Marathon Date: February 28, 2011

Continent: Antarctica

My Age: 74

My Finish Time: 6:24

My Marathon Rating: Trip of a Lifetime

Memorable Moment: Receiving my Seven Continents Marathons Finisher Medal

Lessons Learned: Do not over train for a marathon by running to many long runs of 20 miles or more. I ran 8 long runs of 20 miles or more during my 16-week training program. My body never recovered in time for the marathon.

Marathon Selection:

By 2008 I had finished 12 worldwide marathons on 5 continents [North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia], which meant that I needed to finish marathons on the remaining two continents – Africa and Antarctica. I selected the March 2010 Antarctica marathon because in order for me to meet my commitment that I made in 1999 to finish marathons on all 7 continents I would have to finish a marathon on Antarctica, the most remote continent in the world, prior to December 30, 2012.

Registration: [05/28/08 to 11/05/010]

May 28, 2008: The only way I would be able to meet the commitment that I made in 1999 would be to register for the Antarctica marathon with Marathon Tours of Boston, Massachusetts, the only group that is managing a marathon on Antarctica. On May 28, 2008. I registered for the March 2010 Antarctica marathon, my 6^th continent, by paying my deposit of $300.00 to the company that manages the Antarctica marathon, Marathon Tours & Travel of Boston, MA. I was told that my deposit would ensure me that I would be on the list of runners who would be running the 2010 Antarctica marathon on March 6, 2010. The package that I received from Marathon Tours informed me that there would be two ships going to the marathon with 150+ runners, race support staff, and the ships Russian crew

April 30, 2009: My plans for the 2010 Antarctica marathon were put on hold on April 30, 2009 when I received an e-mail from Tom Gilligan, the Founder of Marathon Tours, that informed me that they will be limited to only one ship for the 2010 Antarctica marathon and must confirm travelers according to when deposits were received. As my deposit was received late in the process my trip to Antarctica would be moved out from March 6, 2010 to February 28, 2011. My original plan was that Antarctica in 2010 would be my 6^th continent and Cape Town South Africa would be my final continent, the 7^th continent in 2011. With the cancellation of my trip to Antarctica I now had to start the process of scheduling Africa in 2010 instead of 2011. I was very fortunate that I was in the early stages of the planning/registration process of my Africa marathon.

October 23, 2010: On October 23, 2010 I received an email from Tom Gilligan informing me, and the other runners, that the Clipper Adventurer, the ship that has been chartered for our journey, ran aground in the Arctic about 4 weeks ago. It was not looking good that we would be making the trip to Antarctica in 2011. Tom also said that he is looking into getting another ship to replace the Clipper Adventurer – he will keep us informed.

November 2010: Tom Gilligan e-mailed the runners that the Clipper Adventurer has been deemed not seaworthy for the season. He has secured the Sea Spirit [formerly called the Spirit of Oceanus] due to a recent bankruptcy by a cruise company that left the ship owners with no revenue for the entire season. The ship is confirmed for the same dates and thankfully it has the exact number of berths. However, the quality of Sea Spirit is far superior to the Clipper Adventurer. We are now confirming at the same price a huge improvement in ship quality and all cabins are suites of varying sizes from 235 square feet to 353 square feet. Everyone is getting a huge upgrade. A voyage to Antarctica for 10 days on board this ship would be about $3,000 – $6,000 more per person under ordinary circumstances. To ensure my name was on the final list for the 2010 Antarctica marathon I paid the trip cost of $7,090.00 in 3 payments [June, July and November] as required by Marathon tours and Travel. The cost of the trip to Antarctica is $7,090.00 and includes 3 nights in the Marriott Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires, round trip flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, 2 day boat ride to King George Island to run the marathon – three meals daily on board ship, sightseeing trips to Paradise Bay and through the fjords near the Lemaire channel, and the 2 day boat ride from Antarctica to Ushuaia. The trip cost did not include my roundtrip airfare from San Diego to Buenos Aires, Argentina, which I will purchase in December.

Antarctica Training: [11/01/0101 to 02/13/011] * 15 weeks

I started my Antarctica training on November 1^st after taking 3 weeks off from running after returning from the long trip to Cape Town South Africa on October 16th. I had a very aggressive 16-week 625-Miles Antarctica training program that consisted of two days [M & F] of weights/stationary bike/stretching, swimming, and 5 days [T, W, TH, Sat] of running trails, long steep hills, intervals and one day of 20 miles or more [Sunday]. As I look back I felt that I over trained for the marathon by running 8 long runs of 20 miles or more in 16 weeks of training – I did not give my body a chance to recover.

