Union Glacier, Antarctica · Senne
Antarctic Ice Marathon Cost: What the $22,500 Entry Fee Covers—and What It Doesn’t
On December 13, 2026, the 21st edition will be run at 80 degrees south. The 20th brought the race’s first female overall winner, a return flight grounded by weather and a glacier course of 4 laps of 10.55 km—told here in the runners’ own words.
Saturday, December 13, 2025, Union Glacier, 80 degrees south. A 35-year-old woman from Sydney crossed the finish line in 3:48:43.
In 20 editions of the Antarctic Ice Marathon, no woman had ever won the race outright. In an Al Jazeera video, she said, “It was without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done physically.”
Even after the race, no one could leave right away. When weather delayed the flight back to Chile, the runners who were waiting staged a 1-mile backward race.
A Canadian runner who ran it in a penguin suit said it was “a lot more fun than the full marathon.” The $22,500 buys a round-trip flight to Antarctica, but it can’t buy a departure date.
So how much money—and how much time off—should you budget for this race?
Union Glacier, Antarctica
14 Hours From Punta Arenas to a Blue-Ice Runway, on a Date the Weather Decides
The gateway to Antarctica is Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile. The 2026 itinerary: arrive by December 9, briefing on the 10th, a day in Punta Arenas on the 11th, fly to Antarctica on the 12th, race on the 13th, return on the 14th and depart Punta Arenas on the 15th. Before you leave, the organizers check that your cold-weather gear is fit for Antarctica.
The plane is a Boeing 757. It crosses the Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and the Drake Passage, enters the Antarctic Circle at 66 degrees south and lands on a blue-ice runway at the southern end of the Ellsworth Mountains. From there, it’s another 8 km to camp in a converted van.
Why the frequent delays? The 2023 men’s winner explained it on The Kaleb Bryan Podcast. The ice runway has no air traffic controllers and no infrastructure.
Pilots have to be able to land and take off again the same day, so they watch the weather from 24 to 48 hours out. “If there’s any chance of unsafe winds, they’ll delay it and delay it and delay it.” In his year, the flight left on time.
In 2025, it was the return flight that got stuck.
Antarctic Ice Marathon 2026Sun, December 13, 2026 · D-62 · Union Glacier, AntarcticaSee race details
Union Glacier, Antarctica
2What $22,500 Does Not Buy
The standard entry fee for the 2026 race is $22,500. It includes charter flights between Punta Arenas and Antarctica, airport transfers on the day you fly to Antarctica, the briefing the day before departure, tent accommodation and meals at camp, up to 25 kg of luggage, a medal and souvenirs, and professional photos. So what’s missing?
Flights to and from Punta Arenas, hotels and meals in town, insurance, satellite phone charges and every cost that comes with a delay. Registration for 2027 is already open. You pay in three installments—$7,500 at registration, $7,500 by December 1, 2026, and $7,500 by June 1, 2027—or $21,900 if you pay in full up front.
Places are limited to the number of seats on the plane and go first come, first served. The organizer’s FAQ says delays of a few days can be normal on Antarctic flights and advises against booking anything important for at least 2 weeks after the scheduled return. Hotels in Punta Arenas run $50 to $300 a night.
At the bottom of your budget, pencil in a few extra nights.
Union Glacier, Antarctica
3The Antarctic Marathon Course: 4 Laps of 10.55 km, With a Headwind for the Final 2 Miles
The course circles a 10.55 km loop around camp four times. There’s an aid station every 5 km and a large heated structure at the turnaround. You’re at 700 m above sea level, with 10 to 25 knots of wind coming off the pole.
The surface is groomed before the race, but soft, crumbly snow is mixed in between stretches of hard ice. The 2023 winner remembered each lap in three parts. For the first few miles, the snow was churned up by the runners ahead, and simply staying balanced took all his attention.
The back half of the loop was sunny and out of the wind—actually enjoyable. Then came the last two miles. “You’re running straight and then you turn right and then the wind just blasts you.”
He wore Yaktrax over his shoes, but the snow melted as he ran and his shoes got heavier and heavier. The 2025 winner remembered the wind, too. It picked up suddenly, and on the climbs into the headwind she kept having to decide whether to take a layer off or put one on.
If she were preparing again, she said, she would run more on sand. Training on ground that gives way underfoot, and taking a headwind four times on legs that are already heavy: that’s where preparing for this course begins.
