The remote marathon Joburg runners don’t need years to plan

If you’ve ever looked at an international marathon and thought, “That’s cool, but I’d need three years, a visa miracle and a spreadsheet to make it happen,” this one’s for you.

In February 2026, St Helena Island (yes, that St Helena, one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth) will host its first-ever Adventure Week anchored by a marathon. And somehow, improbably, it’s one of the most logistically doable bucket-list races Joburg runners can actually sign up for.

Let’s start with the part that usually kills the dream: getting there. St Helena is serviced by Airlink, with a weekly direct flight from Johannesburg to Jamestown (yep, we said weekly), meaning no multi-country hopscotch, no sleepless airport marathons before the actual marathon. It’s long-haul, sure, but refreshingly straightforward.

The headline event takes place on Sunday, 22 February 2026, with runners able to choose between a full marathon (42.2km), a half marathon, a 10km run, or a 5km run, plus a kids’ event. The route begins outside Plantation House, home to Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land tortoise, and winds through volcanic landscapes, cloud forests and cliff-edge roads overlooking the South Atlantic, before finishing under Jamestown’s historic arch on the waterfront.

In other words, this is not a lap around the city blocks situation.

But the marathon is only part of the draw. It anchors Adventure Week (15–27 February), a carefully curated programme that lets you stack your trip with experiences that would usually require multiple holidays: swimming with whale sharks (it’s peak season), snorkelling and diving in a protected marine area, guided hikes, cultural tours and the famously punishing climb up Jacob’s Ladder, all 699 steps of it.

For non-runners (or runners travelling with very patient partners), shorter distances and alternative activities make this less of a niche sporting trip and more of a shared adventure holiday.

There’s something quietly thrilling about the fact that one of the most remote places on Earth isn’t actually that far from home. From Johannesburg, you can board a flight and land on an island most people only know from history books, and then run a marathon through it. No years-long planning, no impossible logistics, no gatekeeping.

In a world where “remote” often means inaccessible, St Helena flips the script. It’s proof that extraordinary doesn’t always require endless admin, just curiosity, commitment and a willingness to go somewhere genuinely different. For Joburgers who like their adventures with a side of bragging rights, that might be the coolest part of all.

Like your adrenaline a little closer to home? One of the world's most beautiful marathons is 3 hours from Johannesburg