Antarctic Ice Marathon 2011

By Mala Honnatti

Though, I was dreaming of North Pole and South Pole Marathons since a long time it was not feasible financially with my meager resources. I was satisfied with the local and few races in Nepal and US. One fine morning, it dawned on me that if I keep waiting for some miracle to happen and to be blessed with a jackpot or a windfall it may not happen in this life time. I must do it now and I must arrange for finance even by beg, barrow or steal. No, I did not steal it from any where but I begged corporates and ministers and finally barrowed it from bank by pledging my valuables.
2011 marks the centenary of Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen reaching the South Pole on 14th Dec.1911. What best occasion I will get to run marathon on Antarctica? I registered for the same online and headed to the Antarctic for a modern polar challenge: the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
There are countless inspiring marathon races around the world, but if one is looking for the father of them all, it is Antarctic Ice Marathon. No other race can touch it for inaccessibility ( 2 days flight journey and another 4 and half hrs flight by Chartered plane), extreme conditions( -20’c temp. and 200kmph wind speed ) and sheer icy magnificence( miles and miles of white ice nothing else ). And as for its competitors, you won’t find a more varied, eccentric and vigorous bunch of runners anywhere else on the planet. Add to that this year’s 100th anniversary celebration of Amundsen reaching the Pole on December 14 and you’re left with arguably the greatest race on earth. 

Travelling from Delhi for more than 2 days by 3 different airlines via Dubai, Sao Paulo, Santiago I reached Punta Arenas ( Point of sand), on the evening of 27th Nov. It is small, neat and clean port city in the Southern part of Chile. All the runners were to assemble here for a briefing and on ward journey by chartered flight. There are no commercial flights flying into Antarctica. 
On 28th morning we had a briefing by slide show and few strict instructions and guidelines were given regarding cleanliness, clothing, safety, protection against wind and cold, ecological balance, international treaties, etc. All our gear was checked for not only suitability but also for cleanliness. We are not supposed to carry any soil, seeds, insects etc even stuck to our foot wears which would contaminate the Antarctic ecology. Our foot wears were also disinfected before boarding the plane! 
At 10pm on Tuesday November 29, when it was still bright sunlight outside, we left our hotel and the frontier town of Punta Arenas to airport for a four-and-a-half hour exciting ‘never before’ flight south, very far south, to the Union Glacier camp. After boarding the Ilyushin II-76, inside the Soviet-designed and built fighter plane there’s seating at the front for around 40 people and cargo stacked at the back. Half of the control panel was in our front and the limited crew was multi tasking. The crew hand out earplugs to all the passenger because the engine was roaring like a turbine. There has to be good visibility at the Union Glacier blue-ice runway for the plane to land, and we have to be prepared for the severe Antarctic conditions, so we all travel in down coats and ski, windproof pants to keep us warm once we arrive and disembark onto the ice. In spite of all these gear worn before disembarking my fingers and face became numb in few minutes when I tried to take few photos on the runway.
After being ferried in a four-wheeler from the runway to Union Glacier camp, where we were going to stay, which is about 10k, we all go to sleep around 5am. And it is bright sunlight all the time! I could not make out the night or the day throughout our stay. I tried to recollect my high school lesson about Solar system and the Earth going round the Sun and rotating around its own rotational axis which is slightly slanted, about 11 degree, from the magnetic axis. That makes the reason for day and night and whatever pattern we have now.

We were allotted a two-man arctic tent which was provided with folding bed and table, but was not heated. 24 hours of sunshine and sleeping bags kept us warm in temperatures down to -40C. Other tents like Dining, Medical, Communication, and Entertainment were centrally heated. After a short sleep we met again for a race briefing and tour of the camp in the afternoon. We’re warned not to let the comfortable conditions in camp lead to complacency: this is an extreme environment. We’re warned against frost nip (the precursor to frost bite), snow blindness and the massive hole in the ozone layer directly above us, and told not to wander out of camp because we’re on a glacier and may encounter crevasses.
This temporary camp is set up for each summer season – which usually lasts from October until February – with all supplies shipped in by plane. The goal to leave this pristine environment untouched means that all waste( including human waste) is shipped out of the Antarctic apart from grey water – waste water from washing dishes and sponge baths – which is sent down through a bore hole. There’s no running water for showers or conventional toilets and even water used to brush teeth is collected in a drum, sealed and to be shipped back to Chile.
Now, the Union Glacier camp is like a five-star hotel compared with the Antarctic encountered by Scott and Amundsen 100 years ago. We spend most of our time in the dining tent, where we eat three hearty meals a day and can help ourselves to hot drinks and at any time. There’s a convivial atmosphere every evening when the wine and beer come out and everyone talks about why they’ve come to race in the last place on earth. Some runners have clocked up more than 100 marathons, repeated grand slams, others are in single figures. Many are aiming to run a marathon on every continent. In the evenings, visiting scientists give lectures on their research projects.
On 1st Dec. after a breakfast of porridge, pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee, we climb into the back of a motorised sledge to drive up to the start point of marathon. There has been a lot of debate among the runners about what to wear, especially after camp meteorologist Marc de Keyser gives us a weather update that the air temperature is -12C, dropping to -25C with the wind chill out on the course. The Union Glacier camp is protected from high winds by the surrounding mountains but out on the course it may be windy. Everyone is wearing almost 3 layers of special and specific clothing of thermal, fleece and windproof with 2 pairs of gloves, 2 pairs of socks, sun goggles, balaclava or mask and a layer of sun cream of 50SPF on their face. I became bit nervous and ran to the toilet twice and go back to my tent for some solitude before the run. In all this hurry, I felt a little pull in the lower back muscle and had to run Volini for instant relief.

