The Antarctica Marathon: Battling Ice, Rock, & Mud

Penguins, millions of which have their run of Antarctica, are comically awkward creatures on land. So too, it turns out, are human beings struggling to complete a marathon on "the last continent" in unseasonably warm weather.

"I took a major dive in the mud and pretty much had to be pulled out," Alyn Park, of Denver, said of her 4-hour, 33-minute, 28-second odyssey over 26.2 mud- ice- and rock-encrusted miles on King George Island just off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Park, 54, was 13th overall and finished first among women in the seventh event, which took place Feb. 26. The second-place woman was 25-year-old American Karen Zacharias, who was 20th overall with a time of 4:45:39. The top men's finisher was American Darryn Zawitz, 35, who won with a time of 3:49:19.

But finish times are a very small part of the Antarctica Marathon, the ultimate adventure-travel distance race that's not so much for elite marathoners as it is for runners seeking an extreme physical challenge in one of the most starkly beautiful and isolated places on the planet.

"Antarctica was just a fabulous and inexplicable experience," Park said of the course, which, at one point, ascended then descended a glacier. "You were more apt to drown in mud or break a leg on a glacier, but it was beautiful."

Eight days later, March 6, Park followed up her win in Antarctica with a victory in the Fin del Mundo Marathon in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world. It was the first time since she began running marathons at age 31 that Park has run two with so little turnaround time.

"I probably would not do that again," the registered dietitian and educational consultant said. "I was doing it in order to get the continent, and it allowed me to get a race in South America, but I don't think it's healthy to run that much."

Park and her husband, Jay Wissot, will do the Great Wall Marathon in China in spring 2006 to join the Seven Continents Club of runners who have completed marathons on all seven continents. Wissot, 60, finished Antarctica 71st with a time of 5:40:30 (good for fifth among 60-year-olds), and said he was amazed by his wife's strong showing in both races.

"It came out of the blue," Wissot said. "She's a wonderful runner, a beautiful runner, and if they had recognized age categories, I thought she'd do quite well, but I never in my wildest imagination thought she would win the Antarctica.

"And then when she doubled in eight days, it just became surreal and thrilling."

Which, for Wissot, is an apt description of the terrain in Antarctica, where at one point a penguin lumbered in front of him on the course: "It was just uncaring that some idiot was doing a marathon."

Wissot, owner of Colorado Consulting Services, compares the ruggedness of the terrain to the grueling Pikes Peak Marathon - minus the altitude factor - but added that he and Park were fortunate because of the mild weather. Severe winds and bitter temperatures have plagued past Antarctica Marathons.

Terrain and weather in Antarctica tend to add up to 90 minutes to a runner's average marathon time. Park, for instance, finished the New York City Marathon in November with a time of 3:24, third among women in the 50-year-old division.

Park said her performance in Antarctica and then Tierra del Fuego even caught her a little off-guard.

"I could never have made up such a story," Park said. "Even late in life, it just shows what you can accomplish. If you don't put your foot in the ring, you never know what you can do."

INFOBOX

Down under

* What: Antarctica Marathon

* Who: 201 runners from 15 countries; 176 finished. American Darryn Zawitz, 35, was the overall winner with a time of 3:49:19.

* Where: 26.2-mile course on King George Island just off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula passes through scientific research stations maintained by Uruguay, Chile, China and Russia.

* When: Was Feb. 26.

* Cost: Packages run about $5,000 a person, including airfare to Buenos Aires, then Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, and then boat passage across the Beagle Channel and Drake Passage to Antarctica.