Antarctica Marathon

The Antarctica Marathon may have been the first for-profit sporting event held in Antarctica, on January 28, 1995. The event is now held every year in late February or early March. The 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) race is held on King George Island, one of the largest Antarctic Islands just off the Antarctic Peninsula. There is also a half-marathon held at the same time. The start and finish is at Bellingshausen Station (the Russian base), and the course passes the Artigas Base (Uruguayan), the Frei Base (Chilean) and the Great Wall Base (Chinese). The course follows a gravel road that connects the bases and changes each year based on the base operations as well as road and weather conditions.[1]

Antarctica Marathon
DateMarch
LocationAntarctica (King George Island)
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Established1995
Official siteAntarctica Marathon
Participants116 (2019)

History

Thom Gilligan organized the first race in 1995. In 2001, safety concerns prevented the zodiac boats from transporting race participants from the ship to the shore. The marathon was held by running 442 laps around Deck 6 of the ship.[2]

Other Marathons in Antarctica

McMurdo Marathon

The first marathon held in Antarctica may have been near the American research base, McMurdo Station, in January 1995.[3] The annual marathon is free and is open to employees and grantees of the United States Antarctic Program, United States Air Force personnel on duty at McMurdo Station, as well as Kiwis from New Zealand's nearby research station, Scott Base. Many participants run the full marathon. However, a half marathon option is available. Some participants elect to ski the course.[4] In January 2015, McMurdo Station hosted possibly the first known Ultra Marathon over 30 miles[5] on the continent.[3]

South Pole

The South Pole has also witnessed runners braving conditions to complete a full 26.2 mile race.[5][6] Both for-profit and free events have been held outside the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. The South Pole is possibly the first known location of an ultramarathon on the continent, when defining an Ultra as anything over 26.2 miles.

Past results
Year Men's Winner Time
(h:m:s)		 Women's Winner Time
(h:m:s)
2007  Matt Tyler (GBR) 3:51:33  Christina Harding (USA) 4:54:50
2008  Robert Celinski (POL) 3:09:43  Catharina Schilder (NED)
 Maria Schilder (NED)		 4:21:42
2009  Kornelis Brienne (NED) 3:04:50  Lisa DeYoung (USA) 4:07:57
2010  Robert Youngren (USA) 3:50:02  Kathryn Youngren (USA) 3:58:59
2011  Michael Hewitt (GBR) 3:25:49  Diana Kenna (USA) 4:26:29
2012  Terence Bell (AUS) 3:07:58  Brooke Curran (USA) 4:36:53
2013  Alan Nawoj (USA) 3:29:56  Inez-Anne Haagen (NED) 3:41:52
2014  Bartosz Mazerski (POL) 3:17:55  Stephanie White (NZL) 4:23:03
2015  Andrew Morris (USA) 3:27:02  Debra Patskowski (USA) 3:57:20
2016  Maxime Bondue (FRA) 3:15:24  Sharon-Elise Ryder (AUS) 3:38:03
2017  Luan Huynh (DEN) 3:24:22  Lesley Mettler (USA) 4:06:14
2018  Todd Lubas (USA) 3:07:20  Wendi Campbell (CAN) 3:58:52
2019  Nikolas Adair (GUA) 3:31:01  Suzanne McKeen (AUS) 4:36:55
2020 Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
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See also
  • The Last Desert
  • Antarctic Ice Marathon

References
  1. "Event Information". marathontours.com. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. "Alexandria's Brooke Curran on winning the Antarctica Marathon". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  3. "The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Running Down a Dream (page 1)". usap.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. "Running Down A Dream". antarcticsun.usap.gov. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. "The First South Pole Marathon". southpolestation.com. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  6. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/sports/30antarctica.html?_r=0
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