Antarctica Marathon™ Finishers Conquer Bone-Chilling Wind, Glacial Streams and Mud

CHELSEA, Mass. - March 13, 2015 - PRLog -- The Antarctica Marathon lived up to its gnarly reputation as one of the most extreme athletic competitions on Earth during its 16^th running, announced Marathon Tours & Travel, the Boston-based race and expedition organizer. The Antarctica Marathon & Half Marathon presented by Vibram® and New Balance took place March 9 and 10 on King George Island, located near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The sold-out field of 188 participants hailing from 20 countries prevailed over the brutally hilly 26.2- and 13.1-mile courses that transverse the rudimentary gravel roads and connect the research bases of Uruguay, Chile, China and Russia on King George Island. Eighteen research base personnel from Chile, Russia and China also joined in on the competition. The races are held over two consecutive days to abide by an Antarctic environmental restriction of allowing a maximum 100 visitors on shore in any single landing area. Results from both days are combined to determine the winners and overall place.

Each race day saw a barrage of varying extreme conditions and challenges unique to racing on the coldest, windiest, most remote continent on the planet. Those competing on March 9 were faced with a snow-covered course, the byproduct of a summertime snowstorm the day before. Rising temperatures throughout the race melted the four inches of snow and turned the course into a slippery, slushy, muddy obstacle course of sorts of that included the navigation over, around or through glacial streams. Runners in the second wave on March 10 were met with much colder temperatures than the high of 39 degree Fahrenheit the day prior. Wind gusts up to 32 mph dropped the wind chill factor into the low single digits.

“As usual, dealing with the variable weather was the biggest challenge to completing the marathon,” said Thom Gilligan, race director and expedition leader. "The relentless hills, snow, icy streams and uneven, slippery conditions made for a very challenging race."

Competing on the second day, Andrew Morris of West Deptford, N.J. broke away from a pack of five runners a third of the way into the race and held on to win in a time of 3 hours, 27 minutes and 2 seconds. “I just put one foot in front of the other as Thom told me to do and I just happened to do that faster than everyone else,” said Morris. “In the last two miles it got really cold, really quick. I had to stop running a half-mile from the finish to put my jacket on. You would think I could have just toughed it out for the last four minutes but it was too cold.” Andrew Brett of Carson City, Nev. finished less than 3 minutes back (3:29:49) for runner-up honors. Daniel O’Connor of Midway, Ga., finished third in 3:45:01.

Debra Patskowski of Highlands Ranch, Colo. who, along with Morris, raced on the second day of the event, was victorious in the women’s division with a time of 3:57:20, good enough for seventh place overall/ “I didn’t know what to expect coming down here, I don’t think anybody does,” said Patskowski who was startled by a fur seal during her run. “The marathon was definitely one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.” Erin MacNabb of Fort Worth, Texas, finished second in 4:06:49 with Lindsay Wiese of San Francisco, Calif. rounding out the podium in 4:25:37. Wiese coincidentally won her expense-paid trip to Antarctica in the Vibram “26.2 Miles on the Bottom of the Earth” sweepstakes.

Paul White of Newmarket, Ontario was the first male finisher in the half-marathon (1:37:45) with Helen Ibbotson of Johannesburg, South Africa, taking first in the women’s division (1:54:11.)

Additionally a record 29 runners wrapped up their goal of running a marathon or half-marathon on all of Earth's seven continents.  The accomplished globetrotters were inducted into the Seven Continents Club™ during the post-race awards ceremony held at an outdoor barbecue amidst a backdrop of incredible scenery.

Traveling to a marathon on what is referred to as the “Last Continent,” is a marathon in itself. Athletes travel an average of 7,000 miles each to Buenos Aires, Argentina before departing to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world.  There they board either the Akademik loffe or Akademik Vavilov, Russian ice-classed ships, for a two-day crossing of the Drake Passage, a body of water that connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and has earned a place in history as having some of the roughest sea weather in the world. The entire expedition spans 14 days.

The Antarctica Marathon & Half Marathon’s official charity is Oceanites, Inc., a non-profit organization that researches the impact of tourism on Antarctica’s environment. Participants have raised over $150,000 on behalf of the organization during the past four years. Another large donation is expected in 2015.

About Marathon Tours & Travel
The leading marathon tour operator in North America, Marathon Tours & Travel offers comprehensive travel packages to 42 marathons and half-marathons on all seven continents, including the Antarctica Marathon, Great Wall Marathon and the Amazing Maasai Marathon in Kenya. For more information, please visit www.marathontours.com.

About the Seven Continents Club
The inaugural Antarctica Marathon in 1995 on "The Last Continent" made it possible for runners to conquer a marathon on all of Earth's seven continents. In recognition of those runners who have achieved this amazing feat, Marathon Tours & Travel established the Seven Continents Club ™ (SCC). Since then, more than 560 men and women have completed this quest. Due to the ever-growing popularity of the half-marathon distance race, a half-marathon division was established in 2003 to encourage non-marathoners to enjoy the benefits of running around the world.