North Pole Marathon 2013

Terrain: La course à pied s’effectue sur la banquise de l’océan Arctique, l’épaisseur de la glace pouvant varier de 2 à 4 mètres d’épaisseur au-dessus de l’océan (profond de plus de 4000 mètres au niveau du pôle). La surface au sol est souvent très irrégulière – neige et glace – des crêtes de pression étant créées par les frictions et chevauchement des blocs de glace. Le vent peut également créer des congères.  Difficile de trouver un rythme régulier donc !

Conditions météo: La température ressentie est généralement de l’ordre de -30°C, et dépend étroitement des conditions climatiques le jour de l’épreuve. La température moyenne était ainsi de -29°C en 2008, -37°C en 2009, -20°C en 2010, -32°C en 2011 et -26°C en 2012.

Participants: 26 coureurs seront au départ du Marathon du Pôle Nord – de toutes nationalités : Allemagne, Autriche, Belgique, Brésil, Chine, Danemark, Etats-Unis, Hong Kong, Irlande, Irlande du Nord, Norvège, Nouvelle Zélande, Pakistan, Pays-Bas, Royaume-Uni, Russie, Suisse – et bien sûr la France 🙂

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Distance: 26,2 miles

Location: North Pole 90°N.

Usually 8 to 10 laps of app. 3 miles each – The whole course moves with the direction of the Ocean current during the race,although competitors does not feel this movement happening. The diagram below depicts the map readings of a competitor’s GPS watch for each of the ten laps of the 2007 race.

Underfoot conditions: On an ice sheet some 6 – 12 feet thick above 12,000 feet of Arctic Ocean on the top of the world. The terrain can be uneven, dotted with small hillocks of reasonably solid ice. In this case, athletes will have to be careful not to twist their ankles when running. However, it can also be comprised of soft and loose snow, and both features may be evident on the circuit. The 2006 terrrain was quite trying, comprising deep snow in patches and a very uneven and unpredictable surface, making it difficult to get a rhythm going. Some snowdrifts were evident on the course in 2010 due to strong winds.

Weather condition: It is possible that the wind chill temperature could be very cold at -30°C or even below this. In 2003 and 2004, the wind chill temperatures averaged  -29°C and -25°C, respectively. However, the 2006 North Pole Marathon proved to be very mild with temperatures averaging only -10°C thoughout the event, though dipping to -23°C for a very short period. The 2007 race had temperatures averaging -25°C throughout, while in 2008 and 2009 the temperature was -29°C and -37°C, respectively. However, the temperature in 2010 was not much below freezing, although high winds brought the wind chill down to -20°C on occasion. In 2011 and 2012 the temperature was -32°C and -26°C, respectively.

Participants: 26 competitors will run the 2013 North Pole Marathon.There are runners from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, the USA – and of course France 🙂

To know more about the North Pole Marathon, please click HERE.