(Reuters) – Courageous runners braved snow and freezing temperatures this week for the Antarctic Ice Marathon, won by Ireland’s Sean Tobin who organisers said clocked a record time on the continent.
The event, the 17th of its kind, took place on Wednesday at Union Glacier, with more than 60 competitors from 20 nations taking part. Organisers describe it as “the southernmost marathon on Earth”.
Tobin, 28, ran the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.22 miles) in 2:53.33.
“You just sink (into the snow)… One turn I took, I just went completely legless and hit the ground. I was trying to get up and go again,” Tobin said after finishing.
“I had to go deep inside myself (to complete the course).”
Race director Richard Donovan said Tobin had recorded “the fastest marathon ever run in Antarctica”.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, to be able to run that fast in these kind of conditions,” he said. “It’s like running in sand… You can’t really get a spring off it.”
Becca Pizzi, from the United States, won the women’s race with a time of 4:24.15.
(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Gareth Jones)