Travel:

Buenos Aires: [2/21/011 to 2/24/011]

I arrived in the Buenos Aires International Airport on February 21^st at 10am in the morning where I met the Marathon Tours staff and a number of runners. We then took a chartered bus to the Buenos Aires Marriott Plaza located in the heart of the city. I spent 3 days in the Hotel meeting the men and women from around the world who will be running the Antarctica marathon and who I will be living with on our ship the Sea Spirit for 10 days. From talking with the runners I found out that the ages of the marathoners ranged from the youngest at age 29 to the oldest of 74 [yours truly]. There were 54 male runners and 22 female runners and the average age of the male runners was 49. There were runners from 13 countries.

On the 22^nd Tom Gilligan Founder of Marathon Tours, and his staff, gave a very informative briefing about our trip at the group’s welcome banquet. The runners had an open day on the 23^rd to travel around the city or go on a free city tour. On the morning of the 24^th the group left Buenos Aires on Argentina’s domestic Airlines for the 3-hour flight to Ushuaia, the gateway to Antarctica, where we will get on our ship the Sea Spirit for the 2-day voyage to King George Island. Getting our boarding pass at Aeroparque, the domestic airport, was like watching a “Keystone Kops Movie”. As far as I could see there were no procedures on how to get your boarding pass- it was very chaotic to say the least. I finally got my boarding pass, gave them my check-in luggage, and was off to my next adventure with the airlines. My next adventure with Argentina’s domestic airlines did not take long – our flight was supposed to be a direct 3-hour flight to Ushuaia, but for some reason, after 2 hours of flying, we landed in a very small airport far from any major city. I asked the Stewardess why we were landing, seeing that our flight plan was direct to Ushuaia. Her answer was that they landed to deliver mail and to refuel – I have no idea why we were refueling after only 2 hours in the air.

The adventure with Argentina’s domestic airlines was not over yet. When we arrived at the Ushuaia airport we waited for about an hour for our check-in luggage to show up at the designated baggage conveyor but not one piece of the groups check-in luggage showed up. Everyone was now getting concerned as some of them had put their running gear for the marathon in their check-in luggage. That is something I never do – I always put all of my running gear in my carry-on luggage. Finally an employee of the Ushuaia airport told us that none of our group’s check in luggage was shipped from Buenos Aires and that it is being flown on another plane and would arrive in a couple of hours. I have traveled around the world with groups before and there always seems to be at least one person who’s check-in luggage gets lost – but never have I seen a situation where everyone in the group has had their luggage lost by the airlines. I still do not know why the luggage was not shipped to Ushuaia with our plane.

Ushuaia to King George Island: [2/24/011 to 2/26/011]

We had to wait for almost 2 hours before our luggage showed up at our ship and after another hour it was determined that everyone’s luggage had arrived except for one person’s luggage – that person was Tom Gilligan. Finally Tom’s luggage showed up and everyone boarded our ship the Luxury Liner the Sea Spirit. As soon as I got on board the ship I put on my seasickness patch behind my ear to ensure that I would not get seasick during our 10-day trip. We were over 2 hours late in departing for Antarctica but I was finally on my way to finishing the Antarctica marathon, my 7^th continent. Once aboard we were given our room numbers and after settling in we were given a welcome reception and a briefing on shipboard safety. The next morning [2/25/011] after breakfast we had to attend a mandatory briefing on what we are required to do to ensure that we protect the Antarctica wildlife and environment. We were also briefed on the Zodiacs that will take us to the Islands that we will be exploring. Our ship spent the rest of the day at sea crossing the Beagle Channel and Drake Passage. We were very fortunate crossing the Drake Passage as we only had a few hours of rough waters. After a very nice dinner the rest of the evening was spent watching videos and listening to lectures on Antarctica’s environment and it’s wildlife.

In the morning of the 26^th the captain informed us that we had reached the South Shetland Islands – where King George Island is located. Everyone had to go through a Bio Security check – we had to have all of our outer gear, running shoes, waterproof, pants, and backpacks vacuumed to remove seeds and other plant matter to prevent the introduction of non-native species to Antarctica. During the afternoon we got into our Zodiacs and spent a couple of hours on the Aitcho Islands to see the Chinstrap penguins and gentoo penguins. In the evening I attended a mandatory race protocol meeting – the 1991 Antarctica Protocol Adherence agreement.

Marathon Summary:

After 13+ years and 17 worldwide marathons I finally met the commitment I made to my donors in 1999 – “that I would finish marathons on all 7 continents”. I accomplished this on February 28, 2011 when I finished the Antarctica marathon, my 7^th continent, in a time of 6:24. It was a very satisfying feeling crossing the finish line after what I consider my most difficult and physically demanding 26.2 miles that I have ever run. Prior to the race I had set a finish time goal of 6:15, the race cutoff time was 6:30. My finish time goal was based on Tom Gilligan, the Founder of Marathon Tours [www.marathontours.com] recommendation to all of the runners that they should add at least 1 to 1 ½ hours to the finish time of their last marathon for their Antarctica marathon goal. I also checked with runners who had previously finished the Antarctica marathon and most of them told me that their Antarctica finish times were close to the 1 ½ hour finish time number. The Male winner of the 2011 Antarctica marathon was Michael Hewitt from Denver Colorado in a time of 3:25:49 [45 minutes slower than his last marathon]. The female winner was Diane Kenna from New York in a time of 4:26:29. The ages of the marathoners ranged from the youngest at age 29 to the oldest of 74 [yours truly]. There were 54 male runners and 22 female runners and the average age of the male runners was 49. There were runners from 13 countries.

