Why endurance is the new escape

BBC News

28-07-2025

Across deserts, oceans and mountain ranges, a new kind of holiday is gaining ground – where pushing yourself to the limit is the whole point.
We are swimming 3km from Cape Pelegrin, a headland on the north-eastern corner of Croatia's Hvar island, across an open water channel to the island of Palmižana. The water is choppy, Palmižana just a distant headland above the waves. When we reach the other side there is a further 5km to go – tracing the indented coastline of the Pakleni Islands, past hidden coves and quiet pine-fringed bays. But I am not looking at the scenery, I am focussed on the pink tow floats of the swimmers ahead.
In peak summer, this archipelago is filled with day-trippers from Split, lounging on boats and floating in the turquoise shallows. But in early May, the beaches are empty, the water is cool and the only sound is the rhythmic splash of arms breaking the surface. I'm here to take part in UltraSwim 33.3, a four-day, point-to-point adventure across Croatia's sun-splashed southern coastline, covering 33.3km – the equivalent distance of an English Channel crossing. UltraSwim is part of a growing trend in travel: endurance-based holidays where the goal isn't relaxation but transformation.
"I wanted to create something that's a cross between a race, a challenge and an adventure holiday," said founder Mark Turner. "There's a generation – people aged 40 to 60 – who still want that challenge, but also want to stay in a nice hotel, eat well, maybe bring their partner along and explore the region. The Channel is an iconic swim, but the experience itself isn't that nice. What I've tried to create is the same sense of achievement, but in clearer waters with incredible surroundings – and a glass of wine at the end."
UltraSwim is just one example of a growing wave of endurance-based travel experiences that are redefining what it means to take a break from work. Rather than lounging on a beach or exploring a new city, more and more travellers are opting to push their limits – whether that's a 171k ultramarathon around Mont Blanc, running 250km across the Moroccan desert or cross-country skiing 220km through Finland's Arctic Circle.
Alison King, a 56-year-old landscape architect from London, is one of them.
"I decided to enter the Ultra 33.3 swim in Croatia, because I was hungry for more life after two decades bringing up my two children and being tied [down] by schools and routine," she told me.
King, who had never considered herself particularly athletic, was initially daunted by the 12km swim on the longest day. "I liked swimming but I'd never done team or competitive sports. At first, I felt like an imposter. But I absolutely smashed it. I finished strong, calm and elated. It was scary at times, but the joy of being out there in the world, connecting with others and to the ocean – that's something I'll carry with me. It wasn't just a holiday. It was a reset."
That sense of transformation is common in ultra-endurance circles. Across disciplines, participants often talk about their experience in near-spiritual terms – not despite the pain and effort, but because of it.
"I'd describe it as the best and worst week of my life, with the highest of highs but the lowest of lows all rolled in to one," says Gemma Morris, a 41-year-old private jet flight attendant from West Sussex who completed the Marathon des Sables, a 250km ultramarathon across the Moroccan Sahara. "You're running huge distances in brutal heat, sleeping rough, living on the bare minimum. But there is something incredibly magical about that landscape – the sunrises, the silence, the starry skies with no light pollution. The solitude gives you time to think, to be present with yourself. Most of all, it makes you appreciate the smallest things."
As endurance events boom worldwide, these excursions are no longer niche pursuits. UltraSwim expects to attract nearly 600 participants from 38 nationalities in 2025, with ambitions to expand to six to eight events and more than 1,000 swimmers within three years. The UTMB World Series, a global circuit of mountain ultramarathons, now hosts 200,000 runners across 50 sold-out events annually. In cycling, the Race Across France has grown from 300 participants in 2021 to 1,400 this year, spanning distances from 300km to 2,500km. And swimrun events, a hybrid of trail running and open-water swimming pioneered in Sweden, are rapidly multiplying worldwide.
And while ultra sporting events push the limits of human endurance, they also deliver significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the countries that host them.
"A typical event with 250 people might generate €50,000 in food and accommodation spend," said Michael Lemmel, co-founder of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series, which began in the Stockholm Archipelago. "But more than that, they bring a different kind of visitor; someone who's more connected to nature, to outdoor experiences, not just the party scene."
Hvar, once known mostly for its hedonistic summer vibe, is starting to lean into this new identity. In addition to UltraSwim, the island now hosts cycling camps, trail running events and long-distance swims.
"Endurance events help extend the tourist season and attract more engaged visitors," said Iva Belaj Šantić, director of the Hvar Town Tourist Board. "But they also enrich the life of the local community. Growing up on an island can mean limited access to activities. These events bring visibility and inspiration – especially for our youth. The reason a visitor comes is just as important as what they leave behind."
Paula Reid, an adventure psychologist who has completed multiple polar expeditions and ocean crossings and helps others prepare for similar challenges, believes there's a biological explanation for this growing appetite for ultra-sport holidays. "These holidays offer a kind of evolutionary reset," she explained. "We evolved to hunt and gather over long distances. For many people, life has become far too easy. It's physically undemanding. But we are biologically built for discomfort, challenge and adversity. We need it to grow."
More like this:• The rise of the slow swimming holiday• Paddling the dramatic 'Grand Canyon of Canada'• Morocco's new cross-country cycling route
The result is a kind of travel that doesn't just restore you, it reshapes you. It's about seeing a new landscape and seeing yourself differently within it. And for many, that's worth far more than a beachside cocktail.
As we haul ourselves out of the water at the end of the final stage in Hvar Town, the Sun is setting behind the harbour walls. My shoulders are sore and salt is crusted on my skin. But there is something quietly triumphant in the shared fatigue, the congratulatory handshakes, the laughter and the promise of grilled fish and red wine just up the hill. We travelled through a place, and worked for it. And somehow, that makes the place – and the memory of it – all the more lasting.
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