ANTARCTICA ICE MARATHON, ANTARCTICA – a record of other sorts was probably set for the greatest concentration of Everest summiteers in one marathon.

Competitiors from Armenia, Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and the USA took part in the second Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100km races. These are the only footraces held within the Antarctic Circle and take place in 24-hour daylight at 80 degrees South.

Clear skies, temperatures of -10°C and light winds met the participants on 13 December for the marathon. Low cloud cover in the later stages of the race led to poor contrast and visibility. A group of six top mountaineers, including four Everest summiteers from the seven summits club, were late registrants for the event.
Their inclusion in the field added further excitement to the race particularly when the best marathoner among them, Karo Ovasapyan of Armenia, was still in contention for third place after 25km. But by this point Henri Alain d’Andria (FRA) had carved out a sizeable lead over Tim Harris (GBR). The Frenchman continued to push ahead to win in a new Antarctic Ice Marathon record of 5:08:17 hrs, beating Eveginy Gorkov’s (Russia) existing record by over a minute.
In finishing second, Tim Harris successfully completed seven marathons in seven weeks on seven continents and will undoubtedly enter Guinness World Records for the shortest cumulative marathon time for the task. Noelle Sheridan (USA) was the sole female participant and finished in a time of 7:15:46 to set a new Guinness World Record for women by running seven marathons in seven months on seven continents.
Herve and Philippe – France (3rd and 4th)

Two of the mountaineers finished the marathon event while the others decided at different points to withdraw rather than putting an imminent Mount Vinson summit attempt in jeopardy due to blistering or other running-related injuries. Nevertheless, a record of other sorts was probably set for the greatest concentration of Everest summiteers in one marathon.

In the 100km race, held on 15 December, Richard Donovan (IRL) took the lead from the outset and pressed hard over the first 25km. D’Andria (France) followed close behind. However, the gap widened to 40 minutes at the halfway point as the relentless pace continued. Easing up over the final quarter, the Irishman set a new Antarctic 100km record of 12:55:06—a race distance that is equivalent of 10% of the distance from the race venue to the South Pole. Both overall winners received $5,000 Kobold Expedition watches.

MEN:
1 Henri Alain D’ANDRIA FRA 5:08:17
2 Tim HARRIS GBR 5:15:28
3 Philippe MOREAU FRA 5:30:11
4 Herve TAQUET FRA 5:30:11
5 Gavin MELGAARD AUS 7:05:18
6 John KRAUS USA 7:17:48
7 Mike NIXON RSA 7:32:20
8 Jim WOOD USA 7:32:20

WOMEN:
1 Noelle SHERIDAN USA 7:15:46

100K: (15 DEC)
1 Richard DONOVAN IRL 12:55:06
2 Henri Alain D’ANDRAI FRA 13:25:10
3 Philippe MOREAU FRA 14:35:54
4 Herve TAQUET FRA 14:35:54
5 Tim HARRIS GBR 17:16:53
6 Mike PIERCE USA 17:16:53
7 John KRAUS USA 22:31:10

courtesy:
AIMS
see more:
www.aims-association.org