It’s always good to have a goal, but clocking up the kilometres on the stationary bike can leave you feeling a bit unfulfilled. Try matching your efforts to these real-life races for brand new motivation that will drive your fitness levels higher than ever before.

Run up the Empire State Building

The event: Every year, runners race each other up the 1,576 steps of the Empire State Building in New York, covering a vertical distance of 320m (1,050ft). The record time is nine minutes 33 seconds, set by Australian Paul Crake in 2003.

The challenge: Spend ten minutes jogging on the treadmill and then head for the step machine. Most of these have a total step readout and allow you to adjust the steps per minute speed. Try to keep a constant pace for 1,576 steps, then compare your time with Crake’s record.

Expert’s tip: ‘Avoid shifting your body from side to side as you climb the steps, because this will over use the muscles in your lower back,’ says Andy Wadsworth, personal trainer and endurance coach to British Olympians. ‘Make sure you drive through each step with your leg muscles.’

Ride a stage of the Tour de France

The event: Stage 20 of the 2008 Tour, an individual time trial from Cérilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond. The 53km course was covered in one hour, three minutes and 50 seconds by stage winner Stefan Schumacher. The eventual Tour winner, Carlos Sastre, took a further two minutes 34 seconds.

The challenge: Emulate the grit of a pro rider by getting on the stationary bike for a straight 53km effort. The idea of time trials is to maintain a fairly even, constant effort, but gradually build so that you go faster over the second half of the course than the first. Aim to maintain a high pedal speed throughout.

Expert’s tip: ‘To save energy, keep your upper body relaxed and your pedal revolutions above 90 per minute,’ says Wadsworth. ‘A higher gear will prevent your muscles from tiring too quickly.’

Row the English Channel

The event: The first ever cross-channel rowing race was held in 2005 between boat crews from Oxford and Cambridge universities. The crew from St John’s College, Cambridge, covered the 34km from Shakespeare Beach in Kent to Cap Gris-Nez west of Calais in three hours 37 minutes to win.

The challenge: Four hours on a Rowing Machine could leave you with a numb bum, so break this up into four sessions of 8,500m or two sessions of 17,000m. Take your time at first, but try to increase your speed in each session. Then combine your times for the final result and compare it to 2005's winning effort.

Expert’s tip: ‘When you’re rowing, the power should come from your legs because they are more than five times as strong as your arms,’ says Wadsworth. ‘And long, powerful strokes are far more effective than short, sharp ones.’

Run up Ben Nevis

The event: The Ben Nevis Race, held every September, challenges runners to ascend the 1,344m (4,409ft) mountain. The course starts and finishes in Claggan Park sports ground, Fort William, and it’s 16km long with 1,340m of total ascent. The record stands at one hour, 25 minutes and 34 seconds.

The challenge: Get on the treadmill and set the programme to manual. Start jogging to warm up, with the incline on one per cent for the first three kilometres. Then raise it to two per cent and increase it by one percentage point every kilometre so that it’s at five per cent at 6km. Then run for another 3km before raising it again to six per cent at 10km. Run for two kilometres before raising it to seven per cent at 13km, and run for another two kilometres. Now dig deep and notch it up to eight per cent for the final kilometre.

Expert’s tip: ‘Make a conscious effort to keep your abs tensed so that you run from a strong position,’ says Wadsworth. ‘And shorten your stride to cope with the incline without placing a strain on your lower back.’