North Pole Marathon

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Korean Wins 2008 North Pole Marathon

Press Release / 06.04.2008

Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) won the 2008 North Pole Marathon, which took place at 04:30 GMT on 1st April. The winner of the women's title was Cathrine Due of Denmark. Constant daylight and -29C temperatures greeted competitors at the top of the world.

The men's race was a close event over the initial stages before Ahn's persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to reap dividends. He developed a widening gap over his opponents during the second half of the race and crossed the line in a winning time of 4:02:37.

Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ignas Staskevicius overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second position. Ahn will receive a special Kobold expedition watch for being the outright winner.

Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women's event, battled thoughout. However, Due proved the stronger in the latter stages to take the women's title. Kirsty Devonport of Great Britain was third.

Unfortunately, unusual logistical delays at the Pole this season impacted the race field. A five-day wait was caused due to delays in establishing the North Pole camp and this led to two competitors having to withdraw before the race began. Furthermore, an effective cut-off time of seven-and-a-half hours was abruptly forced upon competitors by the logistics company in order for them to make a return flight to Norway.

Nevertheless, all participants stood at 90 Degrees North, the precise Geographic North Pole. In addition, the few remaining competitors who were agonisingly close to completing the 26.2-mile distance have been invited to attend for free next year as the race organisers prefer to have everybody given a much lengthier time to finish the event if necessary.

Next year is the Centenary of man reaching the Pole. To register for the race, which is now expected to occur in early April 2009, see www.npmarathon.com.

The North Pole Marathon is contained in Guinness World Records as the northernmost marathon on earth. It is also a member of the Association of International Marathons & Distance Races. See All Event Posts