The North Pole Marathon also termed as the World's Coolest Marathon is run over the traditional 42.195 km marathon distance at the North Pole. It is run on a small 4.22 km loop around ten times over hard snow or the ice of the Arctic Ocean. The race comprises an individual competition with male and female divisions as well as a team competition for teams of two or three. An option to run a half marathon is also provided.
The Guinness World Records have recognised the sport as the "Northernmost Marathon on Earth".
The first ever North Pole Marathon took place on April 5, 2002, which was a 'solo' run by Richard Donovan in a time of 3:48:12. He won the first South Pole Marathon ten weeks previously and became the first marathoner at both poles by finishing the North Pole Marathon. The next race (the official one) took place on April 17, 2003, and was conducted jointly by several entities with ten competitors in action.
In the 2017 event, held in April at the Barneo Ice Camp, around 50 runners participated. Piotr Suchenia of Poland won the men's race with a time of 4 hours, 6 minutes and 34 seconds, and Frederique Laurent of France won the women's race with a time of 6 hours, 21 minutes and 3 seconds.
