The Antarctica Marathon® may have been the first for-profit sporting event held in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, on January 28, 1995. The event is now held every year in late February or early March. The race is held on King George Island, one of the largest Antarctic Islands just off the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. There is also 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 ...

held at the same time. The start and finish is at

Bellingshausen Station Bellingshausen Station (Russian: станция Беллинсгаузен) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations fou ...

(the Russian base), and the course passes the

Artigas Base The General Artigas Station ( es, Base Científica Antártica Artigas), also referred to as the Artigas Base is the larger of the two Uruguayan scientific research stations in Antarctica, the other one being Elichiribehety Base. It is one of ...

(Uruguayan), the Frei Base (Chilean) and the Great Wall Base (Chinese). The course follows a gravel road that connects the bases and changes each year based on the base operations as well as road and weather conditions.

History

Thom Gilligan, Founder and CEO o
Marathon Tours & Travel
organized the first race in 1995. In 2001, safety concerns prevented the zodiac boats from transporting race participants from the ship to the shore. The marathon was held by running 442 laps around Deck 6 of the ship. The 22nd running of the Antarctica Marathon & Half-Marathon® took place in January and February of 2022.

Other Marathons in Antarctica

McMurdo Marathon

The first marathon held in Antarctica may have been near the American research base,

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...

, in January 1995. The annual marathon is free and is open to employees and grantees of the

United States Antarctic Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

, United States Air Force personnel on duty at McMurdo Station, as well as Kiwis from New Zealand's nearby research station,

Scott Base Scott Base is a New Zealand Antarctica, Antarctic research station at Pram Point on Ross Island near Mount Erebus in New Zealand's Ross Dependency territorial claim. It was named in honour of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Royal Navy, RN, leader ...

. Many participants run the full marathon. However, a half marathon option is available. Some participants elect to ski the course. In January 2015, McMurdo Station hosted possibly the first known Ultra Marathon over on the continent.

South Pole

The

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

has also witnessed runners braving conditions to complete a full race. Both for-profit and free events have been held outside the

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction (not sovereignty) of the United States. The station is located on the ...

. The South Pole is possibly the first known location of an

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

on the continent, when defining an Ultra as any race greater in length than a marathon.

Past results

References

External links

* Recurring sporting events established in 1995 Marathons Half marathons South Shetland Islands Sports in Antarctica 1995 establishments in Antarctica 2015 in Antarctica History of the Ross Dependency {{marathon-stub