Have you ever wondered why some of the world’s fastest runners come from Africa? Africa is claimed by some to be a Runner’s Paradise and marathons in Africa are famous for providing a unique marathon experience.

The Ethiopian Abebe Bikila ran the marathon, barefoot, at the 1960 Olympics in Rome – and won. Decades later his fellow countryman, Haile Gebrselassie, won the Berlin Marathon four times. (He later conceptualized the massively popular Great Ethiopian Run.) To date, no one has broken the Berlin Marathon record set by a Kenyan (Dennis Kimetto) taken away from a fellow Kenyan (Wilson Kipsang).

Clearly, the African continent is a rich training ground even if all you aspire to do is set a personal record. And with plenty of staggering scenery to feast your eyes upon, it’s much sweeter to feel your “lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery” and achieve a runner’s high in these epic locations.