Antarctica Marathon- 50k Ultra Race Report
- Jen Bloss
- 6 days ago
- 10 min read
Because what else would you do in Antarctica?
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What is it like to run an ultramarathon in Antarctica?
I think a lot of people have this curiosity. Okay, maybe not a lot of people, but the niche is bigger than you'd think. For me, the drive was to complete my goal of running an ultramarathon on every continent- so what the actual race would be like was an insignificant detail until I had already signed up. I think that the experience may surprise some people, because it definitely wasn't quite like I thought it would be! The best words to describe the Antarctica Marathon are: windy, hilly, and rocky, with a side of penguins!
Seven Continents Club
I am also beyond excited to share that I met my goal- I have now completed an ultramarathon on all 7 continents! There are very few people on the planet who have also achieved this, which is pretty mind-boggling. The goal started as just a natural pairing of two of my favorite things: running and travel. But sometimes when I think about it, I am struck by the fact that someone as completely “normal" as me, and by most measures, “very average" in the running world, could achieve such a big goal. It just goes to show that running is for everyone, and that most dreams are doable if they are taken just one step at a time. I will definitely be writing a separate post on my Seven Continents Club journey soon! Now for the race details.
First things first- there are races in Antarctica?
Yep, there sure are. Quite a few of them actually. The Antarctica Marathon, which I did, is the original, and has been taking place since 1995! There is also an Antarctic Ice Marathon, Polar Ice Ultra, and a few more, and they vary in distance and location. Some involve flying to Antarctica, one is a cruise, some have camping… but the one thing they all have in common is that they are very expensive races. It makes sense once you realize how remote and difficult to access Antarctica is.
How do you get there?
The Antarctica Marathon is put on by the company Marathon Tours and Travel. Unlike any other Antarctic race, it is a full Antarctica expedition experience- ten days on the ship, zodiac cruises, landings, wildlife spotting, and plenty of time to bask in the beauty of the white continent (plus time in Buenos Aires). There are multiple race distances to choose from: 10k, half marathon, marathon, and the ultramarathon (50k). I chose the ultramarathon distance.
The trip was definitely luxurious- excellent food, top notch staff, impeccable logistics. I was a solo traveler, but soon found myself surrounded by a whole bunch of people who were just like me- chasing the allure of 7 continents, people who loved running and traveling all over the world. It was awesome, and it was very much worth the money. This is coming from someone who still stays in hostel dorm rooms to keep travel costs down, so hopefully the weight of that is felt. You can't really do Antarctica on the cheap anyways, so you might as well get the full experience, and you might as well run a marathon while you're there.
Pre-Race: the Drake Passage and other unique considerations
The first days of the expedition involve setting sail from the Argentinian city of Ushuaia and spending 2 days at the whim of the world's roughest seas- the Drake Passage. We were very blessed to only have 6 foot waves for our journey there, but the constant motion still left me feeling very tired and blah. Those were some excellent rest days, because I did a lot of napping. A few people braved the treadmill or elliptical, but I did not feel the need.
We had to scrub and disinfect our race shoes and inspect our race clothing/gear in order to make sure that not a speck of organic material would be carried into the fragile Antarctic ecosystem. Visiting Antarctica requires the strictest adherence to “leave only footprints" principles, in order to not cause harm to the pristine and isolated environment. Along those lines, the race is completely self-supported (no aid stations) and all nutrition must be removed from wrappers. So, gels go in gel-flasks, food can go directly in your vest or in a tupperware container; you must also bring all of your water with you. We spent some time labeling all of our gear during the sea days. I definitely went overboard on soft flasks, but some people kept it simple and just refilled bottles they had gotten at a store in Argentina (or used a hydration bladder).
Antarctica Marathon- the course
The Antarctica Marathon is run on King George Island, which is home to a number of research bases (Chile, Russia, Uruguay, China). Much of the year it is snow-covered, but our race was in March, the end of the Antarctic summer, so most of the snow had melted. This made me quite sad, because I wanted to run in a winter wonderland. The course is run on a dirt/gravel service road that connects the research bases.
