadishu
Capital of Somalia
They'll rob your shoes while you're running in them hitting your PR
Nepal probably would be because you would just be going up and down peaks all the time and would be mostly climbing. Apart from mountain countries Zaire would be the next hardest because of jungles and stuff.
Africa seems pretty tough
Proust wrote:
Mogadishu
Capital of Somalia
They'll rob your shoes while you're running in them hitting your PR
Your watch will also get stolen nearby and you will have an excuse ready if you don't hit your PR
I am not sure that you guys are familier in the US with Mike Horn. He went around the world, by using a sail-boat on water and on water and bicycles on foot. That includes all kind of mess he had to take up. In the amazon he got bitten by something and had fever all alone in his hammock, while being able to do nothing for five days, when pumas were surrounding him. In on of the African countries, he got captured by the militia and had to escape, then he knocked out an illegal police officer and tied him to a tree. He went through some very tough stuff throughout his expeditions, including polar bear attacks later on.
There is a short documentary about this particular exploit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCFcoDGnNpA
It is french sorry. He moved to Switzerland from South Africa so he doesn't talk english much anymore in videos.
He went down on the full amazon length on a hydrospeed. Yeah it is crappy device, where half of your body is immersed in the water all the time and you are paddling with your flippers on ! Crazy !
Everything is possible if somebody is crazy enough !
The Vatican
Saudi Arabia, if you're female. Combine running on sand with running away from police trying to stop you going out without a male escort.
Couldn't even get into a car to drive yourself over the rough parts.
Glands wrote:
Africa seems pretty tough
Africa is a continent not a country.
Glands wrote:
Africa seems pretty tough
Africa is not a country!
Banana Bread wrote:
Nepal probably would be because you would just be going up and down peaks all the time and would be mostly climbing. Apart from mountain countries Zaire would be the next hardest because of jungles and stuff.
Can't remember the last time I heard someone use the name Zaire. But yeah, it will be pretty tough to cross it due to forests etc. I've been to the DRC a lot, interesting country. Good choice, but my opinion is it will be easier than a desert type country due to shade, presence of water, food, people.
My guess for countries hardest to run across would be Mauritania, Algeria, Libya. The heat and sand together with lack of infrastructure (easy access to water / food) will make it very hard. I haven't been there but have been to Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso a number of times and there is just about nothing for 100s of kilometers but shrub, dust, sand and rock. I can only imagine Mauritania etc to be even worse.
Been to Nepal as well. I think apart from elevation in some areas it won't be as tough.
Obviously, it would be Russia - from West to East. Apart from extremes of weather (from oppressive heat and humidity, to extreme arctic weather), the sheer length of the run would do it.
As for roughness, nothing comes close to Pakistan. From south to north. Extremely hot weather in the south (110 dg F is nothing unusual), arctic weather in the northern part of the country, especially in high altitude. If you have ever been in Karakoram, glaciers of Baltoro, etc. - you would know what deserted country looks like. There is no other country on Earth that has more peaks over 21.000ft, all in Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalaya - and it's a huge area that has to be crossed. Nepal is a tiny dot compared to Kashmir, Hidukush and Karakoram.
Plus you would have to deal with the political instability, constant fighting with India over borders and terrorist groups tolerated by the government that plays a show of being an ally, and secretly supporting the drug trade and terrorists.
Russia for sure. Vast areas of nothing. Honorable mention to Australia.
Second Indonesia or Belize. Those places are mostly water. Islands, swamps, jungles, snakes and crocodiles.
Positive Contribution wrote:
Russia for sure. Vast areas of nothing. Honorable mention to Australia.
Brazil from Recife to the Peruvian border would be much tougher than Australia. Australia and Siberia at least have roads and open land.
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