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I’m in the home stretch of planning for the Antarctica trip. As mentioned in my previous update … this is definitely a bank breaking trip for me … when put along all the other obligations I have going on. This an update to the original Antarctica Financial Planning post.
Note here that I haven’t included the cost of special gear that I will be needing once I touch the last continent … so the planning continues and the money drain continues to flow. The hotel costs are also quite low since I’ll be on a boat most of the time and using hotel points and status to ring up the right type of room.
Side Note : Did you know that people pay up to $15K USD to run a marathon in Antarctica? Here’s the write up … so if spending a bazillion dollars isn’t enough of a challenge for you, then one can always tell the story of how you lost your left leg while running in an Antarctic marathon.
On November 20th, 2013, the ninth Antarctic Ice Marathon will take place at 80 Degrees South, just a few hundred miles from the South Pole at the foot of the Ellsworth Mountains.
This race presents a truly formidable and genuine Antarctic challenge with underfoot conditions comprising snow and ice throughout, an average windchill temperature of –20C, and the possibility of strong Katabatic winds to contend with. Furthermore, the event takes place at an altitude of 700 metres.
The Antarctic Ice Marathon is the only marathon run in the interior of the Antarctic and is organised by Polar Running Adventures, the organiser of the annual North Pole Marathon.
The five-day itinerary will see competitors fly by private jet from Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 19th to the marathon location at Union Glacier. A marked course of 42.2km (26.2 miles) will already have been prepared and snowmobile support, aid stations and medical personnel will be at hand for the duration of the race.
The Antarctic Ice Marathon is the southernmost marathon on earth and a unique opportunity to complete a marathon that is truly worthy of the seventh continent. Don’t expect to run your quickest time, however, as winds can blow from the Pole at a steady 10-25 knots. Also, forget about penguins or crowds cheering you along the route – no penguins live this far south and you will have to rely upon yourself to push onward in the hushed, indomitable surroundings.