We were very lucky to have the full course available to us. From the start line we ran a section of course out towards the Chinese base and back, and then continued on towards the Uruguayan base and back. Each side was about 2.2 miles out, then the same back, making each full loop about 8.5 miles. Apparently in the past few years only one side of the course has been open, meaning that the runners had to do a lot of loops. For us fortunate Voyage One runners (there are 2 sailings each year), the ultra was 3 full loops, plus an extra out-and-back to the China side plus a little bit more. The start/finish line was like home base- you ran through it each time you completed one of the sides, and it was a place to leave water/nutrition. Each side of the course also had a drop zone for water bottles.
The terrain
The course was very, very hilly, and also quite rocky. The China side had more flat areas, but had sections that were so rocky that I seriously worried about rolling an ankle. It went along the water where I saw penguins multiple times, and had a lot of pretty mossy green areas. The Uruguayan side was constant rolling hills, but more packed dirt and stable footing. I thought the Uruguayan side was prettier- there were some remnants of snow and views of glaciers in the distance…and also penguins! The official elevation gain that the marathoners were told was around 1,400 feet. Almost everyone I knew had Garmins telling them at least 2,500-3,000 feet of elevation gain. For the ultra, my watch told me it was 4,100ft of elevation gain. I'm sure this is an overstatement, but I'm not sure by how much. Apparently GPS watches aren't entirely accurate in Antarctica, but everyone seemed to have a lot more vert than expected.
What was the weather like?
We got lucky with the weather conditions on race day, with conditions being nearly a best-case scenario for Antarctica. Our temperature was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit before wind chill, which I'm sure knocked it down by at least 10 degrees at times. The wind was mostly constant, and often in extreme gusts. Sometimes the wind was so strong that running felt futile. Other times I had a glorious tailwind pushing me up the hill. The day started very foggy and was overcast most of the day, with a few short periods of sun. I would say the conditions were quite variable.
Gear choices
I was pretty happy with my clothing choices: fleece lined running tights, a midweight merino wool base layer, a very light waterproof shell, Injinji trail socks, and gloves. I had a fleece headband on to start, but after the first lap I didn't need it. A buff was the MVP for protecting my face from the wind. I had a collection of additional clothing options in my dry bag at the start line too, just in case.
Antarctica Marathon: the race day experience:
Race morning started with a modest wakeup around 5:45am. There was an early breakfast available, but I just grabbed a coffee and ate my normal pre-race bars in order to prevent any bathroom problems. At 7:15, the marathoners and ultramarathoners began heading to the zodiacs for the short ride to shore. I absolutely loved taking a boat to the race start! After shedding our warm gear and boots, and placing all of our water bottles on tarps, we marched over to a very relaxed starting line. At 8am, the marathoners and ultra runners were off! The half marathoners and 10k runners came later in order to reduce crowding.
My favorite thing about this race (aside from seeing penguins) was that the looping nature of it allowed you to pass your fellow runners often. We had spent nearly a week on this trip together already, getting to know one another. It was so much fun to pass all of the friendly faces and to give a high five or shout of encouragement to them. It was such a mental boost to me- I’ve never known so many people in a race before!
Race strategy and how the day went
I decided to mentally chunk this race up into sections: Loop 1, part 1. Loop 1, part 2, etc. I tried not to let my mind get too far ahead of my actual mileage, which is something I tend to do a lot.
I stopped at the drop zone for water and nutrition each time I passed through the arch at the start line to pick up more water and food. I got confused with my collection of soft flasks before miles 22-26, and once I got out on the loop I realized that I left my gel flask behind! Ah! So much for my perfect plan of 75gm of carbs/hour! Thankfully, I passed some people at their mile 25 (yay for those out and back loops!) and bummed some gummies off of a runner who was almost finished with their race, and that sustained me. I didn’t let myself get into a hole about my plan being thrown off, I just kept thinking with positivity and thankfulness that I had even a little something, and that I wasn’t starting from a deficit.
