Just saying the words “I’m running a marathon in Antarctica” starts to conjur up some crazy images and a whole lot of questions! When our friend Page Williams took on the experience in 2025, we knew we had to share her story and info that might help others!
What Is The Antarctica Marathon
It sounds obvious, but there are actually 3 marathons on the continent!! This one was founded by Thom Gilligan of Marathon Tours & Travel in 1995, which you’ve likely heard of thanks to a lot of folks using them to gain entry to some of the Marathon Majors.
Unlike the majors, this is a SMALL scale situation. Only 100 people or less can participate each year to keep the environmental impact to a minimum. Part of the race’s proceeds are also donated to Oceanites, a nonprofit that studies the human impact on climate and wildlife.
Due to weather, safety, base operations and other factors, the exact race course typically changes a bit from year to year.
Here are some other details:
- Where: King George Island (a South Shetland Island off the Antarctic Peninsula).
- When: Late February or Early March
- Start/Finish: Bellingshausen Station (Russian Base)
- Course: The course is mainly on gravel paths that connect the bases in the area. In addition to Bellingshausen, runners also pass the Artigas base (Uruguayan), the Frei Base (Chilean), and the Great Wall Base (Chinese) on their route.
Antarctica Marathon Course
Admit it, you’re imaging running on a glacier with penguins chasing you. That’s kind of the dream anyhow, but the actual course is a bit different, though your connection to the penguins will absolutely happen as part of this trip.
What makes this course so challenging and an entry on the bucket list of so many is not only the unique combination of travel and weather, but the opportunity of a lifetime to see part of the world most people won’t.
We asked runner Page Williams what really put this one on her radar.
“I originally heard about this race when my friend Alyssa ran it years back. Since then I’ve always thought that running a marathon in Antarctica would be absolutely epic!
Fast forward years later, I randomly turned to my husband one day and said, “Hey would you want to run a marathon in Antarctica?” Mind you he has never run a marathon in his life and has always put up with my ridiculous antics!
To my surprise he looked at me and said yes!
So with that I researched Marathon Tours and figured it would be our big gift to celebrate us both turning 40!”
Even though this marathon mainly takes place on gravel paths, there is always the weather to contend with in an environment as extreme as this one.
- Largely gravel paths
- 6 hour cut off
- Wide variety of gear should be packed for changing conditions (especially for wind)
- Plan to carry a hydration pack – there are no aid stations
- Plan to wear road to trail running shoes
Weather can change quickly, both on the crossing from Argentina and on King George Island. There is the potential for storms, delays, rough water, fog, and snow, meaning some days you might be limited on how much can be accomplished outdoors.
Though the altitude on King George Island isn’t terribly high, the altitude combined with cold and windchill, rougher, sometimes muddy terrain, means you should take your conditioning beforehand seriously.
“I think that people know need to know that running a marathon in Antarctica is not like running a road marathon. It is very much like running a trail marathon!
To begin, we are called down from the ship in waves, from there, we must pass the inspection and then we are zodiaced from the boat out to the island.
Because of the quickly-changing weather, they actually had to change the course day of and made it a five loops course.
So that was five Loops running up and down the hills, in the mud, seeing penguins, and cheering on all of your new friends that you met along this expedition.
As one might expect this race is self-supported as we are guests on this land and we had to be incredibly thorough and thoughtful about everything that we brought on to the island and making sure that we left no trace.
There is a very in-depth briefing, program, and inspection that we had to watch and adhere to before we can even set foot on the island to make sure that we are maintaining its very fragile natural habitat and ecosystem. no wrappers are allowed, we had to scrub our boots before and after, there’s only one porta potty at the finish line, and absolutely no trash can be left behind.
You cannot hang around the finish line, but instead, must be zodiaced back to the boat immediately.
The focus of the day is not to run a personal best, but to enjoy the sights, the camaraderie, and the unique experience.
While there have been some pretty decent recorded times (records being 2:53:33 for men and 3:29:16 for women), the average finish times are over 5 hours for both men and women.
There is a cutoff time of 6 hours, though the tour organizers have the right to pull you from the race if you are not on pace and other factors, like weather, have to be managed.
How Do You Get To Antarctica?
