The North Pole Marathon 2018
88This was the last time that the Marathon was run. The 2019 and 2020 Marathons have both been cancelled for various reasons. It is a great and unique event if you ever get the chance of running it.
Operated at the drifting Russian Barneo Ice base at the Geographic North Pole, the event is run on the waters of the frozen Arctic sea ice.
Camp Barneo, otherwise known as the North Pole Camp, is located approximately 49 kilometres from the top of the world. It is set up every year from scratch and serves as a base for excursions to the Pole. The camp is constantly moving as northerly winds push the floating camp towards the southeast at up to 0.5mph.
The course was laid out around the Russian camp where markers were positioned in the snow and ice. Competitors had to complete 12 laps of the course but were able to retreat into a refreshment tent every lap to regain body warmth and hydrate themselves with hot drinks and snacks.
Runners need to protect their skin against harsh conditions. Their clothing includes a full-faced balaclava, goggles, gloves and mittens, long johns, waterproof running pants, and several layers of thermal clothing under a ‘shell’.
60 athletes from over 20 Nations took part; China had a significant entry this year with 13 athletes vying for glory. The race started at 10:35 Sunday evening with a temperature of ¯30° degrees Celsius. This time of year there is 24 hours of daylight, so it was a bright sunny outlook throughout the race.
Aside from the cold, competitors had to negotiate the energy-sapping soft snow and small ice pressure ridges to complete the race. Conditions were very tough underfoot, in places many had to slow their pace to avoid slipping and injury. As the race progressed temperatures dipped further to ¯33° degrees Celsius.
The winner of the FWD North Pole Marathon 2018 is Argyrios Papathanasopoulos leading the field of 47 in the men’s race. This is the first time a person from Greece has won the North Pole Marathon. 46-year-old Mr. Papathanasopoulos is an emergency physician based in Halifax, England.
For the women, there were 13 competitors with Guoping Xie taking top honours winning the Women’s North Pole Marathon; she is also the first Chinese competitor to earn a victory at the annual event. This was the last time the event was run.