05:00 / 06:30
Two starts
The early wave goes ninety minutes ahead of the main field, so everyone finishes inside the same window. 42.2 km, measured and marshalled, aid every 2.5 km.
The world's most iconic running expedition
7 Wonders7 Marathons1 Journey
Seven marathons at the seven wonders of the world, run at first light, with the afternoon to walk through each one — one private aircraft, one group, from the Colosseum to Christ the Redeemer. March 2028.
Wonder 1/7 · Day 2
The Colosseum
7Marathons
14Days, Rome to Rio
60Places
Seven mornings you will remember for the rest of your life.
Six of the seven New7Wonders, plus the only wonder of the ancient world still standing. The one we left out is Machu Picchu — the single place on that list where a marathon cannot honestly be run — and Giza took its place. These are the seven you can run, and walk through, properly.
The seven
Seven wonders. Seven start lines at first light.
Rome, Italy · Day 2
The Colosseum
The Via Appia Antica, closed to traffic, running out of the city on stones laid before the Colosseum was built. You finish where gladiators fought.
Cairo, Egypt · Day 3
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The only wonder of the ancient world still standing. A loop on the plateau in the first hour of light — before the crowds, before the heat.
Jordan · Day 5
Petra
You run into Petra itself. Through the Siq and past the Treasury in the first hour of light, before the site opens — then out into the desert hills and back.
Agra, India · Day 7
The Taj Mahal
Twenty thousand workers and twenty-two years, for one man's wife. You run the Yamuna riverside as the marble changes colour with the sun, and finish with the whole thing in front of you.
Mutianyu, China · Day 9
The Great Wall
Village roads through the hills, then the last two kilometres on the Wall itself — the oldest running surface on earth, and the only stretch of this journey that will genuinely hurt.
Yucatán, Mexico · Day 11
Chichén Itzá
Flat Mayan roads through the jungle at dawn, cenotes and iguanas, finishing in sight of El Castillo — a pyramid with 365 steps, built to be read rather than climbed.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Day 13
Christ the Redeemer
The last one, and the only one with no clock on it. Along the water at Flamengo with the statue above you the whole way, then the finish line, the medal, and the celebration that follows it.
One wonder a day. A bed every night.
Fourteen days, seven start lines, six days with no race at all — and the same shape to every race day, so your body always knows what is coming next.
From 11:00
Into the wonder
Guided visits run in rolling groups as people finish. Nobody waits for anybody. Lunch, a shower and a physiotherapist are waiting at the same place.
16:00
Wheels up
Your own chartered aircraft, with more than twice as many seats as there are people on board — a row each, armrests up, lie down if you want. Physiotherapists work the aisle. No flight longer than eight and a half hours.
21:00
Hotel
On the ground, in a real bed, every single night. Doctor and physio on call. Breakfast before the next start line.
Thirteen nights in beds. None in a seat.
No cut-offs. Nobody is left behind.
A seven-hour marathon is a real marathon. The schedule is built around the last finisher, not the first — two starting waves, rolling transport, and an aircraft that does not leave until everyone is on it. Run it in three hours or in seven and a half: same finish line, same medal, same seat.
05:00Early waveFor anyone expecting six and a half hours or more. Lit course, lead vehicle, full aid stations.
06:30Main waveThe rest of the field. Both waves finish inside the same window.
—A sweep vehicleTravels with the final runner at every wonder, on every one of the seven days.
What's included
Everything else is handled.
Time zones, transfers, visas, permits, road closures, hydration, recovery, luggage, and a doctor the moment you need one. You have one job for fourteen days: get to the start line and run.
- Seven measured marathons — chip timing, aid every 2.5 km, medals, finisher certificate and official photography
- A private aircraft chartered for the whole journey, Rome to Rio, with a row per person
- Thirteen nights in four- and five-star hotels, single occupancy, with breakfast
- Two nights each at Cairo and Petra, with hotels at the gate of both sites
- Guided visits inside all seven wonders, with entry fees, permits and transfers
- All lunches and dinners, a welcome dinner in Rome and the finish celebration in Rio
Sixty people will see the seven wonders this way.
Places are allocated in order of deposit. Finishers of any Runbuk event may reserve before general registration opens.
Organized by Runbuk
The people who put start lines in impossible places.
Runbuk has been doing this since 2003 — on Arctic sea ice at the North Pole, on the Antarctic ice sheet, and across seven continents in seven days. Seven Wonders Marathons™ is the same team pointed at the seven most recognised places on earth.
Meet the organizers
World Marathon Challenge®7 marathons, 7 continents, 7 days. Ten editions since 2015.↗ worldmarathonchallenge.com
North Pole Marathon®At 90° N on Arctic sea ice, every year since 2003.↗ npmarathon.com
Antarctic Ice Marathon®The world's southernmost marathon, at 80° S.↗ icemarathon.com
Antarctic Ice Ultra™The polar ultramarathon on the Antarctic ice sheet, under 24-hour sunlight.↗ iceultra.com
Easter Island Marathon™Among the moai, run with the Rapa Nui community.↗ volcanomarathon.com