Dhanabalan Thangarasu · Earth Run Project

Running the
circumference
of the Earth

40,075 km · Athens Classic Marathon · November 10, 2028

32,300
km logged
57
marathons
10
countries
14
years running
Earth circumference progress 80.6% · 7,775 km remaining
0 km → 32,300 km today 40,075 km 🌍
3-Year Running Plan

The road to Athens

3,118 km/yr average — 8% below your 2025 pace of 3,377 km. No stretch targets. You've already run this volume.

✓ Confirmed feasible — within your demonstrated range
5yr average
2,956
km/yr baseline
2025 actual
3,377
km already achieved
This plan
3,118
−8% below 2025 ✓
2023 peak
3,820
best ever year
This plan requires 3,118 km/yr on average — you ran 3,377 km in 2025 with no specific Earth-run focus. This is entirely within your demonstrated capacity.
2026
Jun–Dec: 1,830 km  ·  Full year: 3,118 km  ·  Cruise year — build the base
Jun
255
→ 32,555 km
Jul
255
→ 32,810 km
Aug
310
33,000 km ✓
Sep
265
→ 33,385 km
Oct
345
→ 33,730 km
Nov
190
→ 33,920 km
Dec
210
34,000 km ✓
2027
3,185 km  ·  Rio Marathon Jun · Cape Town Sep  ·  Two new continents
Jan
290
→ 34,420 km
Feb
260
→ 34,680 km
Mar
295
→ 34,975 km
Apr
265
35,000 km ✓
May
245
Rio prep 🇧🇷
Jun
255
Rio Marathon Jun 6 🇧🇷
Jul
255
→ 35,995 km
Aug
310
36,000 km ✓
Sep
265
Cape Town Sep 21 🇿🇦
Oct
345
→ 36,915 km
Nov
190
37,000 km ✓
Dec
210
→ 37,315 km
2028
2,967 km incl. Europe trip + Athens Marathon  ·  The finish year
Jan
290
→ 37,605 km
Feb
260
→ 37,865 km
Mar
295
38,000 km ✓
Apr
265
→ 38,425 km
May
245
→ 38,670 km
Jun
255
→ 38,925 km
Jul
255
39,000 km ✓
Aug
310
→ 39,490 km
Sep
265
Taper — pack for Europe
Oct
312
🏃 Europe Trip Oct 14–Nov 9
Nov
50+42
🏛 Athens Marathon Nov 10
Journey markers

Milestones

Every 1,000 km is a new chapter. Seven checkpoints stand between today and the finish line in Athens.

32,300
Today — May 17, 2026
80.6% of Earth's circumference complete
Done ✓
33,000
33,000 km
82.3% of the Earth
Aug 2026
35,000
35,000 km
87.3% of the Earth · Rio Marathon month
Apr 2027
37,000
37,000 km
92.3% of the Earth · After Cape Town
Nov 2027
38,000
38,000 km
94.8% of the Earth
Mar 2028
39,000
39,000 km
97.3% — final stretch begins
Jul 2028
39,755
Board the flight to Lisbon
30-day Europe running trip begins Oct 14
Oct 14, 2028
40,075
🌍 Full circumference of the Earth
Marathon Tomb, Athens — km 8 of Athens Classic Marathon · 2,518 years of history
Nov 10, 2028
Total marathons by finish
60+
incl. Rio, Cape Town, Athens
Continents completed
6 of 7
Antarctica remains
Years of running
16
2012 → 2028
Countries run in
12+
after Europe trip
2027 — Two continents, one year

South America & Africa

Two new continents. Two iconic races. One extraordinary year. After 2027 you will have run on 6 of 7 continents.

