Infographic: Would you run the North Pole Marathon?
Category: Sports
Via: hallux • 2 years ago • 58 commentsBy: Sebastien Billard-Arbelaez and Hanna Duggal - Al Jazeera
On April 13, the 17th annual North Pole Marathon will take place – the northernmost and coolest marathon on Earth.
The marathon takes place on the Arctic ice floes of Barneo Ice Camp – a Swiss-owned and Russian-operated drifting camp, which floats around the North Pole. Athletes must endure average temperatures of between -25C to -30C along uneven terrain of solid ice and snow to complete the 4.2km circular route, which they must lap 10 times in order to finish the race.
The first North Pole Marathon took place on April 5, 2002, when Irish runner Richard Donovan made a solo run through the blistering cold, covering the 26-mile (42km) standard marathon distance in 3:48:12.
To date, 552 people from 55 countries have completed the event.
The men’s record is held by Irish runner Thomas Maguire, who completed the race with a time of 3:36:10 in 2007. The women’s record was set by German Anne-Marie Flammersfeld in 2014, with a race time of 4:52:45.
The oldest person to complete the marathon is Michel Ribet, who ran the 2016 North Pole Marathon aged 78.
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I would be a hunk of frozen meat within 5 steps.
At 67 I now only run to the bathroom.
Wait until you're in your 70's, you'll move your bedroom there.
I had surgery a while back and believe me, it is better than having a catheter.
Well, that ''depends''.
Actually have a sleeping pad that fits very well in the bathtub.
I can manage a mild trot, but that's usually to the refrigerator.
Ha!!!!
My auntie invested in a potty chair. It was her only defense against the inevitable.
fuck no. that's not a marathon, it's a sanity test.
Kind of like Ice Road Truckers.
Insanity would be more like it.
Via drone would be the only way I'd do it.
I like the "watching it on the tube in my easy chair at home" method.
Maybe now. But back in your heyday I bet you could have competed in it and finished it.
I might have completed it but likely wouldn't have won.
Was never the best athlete in the room.
Had to learn how to fight dirty.
Just completing it would have made you the best athlete in most rooms.
a fifth of scotch can make you believe you've won everything, eh?
that ice floe hadn't broken off then...
That is a young man or woman's game. Middle age and up should not be out in the cold for any length of time because of negative effect on health. Long story short - most Newstalkers should sit this one out.
Thanks, Captain O.
Screw that, you think I got this old being a sissy?
And the Weiners are - - - - - -
Oh that is BS. That's me with Wiki getting prepared for the Iditrod. We placed first in the Weenie dog bracket.
My folks were friends with Susan Butcher. She was a four-time winner.
Ha!!
Now that's funny!!
That name made me wonder...iditarod.
Was whoever came up with the name making a joke about idiots running around in freezing temps?
It comes from the Athabaskan speakers of Alaska and it means ''distant place''. To the many of the tribes in the lower 48 it means, ''too fucking cold''.
And some of us in the lower 48 simply say "Not my friggin' job".
Morning...at least they will have good traction being so close to the ground...
Stuff this running around thing..you mob run around in ice and snow...we run around in deserts and heat...pass on both...
I wouldn’t run the _______ marathon. Fill in the blank, any word will do.
Mad Libs jumped immediately to mind.
“the _______ marathon.”
‘newstalkers’
Good for a fun run, difficult for the thin-skinned, and impossible to complete without losing one’s mind. An exercise in futility, but no pain no gain.
I did belong to The Polar Bear club when I lived in AK, but I would never survive the marathon then or now.
Fell through the ice once skating on a farm pond when I was a kid and almost drowned.
That was the last time I ever skated.
Yikes. Glad you are here!
I have never skated on an ice pond or an iced over river.
I constantly get told how I'm skating on thin ice here.
You like to live dangerously.
You're cracked anyway.
more like living life to the fullest...
I fell out of my raft during the Campbell Classic in AK and was trapped in some foliage. People got me out after about 20 mins. My body temp dropped to 78 degrees.
I can't even take a cold shower...so a no for me.
Meanwhile, in Florida, we protect our pets when the temp drops below 60 degrees.
And watch out for falling iguanas.
We actually have weather alerts for this. Many in Florida call it ''raining iguanas''.
Those claws would be enough to stop me from picking one up.
Try retrieving one from the top of a 20 foot tree when drunk.
Let me know if you want the back story.
It has to be a good story; iguanas. up a tree, alcohol involved and some of your other adventures
It might be too long for here, but send me a PN and I will tell the story.
LOL.
Ha. There is a few people I would like to use that on but I think I would get a ticket.
Morning...Awww poor snappy... someone could have at least put a scarf around his neck to keep him warm...
Snappy...Hahaha
NO
Not this koala either!!!