The road less travelled: Spectacular images capture super-fit runners in some of the world's most unforgiving terrains




Somewhere in the sprawling Grand Canyon runner Max King is pushing his body to extremes as he pounds across its craggy surface.

Amid the dramatic U.S. landscape near Bend, Oregon, the athlete was attempting a 42.5 miles world attempt to cross the 5,250 ft canyon twice.

The photo is just one of a series of spectacular images which capture dogged runners battling against some of the most remote and unforgiving environments on Earth.

Majestic: Ted Mahon descends Grant Swamp Pass during the Hard Rock 100 endurance race near Silverton, Colorado

Stunning: Dakota Jones running the Tour Du Mont Blanc trail in Chamonix, France, as a storm clears

Hardy: Mike Schneiter trail running the Capitol Creek trail, between the Saddle of Mount Daly and Capitol Peak in Colorado

Spectacular: Casey Weaver trail running in Grand Junction at Mount Garfield in the Rocky Mountains

Another picture in the collection shows runner Susan Sauze dwarfed by the green and luscious Italian Alps as she trail runs on holiday.

In stark contrast Casey Weaver cuts a lonely figure striding across the arid Rockies near Mount Garfield in Colorado, while Ted Mahon is near impossible to see surrounded by giant slopes on a taxing 100-mile endurance run.

Photographer David Clifford, 43, from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, said: 'Its always a unique challenge capturing runners in this way, and rising to the occasion sometimes means running an ultra marathon to get the shot.

'Every great shot has an interesting story, and there's no better reward than to inspire someone to get outdoors and run, climb, ski - whatever the passion is, to get out and do it.'

Beautiful: Rickey Gates on the Brevant trails high above Chamonix, France

Tough terrain: Darcy Africa basking in the last light at 12,000 feet on a high altitude training run on Loveland Pass, Colorado

To get his shots, David often runs, hikes, or bikes to locations that give him the perfect angles on his subjects.

'To get the angle I need I often perch on cliff ledge or sometimes use remote control helicopters or even just climb trees,' he added.

For the shot of Mike Schneiter between Mount Daly and Capitol Peak near Glenwood Springs, David had to run 12.5 miles to get in position.

'We wanted to get shots of Mike on the knife edge, which is a 100-foot-long traverse of granite with more than a 900 foot fall on either side,' he said.

'To get the perfect shot, I wanted to get him at sunset with storm clouds behind him.

'But because of that, we then had to deal with lightning shortly after I got the shot and we had to run 13 miles back to the car in complete darkness.'

The photographer honed his love of big running pictures while working for four and a half years overseeing content for 'Trail Runner' and 'Rock & Ice' magazines.

Determined: Rickey Gates, one of America's most esteemed trail runners, running in Chamonix, France

To the ends of the Earth: Photographer David Clifford, 43, often runs, bikes or hikes to get to the perfect location for his shots

Hard work: Susan Sauze holiday trail running to the Bonatti hut - the Rifugio Bonatti - on the Italian side of the Alps

Exhausting: Max King trail running after a failed world record attempt on the 42.5 mile Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim traverse in the Grand Canyon by Shoshone Point

Landscape: New mother Megan Lund, from Basalta, trail running on the Doc Holliday trail between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, Colorado



