Marathon Runners Compete on Drifting Sea Ice at the North Pole

In what organisers described as the world’s coolest marathon, twenty‑three athletes representing seven nations finished laps of a 1,055‑metre track on the Arctic’s geographic North Pole.

Participants boarded the French polar vessel Le Commandant Charcot in Norway, disembarked at the ice floe and sprinted around the loop while wearing thermal clothing and life‑vests that were a mandatory safety measure given the harsh sub‑zero temperatures.

Denmark’s Rikke Dam emerged victorious in the women’s division with a time of 6:54:02, while China’s Wang Shengxian claimed the men’s title in 3:52:22. The event has captured the imagination of sporting and scientific communities, offering a vivid glimpse of endurance at the planet’s northernmost point.

Video edited by Ian Aikman