All of the 16 previous marathons that I finished were run in major worldwide cities during their warm weather seasons, on paved roads, with thousands, of people cheering me on, with water stations every 3 miles and I could get to the start line by walking or taking a taxi. The 2011 Antarctica marathon was the exact opposite as it was run on the most remote continent on earth, with the coldest and windiest weather, on muddy, rock infested dirt roads that had many steep hills, streams that you had to wade through to get across. There were no people to cheer you on, no water stations, and the only way to get to the start line is to travel 600 miles on a ship from Ushuaia, Argentina through the treacherous waters of the Drake Passage to Antarctica, and then to get on a Zodiac for a 15 minute ride over very choppy waters to the start of the race on King George Island.

At this time I would like to thank Tom Gilligan [www.marathontours.com], and his great Marathon Tours team of Scott Guillemette, Anita Allen, Bill Serues, and Jane Serues for their tireless efforts to ensure that the 2011 Antarctica marathon was a success.

What follows are the details of the day before the marathon, marathon day and the marathon celebration, the Islands that we explored after the marathon and the 2 day trip back to Ushuaia.

Day Before the marathon: February 27,2011

On the morning of the 27^th, the day before the marathon, Tom Gilligan and his staff went to King George Island to determine what the course for the marathon will be, to get approval from the base research installations staffs [Russia, Chile, China, and Uruguay], and to setup the course with flags and mileage markers for the marathon. While Tom and his staff were setting up the course we disembarked in the morning for Robert Point, Robert Island. In the evening Tom Gilligan and his staff gave us the final race briefing and gave us the details concerning the final course. He explained that the racecourse will consist of a number of outs and backs between the Russian, China, and Uruguay bases and will go along hilly dirt roads. The race will start at the Russian base and go out 2.5 miles South to the China base and back to the Russian base for a total of 5 miles .The toughest part of the course will be going North to the Uruguay base and back to the Russian base for a total of 11 miles. The course will then repeat the China and Uruguay routes for a total of 21 miles and repeat the China route 1 more time for the 26.2 miles makes up the final 5 miles. Although I had a clear understanding of the route and that it would be clearly marked, with race monitors in key locations, I along with all of the other runners had no idea how really bad the running conditions would be as the day wore on.

After the briefing I went back to my room to layout my race gear for to-morrow’s race.

The gear that I wore for the marathon was:

Running Shoes: Asics 2160

Socks: Wigwam mills ¾ socks

Underwear: Thermal underwear

Running Tights: Asics running tights

Three Layers of jerseys: 1^st [light thermal], 2^nd [heavy thermal], 3^rd [heavy fleece]

Marathon Shirt: On top of 3^rd layer of jerseys I wore my worldwide marathons shirt

Hat: Wigwam Mills Gortex Hat

Watch: Garmin

Fuel Belt: 4-bottle Road Runner Sports fuel belt

Gloves: heavy winter gloves

I will also wear a Road Runner Sports water- proof jacket and pants to go ashore on the Zodiac. As is the case in every other marathon that I have finished the night before the race I was very excited as well as concerned about finishing my 7^th continent. At the same time I really had no idea just how difficult and physically demanding the race would eventually be for me.

I want to thank all of my sponsors who donated their best in class products for my Antarctica marathon. Asics, Wigwam Mills, Phase n, Road Runner Sports.

Marathon Day: February 28, 2011

I woke up the morning of the race at 6am, showered and got into my race gear then went for a light breakfast of oatmeal, a peanut butter sandwich, and a cup of coffee. Early in the morning Tom Gilligan and his staff boarded their Zodiacs and headed for the island to prepare for the race. The runners were on the Zodiacs around 8am and by 8:45am all of the runners were lined up for the start of the 12^th Antarctica marathon. The weather on race day was overcast; with a temperature that ranged from 32F-38F and with wind gusts of 40mph it made it much colder.

