Azmark's lament about the lack of hills in AZ brought to mind the dumbest athletic event I did. I live in MN, which is about as flat as you'd think. One year a friend and I decided to do the Pike's Peak Marathon. You start about 3/4 of a mile from the base of the hiking trail, "run" to the peak, and then turn around and run back down. At least going up you got to enjoy the scenery. Going down, I just tried not to kill myself on rocks, tree roots, etc. It took slightly over 8 hours, but at least I still have the shirt.