The North Pole Marathon is run over the classic marathon distance at the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. The race is run on small, loop about 10 times over hard snow or the frozen ice of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. 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 A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

. The North Pole Marathon has been recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the "Northernmost Marathon on Earth".

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 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:

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

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.npmarathon.com/
Audrey McIntosh: The North Pole Marathon
- Audreys 2015 experience
Arthur Kadar: This is the story of my first marathon: The North Pole Marathon.
- Arthurs 2015 experience

Marathons Arctic challenges Sport in the Arctic