At 11am, 32 runners from 17 countries cross the start line of the seventh Antarctic Ice Marathon in bright sunshine, eager to complete the challenge ahead. The course has been groomed and marked with small orange flags at 50m intervals. Everyone in the camp has been forbidden to drive on it in the week leading up to the race so the going for the runners will be as even as possible. The uniform surface disguises terrain that is tough to run on. It feels like you are running on the brittle glass and at every step it is breaking and the feet digs into the soft snow beneath making it difficult to pull out for the next step. As the day progress, the sun softens the snow and makes it soggy, with the result that the second lap is even tougher than the first. Every step saps your energy.
With very few visual references in the landscape, running in a straight line for six miles becomes a mental as well as physical battle. The three manned aid stations, which are around 10K apart, start as black dots on the horizon before slowly emerging as tents and trestle tables laden with hot and cold drinks, biscuits and chocolate. Each offers an irresistible opportunity to stop for something to eat and drink, have a short rest and chat with the camp staff. Time seems to behave differently against the white background and the hours pass quickly. I have been running on this vast expense of snow in the emptiness of the surrounding for more than 7 hrs without realizing it. Sometimes my hands and feet were numb, next my earlobes were senseless, and often, whenever I was removing the buff to breath properly or blow my constantly running nose my face and nose were freezing with chill winds. The snow was not hard on my bones and joints but it was a pressure on my hips and hamstring muscles. It was a lonely battle till you see the finish line and other runners standing and clapping there to receive you. I cross the finish line with hands rose to the sky, in a gestures to thank the God (or is it relief) tears in the eyes, lump in the throat and a sense of achievement and satisfaction in heart. I could not utter a word of thanks also to congratulatory hugs and handshakes. I was speechless. After taking a photo with the national flag and having some hot drinks and snacks, I limp to my tent to change the wet clothes. Yes, clothes were wet with sweating in spite of the --- -20’c temp. outside. Rest of the evening I was walking around as if I have won an Olympic medal. I became the first lady from Karnataka and second from India to run Antarctica Ice Marathon in that vast expense of snow, in -20’c temperature and chilly winds of 200kmph. 
At 10am the next day, there was an ultra marathon race and there were 5 runners for 100k and 1 for 100mile race. The sky was overcast by low clouds and there was further drop in the temp. with heavy winds. The marathon runners spend the day recovering in the mess tent, dashing outside to give a cheer any time an ultra runner passes through camp on their 25km four-lap challenge. We’ve eaten three meals, been to a lecture and watched some DVDs by the time first runner come into camp to finish the 100K in 12:09:06. Race director Richard Donovan is aiming to run 100 miles. In 2002 Richard Donovan became the first man to run a marathon at the South Pole. He has chosen to run 100 miles to celebrate the 100 years since Amundsen reached the Pole. He completes the distance of 100miles in 24:35:02. Everyone in the camp turns out to cheer him across the finish line.

It was busy time to be at Union Glacier camp. There are groups of Norwegians about to ski south to meet their prime minister on December 14 for the anniversary celebrations. Four engineers from the British Antarctic Survey are passing through on their way to the British base at Rothera. They are the advance party transporting 70 tonnes of equipment to Lake Ellsworth before the drilling project – to collect water and sediment samples from 3K under the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet – begins in October, 2012. There are guides who’ve climbed Everest more than 10 times and scientists who are tracking the retreat of the Antarctic ice sheet, with 1mile to 3mile thickness. They all depend on small planes to get around. There is a tent named after Col. Bajaj, who was the first Indian to explore South Pole on ski who is a well known figure in India adventure whom I had met during my stint at IndusInd Bank. In one of the lectures by a scientist I was told that India( along with China ) with its third research station, Bharathi, is going to play an important role in Antarctica politics, happenings and researches.
On 3rd late evening at 7.30 pm. we head back to the Ilyushin for the journey back to Punta Arenas with a collective sense of achievement and board the plane at 9.30 pm. in bright sunlight. I was the last one to board the plane and I wanted to grab that last second also to look around for the last time as I knew I would not be getting this sight to see any more in my life.