The race started at 9am and the fastest runners were up front and literally left all of the other runners in the dust. The first 2.5 miles to the China base consisted of about 4 to 5 steep hills, the dirt road was in good shape with no mud yet but the only flat area in the first 5 miles was where there was a lot of stones, I had to run against the 40mph wind gusts on the way back to the start and for the first 5 miles I did very well as I ran up all of the steep hills and went faster on the downhills to help my time. Once I was back at the Russian base I headed North 2.5 miles to the Uruguay base, which turned out to be the toughest part of the marathon. The route had a number of places along the road that was covered in a very thick and sticky mud and had at least 2 places where I had to wade across the streams and got my shoes and socks wet. I counted 7 steep hills along the route and I ended walking up the last 2 hills due to my having to run against the 40mph wind gusts. On the return to the Russian base I had to go through the mud and water again and my shoes were starting to get heavier as I couldn’t shake off the mud because it was so thick. When I got back to the Russian base I had now run a total of 11 miles which meant that I had to run the China route 2 more times and the Uruguay route 1 more time to make up the 26.2 miles. I headed out on my second trip to the China base and found that the road was starting to get muddier due to the number of runners going over the route for the second time. It became more difficult to run up the hills due to the increase of mud along the way. I eventually reached the China base and returned to the Russian base at a much slower time than my first trip to the China base due to the mud and wind gusts. At this point in the race I had run 16 miles and now was headed towards the Uruguay base. While running up the first hill towards Uruguay I picked up small stones in both of my shoes and they were rubbing on my heels, which made it painful to run. I tried moving my shoes to see if I could get rid of them but I just couldn’t shake them out of my shoes. After a while I thought that I finally got rid of them but they had moved to the front of my shoes and away from my heels, which were starting to hurt. It was a very difficult 2.5 miles to the Uruguay base due to the increase of thick mud, water, and the 7 hills. Some of the hills had so much mud on them that it was very difficult going down the hills. On the way back to the Russian base I was now walking up all of the steep hills as almost all of the runners were doing. When I got back to the Russian base I had now run a total of 21 miles and it was apparent that I would not meet my finish time goal of 6:15, as I still had to run the China route 1 more time to reach the 26.2 miles. I headed out for my last China run and my heels were now really bothering me it was clear that I had some rather large blisters on my heels due to the stones rubbing against my heels. When I reached the China Base and headed back to the Russian base I felt confident that I would beat the cut off time of 6:30. When I finally reached the Russian base I could see the finish line and as I finally crossed the finish line in a time of 6:24 I was very tired but very excited to realize that I had finished my 7^th continent. When I got back to the ship I finally looked at my heels and found that I had 2 very large blisters on my heels. I went to see the ships doctor and he put some salve on it and large band-aids.

Later in the evening there was a post-race party and celebration after which Tom Gilligan announced the male and female winners of the marathon. He also announced the top 3 finishers in the male and female age groups and the evening ended with an auction of the race banner and all of the mile markers – the money raised went to a worthy charity.

Islands Exploration: [March 1, 2011 to March 3, 2011]

March 1, 011: In the morning we disembarked for Culverville Island, which lies in the Errera Channel. The small rocky island is home to the largest gentoo penguin colony in the region [4,800 breeding pairs], along with southern giant petrels, kelp gulls, and south polar Skuas

March 2, 1011: In the morning we disembarked for Neko Harbor, which is a continent landing and home to approximately 250 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins. Weddell seals may also be seen hauled-out on the cobblestone beach or above the landing site. In the afternoon we disembarked for Port Lockroy, which is the home of the restored British Antarctica Survey hut and museum. The hut was restored in 1996 and is open to visitors during austral summers.

March 3, 2011: In the morning we disembarked for Petermann Island, which is the home to 500 breeding pairs of Adelie penguins and 2,000 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins. In the afternoon we disembarked for a Zodiac cruise at Pleneau Bay, which is an iceberg graveyard where both large and tabular icebergs and older, rolled icebergs have run aground. Many of these icebergs have originated from as far south as the Rosa Ice Shelf.

At Sea: [March 4, 2011 to March 5, 2011]

March 4, 2011: In the early morning of March 4^th we left the Antarctica continent and headed for open waters to re-cross the Drake Passage. We spent the next two days in some very turbulent waters – the boat was all over the water as the very large waves kept slamming into our ship. It was very difficult walking around the ship and even more difficult eating during the high waves.

March 5, 2011: During the day we sighted land at Cape Horn, Chile and the bad weather started to ease up. In the evening everyone attended the Captains Cocktails and farewell dinner. After the dinner I went to my cabin to pack up and prepare for disembarking in Ushuaia in the morning.

March 6, 2011: We disembarked at 7 am from our ship, the Sea Spirit, and transferred by coach to the Ushuaia airport and our 3-hour flight to Buenos Aires. From Buenos Aires I flew to Chicago and then on to Boston to spend 8 days with my daughter Lisa nd her husband Steve.

Bottom line – Traveling to Antarctica and finishing the marathon, my 7^th continent, was an adventure of a lifetime a trip I will never forget.

View more photos on Flickr – CLICK HERE