Antarctic Ice Marathon 2026

“The Antarctic Ice Marathon was completed on the original planned date December 13, 2023.”

A 2023 participant wrote about how the weather-dependent flights and race schedule went ahead as planned, and about the scenery after arriving at Union Glacier.

“By the time I crossed the line, my left arm was pretty much frozen.”

The runner ran 42.2 km in below-freezing temperatures, wearing three layers of clothing, gloves, and a beanie at the beginning. In the second half, the wind and snow intensified, making it difficult to breathe, and the runner lost feeling in the arms, but finished in 6 hours 53 minutes.

“This was not a race for time; it was a race just to do it.”

Rick Kopf completed the 2023 Antarctic Ice Marathon. The snow-and-ice course was four laps of a 6.5-mile course, and he said the goal was the challenge itself rather than a finishing time. According to the article, he finished with his fellow runners in about 7 hours 20 minutes.

“The entire course is on a snow covered glacier, making the terrain difficult to run on and producing much slower than normal finish times.”

This runner took part in the 2022 Union Glacier race and finished in 5:22, writing that the snow-covered glacier course made for a slower time than usual.

“What I underestimated the most was the softness underfoot.”

Brett Clark ran across snow-covered glacier terrain at the 2022 Antarctic Ice Marathon. The soft surface made the 42K feel like running on sand, and despite cramps, he finished 15th in 5:17:18.

“My body was screaming stop.”

The runner took part in the Antarctic Ice Marathon after being ill before the race. In the snowstorm and low visibility, the runner alternated between running and walking at first, then walked for most of the second half and finished within the time limit.

“Without exaggerating, it was one of the best experiences of my life.”

This runner took part in the 2016 Union Glacier race and finished in 7:02:14. They described the Antarctic scenery and the bond that formed between runners and race staff during the event as the most memorable part.

Quoted from the original · translated

“The Ice Marathon ‘track’ is of course just on snow and ice.”

Johnny Blair wrote about running the Ice Marathon course alone at Union Glacier. He ran four laps of the 10 km course on snow and ice. His running time was recorded as 4 hours 53 minutes, but he stated that the actual elapsed time, including rest breaks, was approximately 6 hours 30 minutes.