On my first loop, I took it slow and took a loooot of photos. I was running in Antarctica, the scenery is what it’s about! Plus I had a feeling that the weather could change later and may not be as good for photos. The first penguin sighting was also on loop one, just off the course!
After Loop 3, Part 2, most of the other runners were running the full marathon and they were all coming in to their finish line. But for me, I framed it as the start of my “fun miles.” I just kept telling myself “get to the fun miles”, which really just meant that I was off the hook and could walk the last 5 miles if I wanted to, since I had a good time cushion for the 8 hour cutoff. Of course I didn’t, but I always have to give myself the option. But I did take a lot more walk breaks. Some of the steeper downhills were starting to make my quads cramp, and I was definitely feeling the miles of unrelenting hills on my unprepared body. I certainly did not feel guilty taking a moment to watch a group of penguins swimming either!
Spiritual endurance in the absence of physical endurance
I had a lot of fears and doubts going into the race. My training had absolutely fallen apart for this race. Persistent sickness and a low HRV had me doing run/walk until 7 weeks before the race, and my few long runs were only 13, 13.5 and 17 miles. Not only was I quite untrained, but I developed a flare-up of an old injury only two days before leaving. It was an emotional rollercoaster for me during those pre-race days. To think of all of the money I’d spent to get to Antarctica, knowing I could never afford to do it again, that my one chance could be destroyed because of this injury…it was too disappointing for me to think about fully.
A few months before the race when I was barely training, I had a strong revelation that my success in this race would so clearly be a God thing, because there was absolutely no way that my training would give me any confidence. And after I ran 17 miles and had a shred of hope, I got an unprovoked calf injury. This felt like God reminding me that it would not be ME- not my skill nor my training, but fully Him and his abilities, if I were to finish the race. I knew there was nothing else that I could do at this point but pray. Pray and trust- trust that God was already healing me from the time I first asked, trust that He wants good things for me, trust in His compassionate nature- and also remember how he has done this for me so many times before.
Before my Patagonia race- I got a random injury the week before that left me in a ton of pain and unable to run. Before my Hong Kong race- I also felt like I was falling apart and the night before I was so discouraged and I didn't know how I would finish. Each time, God heard my prayers and came through. I had to trust that He would do the same for me this time too.
And He did!
It was a collection of miracles.
First- I didn’t have any calf pain during this race- and calf injuries for me are my slow-healing, frequently recurring, disabling nemesis. Second- I was totally able to cover the distance, endurance wise, despite my lack of preparation. And third- I felt genuinely encouraged and hopeful the whole race- there was no major valley. What blessings! Praise Jesus! Prayers absolutely answered.
The finish line is starting to get real
Around mile 30.5, I started realizing “I’m actually going to finish! I’m actually going to meet my goal of running an ultramarathon on every continent! I can’t believe it!” I felt tears well up and part of me wanted to let it go and cry with happiness- but the other part of me was superstitious and didn’t want to invite a disabling and race-ending injury with less than a mile to go. So I turned off my brain and got back to taking it nice and easy to finish it up.
The grand finale
Running through the final arch at the finish line was sweet relief. It was done. I did it. I got through this race, miraculously. Everything was set up against me but I did not fail, I was not crushed with disappointment, and best of all- my life goal was complete.
Post-Race: the adventure has only begun
There is no lingering at the finish line of the Antarctica Marathon- you change back into your boots and warm gear quickly, and then hop into a zodiac to return to the ship before hypothermia sets in. A pod of penguins was actually swimming around our zodiac as we loaded up, which was just the cherry on top of a great experience. And what was super awesome is that the race was just the beginning of the magic on this trip. Each day afterwards involved zodiac cruises and landings into some of the most awe-inspiring places on earth. I could never get enough of those serene glacial landscapes, and I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Fantastic story!