Check your travel insurance before running away from home

The marathon season is under way but anyone planning to compete in an overseas event should make sure they will be covered by their travel insurance if anything goes wrong.

Although most amateur sports are covered by travel insurance ? sometimes at an additional cost ? marathons fall into the 'organised' and 'competitive' event categories, which are generally excluded by standard travel insurance policies.

Anyone planning to compete in a marathon overseas is best advised to seek out specialist insurance that will cover them if they incur an injury and need medical attention or repatriation back to the UK. They may need to take out separate insurance in addition to travel insurance.

There are still several marathons in which keen runners can compete this year. Those that still have spaces available include the Swiss Alpine Marathon, which takes place in Davos on July 25. One of the most challenging races of all time, it includes the biggest mountain marathon in the world. The 21km race is on high alpine terrain at an altitude of 2,600m.

There's still time too to register for the Helsinki City Marathon on August 15, which will take place through the city's open parks.

Registration is also open for the Reykjavik Marathon, which will take place on August 22 in the Icelandic capital. The 3,500 participants can choose to run distances between 3 and 42kms.

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