Magma-rathon!

Volcano Half-Marathon

If you’re anywhere near an active volcano when it starts to make strange noises, your natural reaction may well be to run as fast as you can. A Caribbean island that recently had its capital city completely buried under a layer of volcanic ash is trying to turn that very sensible urge to good use: both to raise its profile and hopefully some money for charity.

Back in 1995, after having lain dormant since pre-historic times the Soufriere Hills Volcano on the south side of Montserrat began to violently erupt, darkening the previously clear Caribbean skies and completely wiping out the capital, Plymouth.

Montserrat has since largely recovered and tourism on the island, which obviously took quite a knock, is starting to pick up again, with the volcano itself and Plymouth ‘a modern day Pompeii’ starting to draw lots of visitors. It’s against this background that three of Montserrat’s keenest runners have got together to organise a ‘Volcano Half-Marathon’ this December.

The strenuous and unusual course will take participants past all of the major tourist attractions on Montserrat (particularly the active volcano) and try to give runners an idea of the devastating impact that the eruption had on the island. Along the way, runners will be able to look out over valleys covered in volcanic rubble and take in the spectacular sea-views available all along the route.

So if you can’t face the thought of running in the cold and drizzle this December, then the Volcano Half-Marathon could well be worth a trip - finishers get a medal made out of volcanic rock and might even get the chance to learn the real meaning behind the term ‘hot-footing it’.

Full details on the Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon, which takes place on Sat 5th December can be found at www.visitmontserrat.com