Running down south

I have to take a little time and tell you about a friend of mine who had the race experience of a lifetime. I've never met the man, but we've played fantasy sports together for years and we have spoke on the phone occasionally. It's funny, you feel like you get to know some of the people you meet online, many feel like good friends, even though there never was, or never will be any personal contact. This blog is in honor of Winston, who traveled many miles to pursue something very few men or women would ever consider.

Winston's trip began in late February as he headed south. Ah, nice warm weather in which to run after a long cold winter, but his plane didn't stop in Florida, nor Texas, nor Arizona. It kept going on to the next continent, South America, and all the way to the southernmost tip of Argentina. The plane stopped here, but Winston did not. Another 24 hours on a Russian ship crossing the Drake Passage with it's 50 foot waves, and finally he had arrived in, yes, Antarctica. So much for warm southern hospitality. The Antarctica Marathon was about to be run. http://www.marathontour.com/antarctica/

The weather was rough during the marathon. The temperature was 35 degrees with 20+ mph winds which made for bone chilling cold. It even rained a few hours after the start. The course had more hills, streaming crossings and shoe-sucking mud than the runners anticipated. There was a climb up a glacier around mile 4, where the slick ice took a couple of victims. One gentleman had fractured his hip during a fall and still walked on in pain to finish one loop, 13.1 miles. The toughness and dedication it takes to be one of these runners in simply amazing.

I'd like to take this time to congratulate all of the men and women who participated in this grueling event, and to you Winston, I hope to cross paths someday and get a chance to run along with you somewhere. I truly am envious.