Sidetrips Marathons Don't Have to Be Boring Below, a sampling of highly distinctive races worth lacing up for in the coming months. If you can't fly off to one of these, check with the Association of International Marathons and Road Races, www.aims-association.org, for other equally offbeat events.

Walt Disney World Marathon Orlando, Florida; January 7; 407-939-7810. Dash between It's a Small World, the Pirates of the Caribbean, and other rides in this 26.2-mile spin through Disney's vision of hell on earth.

Elbtunnel Marathon Hamburg, Germany; January 28; 011-4940-603-4898. This course consists of 48 laps through a pair of car tunnels. Yes, they will be closed to traffic. Antarctica Marathon King George Island; February 5; 800-444-4097. Ford icy streams and scramble up glaciers in this dash between research stations. City of Rome Marathon Rome, Italy; March 25; 011-3906-406-5064. Carbo-load on pasta and then breeze through Rome—Arrivederci, Pope! Arrivederci, Signore Benigni! Fini at the Colosseum. Midnight Sun Marathon Tromsø, Norway; July 7; 011-4777-6961-24. Good reason to party Viking-style after the nighttime race along this Arctic island's shore: The sun never sets. Pacific Shoreline Marathon Huntington Beach, California; January 28; 714-536-3525. Surf bands, junior lifeguards, bikinis, and beer highlight this quintessential Surf City race. David Hasselhoff not included. —Michelle Pentz

IT IS DIFFICULT to say whether the first large-scale foray into training beyond 130 feet will mean more divers will die there. "Tech is more risky than recreational diving, but to be honest, that's part of the appeal," says PADI's Shreeves. "Extreme-sports enthusiasts appreciate the challenge of managing that risk in exchange for the experience that few people get to have." By virtue of its sheer size and resources, PADI will undoubtedly open up the dark depths to throngs of adventure seekers, and if not launch a trend, then tap into one that is already growing. "People treat tech diving as if it were just another recreational specialty like night diving," says Florida-based Jarrod Jablonski, one of the top tech divers in the world and holder of the record for the deepest underwater cave penetration, just over three lateral miles. "But it isn't." —Michael Menduno

The first genetically engineered snowboard?

Mervin Manufacturing cofounders Mike Olson and Pete Saari, both 36, have taken snowboarding into an era when playing God is an appropriate form of R&D. Or so they say. The pair's new Gnu Altered Genetics snowboard ($499; 206-270-9792; www.gnu.com/#) features a two-headed sheep logo and is built on a wood core they call "Specimen 273677." The company claims the tree is a genetically engineered plant that combines the best qualities of balsa, bamboo, and aspen, but the USDA has never heard of such a Frankenwood. Further, after examining a Gnu-supplied micrograph of Specimen 273677, University of Idaho forest products professor Steven Shook says the plant is likely just royal paulownia, a fast-growing tree native to China. Genetic marvel or not, the GAG is indeed 30 percent lighter than anything currently available, so you can expect to see it flying just a shade higher at your local halfpipe. "It performs better than composites, and it's organic," gushes Olson. "So many years I've worked with composites, but this is too good to be true." He might be right. —Peter Kray