North Pole Marathon

The North Pole Marathon is run over the classic 42.195 km (26.219 mi) marathon distance at the North Pole. The race is run on small, 4.22 km (2.62 mi) loop about 10 times over hard snow or the frozen ice of the Arctic Ocean.[1] There are individual competitions with male and female divisions, and a team competition for teams of three or more. There is also an option to run a half marathon.

North Pole Marathon
DateMid-April
LocationNorth Pole
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Established2003
Course recordsMen's: 3:36:10 (2007)
Republic of Ireland Thomas Maguire
Women's: 4:52:45 (2014)
Germany Anne-Marie Flammersfeld
Official siteNorth Pole Marathon

The North Pole Marathon has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the "Northernmost Marathon on Earth".[2]

History

The first unofficial North Pole Marathon was a 'solo' run by Richard Donovan on April 5, 2002, in a time of 3:48:12. Richard won the first South Pole Marathon ten weeks previously and became the first marathoner at both poles by completing the North Pole Marathon.

The first official exploratory competitive race held on April 17, 2003, and was operated jointly by several entities with 10 competitors. The winner was Martin Tighe (GBR) with a time of 5:02:10 in temperatures of −29 °C (−20 °F) and difficult snow conditions throughout much of the course.

In 2005, the North Pole Marathon was cancelled due to a dispute between French and Russian logistics operators.

Results

Past winners

Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 2003  Martin Tighe (GBR) 5:02:10  Mary Ritz (USA)
2nd 2004  Sean Burch (USA) 3:43:17  Stevie Matthews (GBR)
— 2005 Cancelled
3rd 2006  Michael Collins (IRE) 4:28:35  Alison Hamlett (GBR) 5:52:56
4th 2007  Thomas Maguire (IRE) 3:36:10  Susan Holliday (GBR) 6:17:40
5th 2008  Ahn Byeung-sik (KOR) 4:02:37  Cathrine Due (DEN) 5:37:14
6th 2009  Evgeniy Gorkov (RUS) 4:27:05  Pushpa Chandra (CAN) 7:27:31
7th 2010  Joep Rozendal (NED) 5:00:58  Emer Dooley (IRE) 5:56:54
8th 2011  István Tóth (HUN) 4:54:03  Richelle Turner (AUS) 6:03:06
9th 2012  Andrew Murray (GBR) 4:17:08  Demelza Farr (AUS) 6:06:36
10th 2013  Gary Thornton (IRE) 3:49:29  Fiona Oakes (GBR) 4:53:10
11th 2014  Michael Wardian (USA) 4:07:40  Anne-Marie Flammersfeld (GER) 4:52:45
12th 2015  Petr Vabroušek (CZE) 4:22:24  Heather Hawkins (AUS) 6:57:39
13th 2016  Dorn Wenninger (USA) 5:17:33  Gulzhamal DeFelice (USA) 5:50:12
14th 2017  Piotr Suchenia (POL) 4:06:34  Frédérique Laurent (FRA) 6:21:03
15th 2018  Argyrios Papathanasopoulos (GRE) 4:34:36  Guoping Xie (CHN) 6:43:20

2015

Men's Marathon 1. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 4.22.24 2. Douglas Wilson (AUS) 5.01.38 3. Daniel Palko (SVK) 5.08.56

Women's Marathon 1. Heather Hawkins (AUS) 6.57.39 2. Alice Burch (GBR) 7.04.42 3. Jennifer Cheung (HKG /HONG KONG) 7.06.06

Team Competition 1. Vemma Europe (Grabowski, Maier, Reilly) 24.15.59

Women's Half Marathon 1. Tanj Donovan (IRL) 2. Karen Curtis (USA) 3. Annie Rawlinson (GBR)

2014

Men's Marathon 1. Michael Wardian (USA) 4:07:40 2. Luke Wigman (GBR) 5:03:55 3. Patrick Cande (TAH) 5:46:19

Women's Marathon 1. Anne-Marie Flammersfeld (GER) 4:52:45 2. Anna Wester (NED) 7:57:50 3. Shona Thomson (GBR) 9:09:22

Team Competition 1. UVU Racing Team (Wardian, Flammersfeld, Hinett) 16:41:01 2. Team EEK (Dorran, Hunt, Kemp) 25:25:44

Men's Half Marathon 1. Ian Egan (IRL) 3:41:07 2. Paul Langan (IRL) 4:18:00 3. Yusuke Mamada (JPN) 4:29:10

Women's Half Marathon 1. Pia-Margit Hegner (SUI) 3:42:00 2. Mary Grealish (IRL) 4:23:27 3. Orla Murphy (IRL) 5:41:14

2013

Men's Marathon 1. Gary Thornton (IRL) 3:49:29 2. Renaud Michel (FRA) 4:34:29 3. Willy Steinskog (NOR) 5:04:07

Women's Marathon 1. Fiona Oakes (GBR) 4:53:10 2. Stephanie Gicquel (FRA) 5:48:56 3. Anna Chernova (GBR) 7:27:09

Team Competition 1. UVU Racing Team 14:22:53 2. Green Monday / Convoy Hong Kong Team 21:20:57

Men's Half Marathon 1. Jeremy Cashen (NZL) 3:27:17 2. Dennis Andrade (USA) 4:17:26

Women's Half Marathon 1. Elaine Barrett (IRL) 4:54:16

North Pole Ski Marathon 1. Miguel Caselles (ESP) 6:54:20

2012

Men's Marathon 1. Andrew Murray (GBR) 4:17:08 2. Luis Alonso Marcos (ESP)4:19:38 3. James Matthews (GBR) 4:41:01

Women's Marathon 1. Demelza Farr (AUS) 6:06:36 2. Rebecca Newman (GBR) 6:11:39 3. Julie Brailsford (GBR) 6:14:40

2011

Men's Marathon 1. Istvan Toth (HUN) 4:54:03 2. John Braun (LUX) 5:05:50 3. Dmitry Mamadaliev (RUS) 5:05:53

Women's Marathon 1. Richelle Turner (AUS) 6:03:06 2. Sharyn Fitzgerald (AUS) 6:28:16 3. Sue Bradford (GBR) 7:14:24

Team Competition 1. The Arctic Challengers (Great Britain)

2010

Men's Marathon 1. Joep Rozendal (Netherlands) 5:00:58 2. Rik Vercoe (Great Britain) 5:07:30 3. Yen-Po Chen (Taiwan) 5:29:47

Women's Marathon 1. Emer Dooley (Ireland) 5:56:54 2. Julia Tizard (Great Britain) 7:31:05 3. Sarah Oliphant (USA) 7:58:14

Team Competition 1. Team Centrepoint (Great Britain) - Carnie, Boyne, Bolton

Records

The men's record of 3:36:10 was set by Thomas Maguire (IRL) in 2007.

The women's record of 4:52:45 was set by Anne-Marie Flammersfeld (GER) in 2014.

Two guided blind athletes, Mark Pollock and Jamie Cuthbertson, completed the race in 2004 and 2010, respectively.

In 2007, William Tan - a wheelchair competitor - completed a marathon distance on the aircraft runway.

References
  1. "North Pole Marathon: Adventure Racing at the Top of the World". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  2. "For the Record". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
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