Union Glacier, Antarctica
4In 2025 the women's winner was 19 minutes off the women's course record, yet still finished 1st overall
The men’s course record is 2:53:33, set in 2022; the women’s is 3:29:16, set in 2024. The 2025 overall winning time of 3:48:43 was 19 minutes slower than that women’s record—yet no one, man or woman, finished faster that year. The organizers say as much in their race description: “It’s impossible to predict winning times.”
The weather reshuffles the race every year. In 2023, the gun went at 11:06 a.m.
under blue skies, but the forecast wind chill was minus 25°C. In 2024, the race started at 10 a.m.
in minus 10°C. The organizers put Union Glacier temperatures at this time of year between minus 10°C and minus 20°C. The cutoff is 10 hours for the marathon and 6 hours for the half.
The organizers say their priority is getting everyone to the finish. In 2019, an 84-year-old Canadian man crossed the line; in 2025, a 70-year-old Portuguese woman did. If you can walk the full 42.2 km, 10 hours is plenty.
Union Glacier, Antarctica
5What to Pack for an Antarctic Camp Where the Sun Never Sets
“I’ve completely underestimated how hard this is going to be.” That was what went through the 2025 winner’s head as she tried on her gear the night before the race. Dress in layers.
Up top: a thermal base layer, fleece and windproof shell. Below: thermal tights and windproof pants. Mittens go over gloves, wool socks over liner socks, and a balaclava, face mask, neck gaiter and goggles cover the face.
For shoes, the organizers recommend trail runners. Camp has Starlink Wi-Fi, so you can even video-call home. The tents are solar-heated, always warm and shared with a roommate.
In December, Union Glacier gets 24 hours of daylight; the 2023 winner said the glare off the ice meant wearing goggles or dark sunglasses not just while running but while walking around camp. The one thing he regretted not packing wasn’t cold-weather gear but an eye mask. With the sun up all night, falling asleep was hard.
When you pack, put an eye mask next to your cold-weather layers.
King George Island, Antarctica
6Two more races in Antarctica: the Antarctica Marathon on King George Island and the Antarctic Ice Ultra
There is more than one way to run a marathon in Antarctica. The Antarctica Marathon on King George Island, scheduled for March 8, 2027, begins with a voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, across the Drake Passage. Founded in 1995, the race is limited to about 360 runners split between two sailings.
Entry starts at $11,290. The Antarctic Ice Ultra at Schirmacher Oasis in Queen Maud Land, scheduled for November 8, 2026, is reached via Cape Town, South Africa. It offers six distances, from the half marathon to 100 miles, for $19,500.
An emperor penguin colony lies near the race site. Union Glacier is different from both. The organizers make a point of noting that the race is held in the interior of the Antarctic continent, not on King George Island outside the Antarctic Circle.
Then comes one more line: this far south, there are no penguins and no spectators cheering. For runners pursuing a finish on all seven continents, all three count as Antarctica. King George Island offers penguins and the sea.
Union Glacier offers the continental interior, with neither penguins nor spectators.
Antarctica Marathon®, Half-Marathon and Ultra-MarathonMon, March 8, 2027 · D-147 · King George Island, AntarcticaSee race details
Editor's pick
We recommend the Antarctic Ice Marathon—but only if your calendar can take it. At $22,500, it costs nearly twice as much as the race on King George Island. What that money buys is a day spent flying into the middle of the continent and running 4 laps with the Ellsworth Mountains in view.
It’s a different Antarctica from stepping off a ship to race on an island. Whenever it hurt, the 2025 winner said, she kept telling herself, “Come on, you’re running in Antarctica.” There are two conditions.
First, clear at least 3 weeks starting December 9: the one-week itinerary plus another 2 weeks after the return. If you have exactly one week off, this race will have to wait. Second, let go of your time goal.
The cutoff is 10 hours, so walking is fine.
The only way to find out whether spots remain for 2026 is to ask the organizer directly. For 2027, entry is first come, first served, so the first $7,500, paid when you register, is how you get in line.
The second $7,500 is due by December 1, 2026.
Entry period · Accommodation
| Races | Itinerary | Entry period | INFO. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctic Ice Marathon 2026 | Sun, December 13, 2026 | Open | Accommodation · See race details |
| Antarctica Marathon®, Half-Marathon and Ultra-Marathon | Mon, March 8, 2027 | Open | Accommodation · See race details |
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