The inaugural Antarctica 50K ultra marathon was won by Peter Nelson II (atmospherically pictured in action above) in 4:54:12. Kudos to Peter and his nine fellow ultrarunners as all 10 finished the course on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica on March 11, 2024. Carissa Liebowitz (Raleigh USA, 5:32:11) was the first woman to finish the Antarctica Ultra.

The 50K ultra marathon was added to the regular bucket list challenge of the Antarctica Marathon and Antarctica Half Marathon that has been run since 1995, organised by Marathon Tours & Travel (MTT). The course changes annually based on event operations and road and weather conditions.

Jeff Adams, Race Director and President of MTT said: “We were very fortunate this year to use one of our original routes on King George Island, with its permanent research bases and terrain originally carved by the tidewater glaciers of Antarctica. There is nowhere else on earth where you can literally run between China, Chile, Russia, and Uruguay, all of which have bases that are connected by our course. Building on the legacy of the past 29 years, the 25th running took a big step forward with the inaugural Ultra 50K race with 10 participants.“

The inaugural winner of the Ultra 50K, Peter Nelson II from Ohio USA, said: “To run an ultra marathon on such a remote destination was such a privilege, as few have even had the opportunity to visit this pristine continent.”

Michelle and George Marut, first-time ultra runners from Pretoria, South Africa added: “We had the best time. The race was an incredible journey that passed in a blink of an eye. We were in the moment every step of the way. This was the furthest we ran, the furthest we travelled for a race, and we did it together. It was the experience of a lifetime.”

The original Antarctica Marathon saw 93 finishers and was won outright by W60 Katherine Shank (Harrisburg USA, 4:07:32) from M50 Joseph Perry (Ontario Canada, 4:15:11). M50 Carl Walsh (Rhonda Valley/100 Marathon Club) from Wales was sixth in 4:42:17.

The Antarctica Half Marathon winners were M40 Guillaume de Remacle (France, 1:55:01) and W55 Kate Green (Wye Valley, 2:07:12) who was accompanied by M50 Mark Marshall (Wye Valley, 2:07:13).

More information on the MTT website here and the full results are here.

Photo of Peter Nelson II courtesy of Kate Allen at CompetePR for MTT