South America — Continent Tick #5 · Recommended
Rio de Janeiro Marathon 🇧🇷
June 6, 2027 · Flamengo Park, Rio de Janeiro · World Athletics Label
Why Rio over Buenos Aires
Rio is the heart of South America — the continent's most iconic city, host of the 2016 Olympics, cultural capital of Brazil. Running past Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana, and Sugarloaf Mountain is an experience no flat Buenos Aires course can match. For a continent tick that means something, Rio wins every time.
Continental significance
Brazil is South America — 47% of the continent's population, its largest economy, the Amazon, Carnival, and football. Buenos Aires feels European. Rio is authentically, viscerally South American.
The course
Start and finish at Flamengo Park. Atlantic Ocean on your right, Serra do Mar mountains on your left for 42.2 km. Copacabana beach strip, Ipanema, Leblon waterfront. 30,000 runners. One of the world's most scenic urban marathon courses.
Date
Jun 6, 2027
Weather
21°C sunny
Entry
~CAD $1,500
Africa — Continent Tick #6
Cape Town Marathon 🇿🇦
September 21, 2027 · V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Why Cape Town
Table Mountain (1,086m) dominates the skyline for the entire race — the most visually dramatic marathon in Africa. V&A Waterfront start, Sea Point Atlantic promenade, and two-ocean views. Abbott World Marathon Majors candidate. Africa's answer to Sydney.
Why September
South African spring — 17–22°C, virtually no rain, Table Mountain fully visible (it's often cloud-capped in summer). The absolute sweet spot.
The perfect double-year
Rio in June, Cape Town in September — South America and Africa in the same calendar year. After Cape Town you'll have run marathons on 6 of the world's 7 continents.
Date
Sep 21, 2027
Weather
19°C spring
Entry
~USD $60
Continent scorecard after 2027 ✅ North America  ·  ✅ Europe  ·  ✅ Asia  ·  ✅ Oceania
✅ South America — Rio, June 2027  ·  ✅ Africa — Cape Town, September 2027
🐧 Antarctica → the 7th chapter, when you're ready
October 14 – November 12, 2028

30-day Europe running tour

8 countries. 12–13 km every day. Westward from Lisbon to Athens. Cross 40,075 km at the Marathon Tomb. Then run Athens.

Start
Oct 14 · Lisbon 🇵🇹
Countries
8 countries
Daily running
12–13 km/day
Earth finish
Nov 10 · Marathon Tomb
Transit
Interrail pass + ferry
Oct 14–16
Portugal 🇵🇹
Sintra palace trails · Cascais sea cliffs · Estoril promenade
💡 The Sintra-Cascais Natural Park coastal path — jaw-dropping Atlantic sea stacks and palace silhouettes
🛫 Fly YYC → Lisbon direct or via London
12–13/day
Oct 17–19
Spain — Andalusia 🇪🇸
Ronda gorge path · Seville old town · Costa del Sol seafront
💡 Ronda's El Tajo gorge running path above a 150m chasm — one of the most dramatic 12km runs in Europe
🚆 Train Lisbon → Seville 2.5hr, bus to Ronda
12–13/day
Oct 20–22
French Riviera 🇫🇷
Monaco harbour loop · Nice Promenade des Anglais · Cap d'Antibes coastal trail
💡 Monaco cliff roads to Nice — you run above the Mediterranean on roads used by Formula 1. Unforgettable in October light.
🚆 Train Seville → Barcelona → Nice TGV (4.5hr from Barcelona)
12–13/day
Oct 23–25
Cinque Terre, Italy 🇮🇹
Cliff village coastal trails · Vernazza to Corniglia path · Portofino headland
💡 Run the Cinque Terre trail at dawn before tour groups arrive — five pastel villages carved into vertical cliffs above a turquoise sea
🚆 Train Nice → La Spezia (Cinque Terre) 2hr
11–12/day
Oct 26–28
Tuscany, Italy 🇮🇹
Florence Arno riverside · Chianti vineyard roads · San Gimignano hill circuits
💡 Tuscany's cypress-lined dirt roads through golden autumn vineyards — pure Italian cinema. Best in late October when the harvest ends.
🚆 Train Cinque Terre → Florence 1.5hr
12–13/day
Oct 29–31
Slovenia 🇸🇮
Lake Bled circuit · Triglav foothills · Ljubljana riverside old town
💡 Lake Bled's 6km circuit at dawn — the island church reflects in still water with snow-capped Alps behind. Europe's most photogenic run.
🚆 Train Florence → Venice 2hr · Bus Venice → Ljubljana 2.5hr
12–13/day
Nov 1–3
Croatia 🇭🇷
Plitvice Lakes forest paths · Split Roman walls · Dalmatian coast road
💡 Running the ancient Diocletian's Palace perimeter in Split at sunrise — 1,700 years of Roman history underfoot, with the Adriatic glittering below
🚌 Bus Ljubljana → Split 5hr (scenic mountain road)
12/day
Nov 4–6
Greece — North 🇬🇷
Thessaloniki waterfront · Meteora rock monastery plateau · Pella ancient ruins
💡 Running the plateau road around Meteora — 300m stone pillars rising from a plain, with Byzantine monasteries perched on top. Like another planet.
🚢 Overnight ferry Split → Corfu (9hr) · Bus to Thessaloniki
12–13/day
Nov 7–9
Athens — taper 🇬🇷
Acropolis hill path · Panathenaic Stadium preview run · Marathon coastal road shakeout
💡 Run up to the Acropolis at sunset on Nov 9 — your last easy run before history. Look out toward Marathon town on the horizon.
🚆 Train/bus Thessaloniki → Athens 5hr
8–10 taper
Nov 10
Athens Classic Marathon 🏛 🌍
Marathon Town → Marathon Tomb (km 8 — 40,075 km) → Panathenaic Stadium
✦ You cross 40,075 km at the Marathon Tomb — completing the circumference of the Earth at the exact spot that gave the marathon its name, 2,518 years ago
🚌 Chartered bus from Athens to Marathon start, 7:00am
42.2 km
October weather
15–22°C
Golden autumn across all countries. No summer crowds.
Main transit pass
Interrail Global
1-month pass ~€400 covers Portugal through Slovenia by rail
Skipped countries
Germany · Netherlands
Already completed marathons there — route avoids repeats
The grand finale

