By Alexandra Andrews The Financialist

There are plenty of reasons to run a marathon—personal gratification, weight loss, charitable fundraising—but if it’s bragging rights you’re after, marathons have begun to offer diminishing returns. The event itself is unchangeable: 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles any way you cut it, but more and more people have begun to undertake the challenge, turning a once-impressive accomplishment into something a bit more banal. According to Running USA, the number of marathon finishers in the United States has grown more than 20-fold since 1976.

So, if you’re looking for a bigger challenge—and a more impressive tale to tell—you’ll have better luck with an athletic achievement that makes a marathon look like a walk in the park. Find the world’s greatest feats of strength, endurance and sheer willpower below.

Marathon des Sables

This 156-mile slog through the Sahara desert takes place over six days and has been called the toughest foot race in the world.

The kicker: Participants must carry all their food and equipment with them — and cook for themselves.

Ultraman World Championships

Hawaii doesn’t seem like a bad place to spend a couple of days, unless you are there to swim 6.2 miles through the open ocean, bike 261.4 miles through volcanic and mountainous terrain and finish up with a leisurely double marathon.

The kicker: Each leg must be finished in less than 12 hours.

Atlantic Rowing Race

Calling itself the “ultimate test of mental strength and physical ability,” this 2,500-mile rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies measures its finish times in months,not hours.

The kicker: Most participants row naked to prevent chafing.

Swimming the North Channel

Also known as the Irish Channel, this route is actually considered more difficult than its more famous cousin, the English Channel. Swimmers of the 21-mile channel face water temperatures in the low 50s (Fahrenheit), huge swells and strong currents.

The kicker: If you’re lucky enough to encounter calm water, look out for the swarms of jellyfish.

K2

Perhaps the most famous challenge on our list, climbing the K2 mountain in Pakistan is something of a holy grail among mountaineers. While not quite as tall as Mount Everest, its degree of difficulty has earned it the nickname Savage Mountain.

The kicker: There is one fatality for every four successful summits

Photos courtesy of Timothy Barker, Timothy Carlson, Flickr- monkeywithastungun, Charles W. Bash, Aamir Choudhry

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