84-year-old Canadian completes epic marathon in Antarctica
Edmonton's Roy Jorgen Svenningsen managed to complete the gruelling ordeal in 11 hours, 41 minutes, and is the oldest man finish the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
'Go to Antarctica' is probably on a lot of people's bucket lists, but crossing 'run a marathon' off that list while you're down there is next-level.
Edmonton's Roy Jorgen Svenningsen managed both when he ran the Antarctic Ice Marathon on the frozen continent on December 13, managing to complete the gruelling ordeal in 11 hours, 41 minutes. But what really put him in the news this week is the fact that he pulled it off at the age of 84, making him the oldest person to complete a marathon in Antarctica.
Marathons are challenging enough as it is, and this particular race is a particularly brutal one. With a course at 80 degrees south, a few hundred kilometres from the actual South Pole, the Antarctic Ice Marathon is the southernmost race of its kind in the world, with an entry fee upwards of $24,000. Participants are flown to the site from Chile, and run the gruelling race in temperatures little higher than -20°C, peak summer for the Antarctic, and often run on ice.
Svenningsen said he struggled at some points during the race, but pressed on to finish.
“I wanted to finish it, and that was it,” he told CTV News. “I just thought I better get it done.”
Svenningsen has run more than 50 marathons on five continents, beginning in 1964 in Calgary.
He wasn't the only record-breaker in this year's race. Canadian Running Magazine reports William Hafferty of Boston finished the event in three hours and 34 minutes, a new record.
Meanwhile, Susan Ragon Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 69 years old, became the oldest woman to complete the marathon, finishing in seven hours and thirty eight minutes.