The race itself is daunting, but the thought of getting from where you are all the way to a ship in South America – then onward to Antarctica – is surely scary for many people thinking about taking the leap.
Luckily, Marathon Tours & Travel has been doing this for decades, and they totally have your back. They handle all of the logistics for you, including all travel, meals, excursions, race information and stage, etc.
The company is also behind the Seven Continents Club, which is for runners aiming to complete a marathon on all seven continents.
Antarctica is obviously a big one to check off the list.
- Fly from your hometown airport to Buenos Aires
- Runners spend about three nights that includes a welcome tour, city tour, and race briefing.
- Fly to Ushuaia, on the southernmost tip of Argentina
- Jump on a well-fitted ship to take you south to Antarctica (certainly can be the roughest part due to the waves)
On the ship, runners will be treated to sights like the Drake Passage, Shetland Islands, to lectures on the environment and sealife, and to option excursions during the several days voyage.
According to what Page told us, getting there was more than half the battle (but also more than half the fun).
“Traveling to the race was an adventure itself!
This is where we learned what Adventure cruising was as I have never experienced this in my life. We learned that we are at the mercy of Mother Nature and all that she had to offer.
We had to sail from Ushuaia to our docking point just outside of King George Island which means that we had to sail through Drake’s Passage.
Thankfully, on the way there we got what they call Drake the lake and it was a smooth experience.
I can’t say the same for the way back though as we got what they call Drake the shake and I definitely spent two days in bed trying to manage seasickness and watching a copious amount of house hunters to stay occupied and not barfing.
It is worth noting that we were supposed to run the marathon a day later, but due to weather conditions and wanting to ensure the safety for all passengers and Runners we bumped up the race to a day earlier.
Everyone was eager and excited to take on this adventure!
The boat ride is definitely the part that has Coach Amanda saying she’s unlikely to ever enjoy this journey.
What is the Cost of the Antarctica Marathon?
The price of the tour through Marathon Tours & Travel starts at just over $10,000 and goes up to over $20,000.
The cost depends on the degree of luxury you desire in your travel accommodations, whether or not you share a room, what extras you add, etc.
Other providers have a higher price tag that allow you to take a private plane which avoids the Drake Passage. So it comes down to what you’re willing to spend and if you think missing that particular part of the adventure is worth it (absolutely saves time on the whole excursion).
What Will You See in Antarctica Around the Race?
The race is not only a marathon, but a full-on polar expedition.
You’ll see animals like penguins (sometimes large colonies), humpback, minke, and orca whales, many varieties of seal, and unique seabirds that don’t inhabit large parts of the planet.
Side expeditions on zodiac boats are offered twice a day, giving participants a chance to be up close with icebergs, to land on remote islands, to visit research stations, and to take in the overall “ice silence.”
There’s almost nowhere else on Earth where you can experience the deep stillness of a place where no humans interrupt the silence.
Page agrees that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that she wouldn’t trade for anything.
“The race itself is only one small part of the adventure.
Waking up the morning we reached Antarctica was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Plus, we actually had multiple other excursions to sail to other parts of Antarctica and experience the beauty of it all.
Of course, we were at the mercy of nature so what we were able to do changed daily but I was able to hike up glaciers, see more penguins than I ever thought was humanly possible and mind you penguins in the wild are infinitely cooler than penguins in the zoo.
We got to see seals in the wild how to protect ourself from them and even one seal tried to go after one of the guests.
We decided to be bold and did a Polar Plunge which was insane!
Unfortunately due to the upcoming storms we had to turn back a day early but the marathon tours team was incredible and found out that there was a UTMB race happening in Ushuai when we docked and we were able to then sign up on the spot to do a trail race in the epic mountains!
How the Marathon Tours team pulled that off, I’ll never know, but their team went above and beyond to maximize the entire experience.
If traveling the world and experiencing unique environments is part of your goals in this life, this trip should fall on your radar.
What do you think? Is the Antarctica Marathon on your bucket list???
What to read next?
- Best Half Marathons Around the World
- 10 of the Most Beautiful Marathons in the World
- Hardest Marathon Courses in the World (and nope it’s not Antarctica!)
25 Budget-Friendly Gifts Runners Will Actually Love
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