Athens Classic Marathon

November 10, 2028 · The most meaningful 42.2 km of your life. The birthplace of the marathon — and your Earth-finish line.

The moment
At kilometre 8 of the Athens Marathon, you will cross 40,075 km — the full circumference of the Earth. That point on the course is the Marathon Tomb (Tymbos Marathona), the burial mound of the 192 Athenian soldiers who fell at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC — the battle that inspired the very first long-distance run. You will complete humanity's greatest running distance at the spot where running history was born. Then you will run 34.2 km downhill into the ancient marble Panathenaic Stadium to finish.
The course — kilometre by kilometre
km 0–4
Marathon Town start
Flat coastal road past olive groves. The Marathon Flame was lit at the Tomb the night before. An atmosphere unlike any other start line on Earth. 9:00am start, 16,000 runners.
km 4–8
✦ Marathon Tomb — 40,075 km
The burial mound of 192 Athenian soldiers, 490 BC. You cross 40,075 km here — completing the circumference of the Earth at the exact spot that gave the marathon its name, 2,518 years ago. The place where Pheidippides began his legendary run.
km 8–31
The great climb
21 km of sustained ascent through pine forests and Athens suburbs. The toughest consecutive climb of any major marathon. You have already completed the Earth. Run this knowing the world is yours.
km 31–38
The descent begins
You crest the climb at 280m elevation. Panoramic views open over Athens below. The legs open up. Fidippidou Street — named after Pheidippides himself — awaits.
km 38–42.2
The Panathenaic Stadium
Through the tunnel into the ancient marble track. 50,000 spectators. The Acropolis visible on the hill. You finish the circumference of the Earth in the stadium of the 1896 Olympics. The most meaningful finish line in marathon history.
Race date
Nov 10
2028 · 2nd Sunday of November
Earth cross
km 8
Marathon Tomb · 490 BC
Finish line
Marble
Panathenaic Stadium · 1896
Temperature
18°C
Mild November sunshine
Field size
16,000
Very international crowd
Registration
Open
No ballot · ~€60 · sells out
Action checklist
01
Athens Marathon 2028 — register as soon as registration opens (~April 2028) at athensmarathon.com. It sells out. Don't wait.
02
Rio de Janeiro Marathon 2027 — book tour package via marathontours.com now. Bibs are bundled with packages and go quickly.
03
Cape Town Marathon 2027 — open entry at capetownmarathon.com. Register from January 2027. No ballot required.
04
Europe trip flights — book YYC → Lisbon (Oct 14, 2028) and Athens → YYC (Nov 13, 2028) by early 2028 for best fares.
05
Interrail Global Pass (1 month) — covers all train legs Portugal through Slovenia. ~€400. Book at interrail.eu.
06
Canada e-Visa for Brazil — required since April 2025. Apply online at gov.br at least 2 weeks before departure. ~USD $80.
Hall of fame

All 57 Marathons

Every finish line, from Honolulu 2012 to Vancouver 2026. Fourteen years. Seven World Marathon Majors. Six continents. One story.

57
Marathons finished
7
World Majors
3:30
Personal best
6
Continents
10
Countries
14
Years racing
# Marathon Year Time Country Badges Notes
Showing all 57 marathons