Jordon Impact Marathon

Welcome to the Impact Marathon Series! The Jordan Impact Marathon is the only desert race in our series, and we have an absolute beauty in store. The magic of Wadi Rum cannot be justified in words or pictures, it simply has to be experienced. We cannot wait to welcome you to this ancient desert that has already become an iconic backdrop to our Series.

The Experience

Impact Weeks are all about the untold stories, the places you would never be able to visit any other way. In our first two days, you will experience exactly that, staying in a village deep in the Dead Sea Valley, rising with the sun and learning how life can flourish despite the intense heat. Work alongside the Greening The Desert project, one of the most deeply interesting, impactful, and inspiring projects we have ever gotten to work with.

We couldn’t come to Jordan and not build in a visit to Petra – one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Expect plenty of walking and plenty of lifting your chin off the floor.

Top of the week with most magical running experience of your life. Your race will transition from running underneath the magnificent stars that shine like no other place on earth, through the deep red sunrise until the sun is beaming down. That final stretch will test you to your limits, but it will be absolutely worth it.

The Impact

We will be focused on the biggest issue the country faces: water scarcity. Jordan is one of the world’s most water scarce countries and with a growing population, due to their open-door policy to refugees from neighbouring countries, the challenge gets greater by the day. When we blend the experience and knowledge of our partners with our goal to find the small changes with exponential impact, we can begin to tackle the biggest problems.

In Jordan, we have partnered up directly with charities, and co-operatives that create an impact in the community. We stay at Jordanian owned accommodation, we select restaurants with powerful social stories, we create hand-made medals that employ local artisans. There is so much more to creating an impact than just the fundraising and volunteering. That said, we do aim for all our runners to contribute to the fundraising total - you set your own target. Our goal, with our 30 runners, is to see 120 Home Gardens created with £32,000 of fundraising. This is a team target, that we will all reach together!

The Itinerary | 25 Nov – 1 Dec 2024

Day 1
Welcome! We’ll be meeting in the capital city of Amman, where we will be staying the first night of our experience. You’ll join us at our partner hotel as we prepare for the week ahead. Here you’ll get to know your fellow travellers whilst enjoying an evening of amazing Jordanian food and start learning more of what you'll be experiencing this week. A relaxed evening, as we are about to ramp things up for the next few days.

Day 2
There are three sides to Jordan that we will be sharing with you this week. We are kicking off in Downtown Amman. We believe that understanding your impact is all about context - the history of this complex region. The story of refugees in Jordan. The story of water in Jordan. And, most importantly, the empowering stories of the solutions that are already out there for the challenges faced by each community.

Day 3
Greening The Desert. The GTD project is one of the most deeply interesting, impactful, and inspiring projects we have ever gotten to work with. We' rarely come across projects that touch so many of the Global Goals - from Life on Land to Sustainable Cities and Communities to Gender Equality - and so many more. It’s a small idea with huge impact in such a water scarce country.

We will spend the day with an extraordinary group of people who have pioneered the concept of Permaculture to a point where their optimism for the future of our world, rooted in all they have learnt, shines forth from every single conversation. This is truly unreal, and to be experienced to be believed. From here, we head south to Wadi Musa for the night.

Day 4
We had to. It’s not the normal Impact thing to do. But we just had to. This is the third side to Jordan - one seen by tourists and adored by all. But we are going to do it in a bit of a unique way. So, set your alarm clocks! As we pass Petra along the way to the desert, why not stop and tour one of the 7 New Wonders of the World.

Get ready for a truly remarkable experience. Once our time in Petra closes, we will be heading down to the desert, onto our pickup trucks and, as the sun sets on Wadi Rum, arriving into our remote Bedouin Camp.

Day 5
You have a big day tomorrow so today it's time to unwind. We will have a couple of workshops in the morning and there are extra activities around the desert you can add-on at an extra cost. From 4x4 tours of the best Wadi Rum sights, to climbing - we will let you know a list of options. Of course, putting your feet up and relaxing at the Athletes’ Village is still very much an option.

Day 6
The moment has come - race day. We’ll head to the startline together and run as a community in what will be one of the most magical experiences. Get ready for stunning trails and a remarkable finish line moment, as you take the final steps of the hardest race of your life. And at that finish line, we’ll have a huge welcome home for you. Party into the night, you deserve it...

Day 7
Homecoming. The race is over and you'll have the usual aches and pains to remind you. To take your mind off it we have organised some incredible Bolt-On Adventures that show you the very best that Jordan has to offer. Alternatively, and reluctantly, we will let you return home and transfers to the airport are included!