Pictures from the North Pole Marathon

It's hard to take pictures of the marathon when you are actually running the race. Here are some pics (some of me, some not) of the North Pole Marathon itself. I am wearing bib #7 on my leg and back.

Richard Donovan (the race director) Giving last minute instruction before the race. Have you ever seen a field of runners dressed in such fashion?

The start of the marathon. 38 brave and foolish souls. (36 would finish) Small races are fun to run. Not very often you can know everyone in the race on a first name basis. Before this the smallest I ran was in South Africa with 49 marathoners.

And they are off... look at those cheering crowds! look at the colorful balloons lining the route! Look at that ice....

Not me, but one of my favorite pictures. The runner almost looks fake in comparison to the landscape. When you are alone on a run at the North Pole... YOU ARE REALLY ALONE!!!

Oh yeah! Look at Bob run! Run Bob, Run!
This was lap #2 of a 9 lap race. Lap #1 I had the goggles on, lap #2 they were on the head, after lap three they were off along with the outer jacket to be replaced with a heavier one. The inside of the black jacket was solid with ice and I could not get warm. I ended up changing socks twice and upper body clothes twice. 26.2 miles = 11 pair of socks, 9 shirts, 3 hats, 2 jackets, 2 glove liners, 2 mittens, 2 face mask. Oddly enough the legs were fine. Everywhere there was moisture, it froze, even 2 layers in. If you look where the gloves meet the jacket you can see ice. (along with the whole head)

If you look quick enough, you can see me (#&) in the lead. What you don't see is that there are 20 people in front of me. We were bunched into 3 packs in the beginning, by the end there was long, long gaps between everyone. It was very rare to be running with someone.

Done, done, done. Taken about 30 seconds after I crossed the finish line. Do I look happy? Do I look cold? If you zoom in on the picture, take a close look at my eye lashes, every so often you needed to squeeze the eyelashed to break/melt the ice so they would not stick together. Fun stuff.... but I'd go back in a minute. Not even a second thought needed.

Picture time at the Pole!

If you are going to make the journey to the North Pole, you start to think, "what can I bring up there for a photo op?" You don't want to be home and then think of something you should have brought. Here a few pics from the pole with various flags, items and yes - The Travelocity Roaming Gnome.....

Finally, some pics....

The town of Longyearbyen: The Northern most populated (over 1000) town in the world. It also has the northern most everything: airport, supermarket, bar, library, atm, etc. It is a harsh place located at 78 degrees North. But it is amazing - friendly people and great atmosphere.

Main Street - Notice the snowmobiles

Main street - 2am...will the sun never set??? (actually not for a bout 5 months)

Longyearbyen is a mining town. The means to move the coal from the mines to the collection site and on to ships? Overhead cable cars.

Sorry the pic is so bad - it is from a moving van at night (well, 11pm) so the sun is up but not super bright.

It was -22 when we arrived in Longyearbyen and the walk across the runway was a brutal shock. After a week at those temps and colder, the walk across the runway to leave was different. No hats, unzipped jackets, etc. What a difference a week makes in getting used to those temps.

Do you ever get a little nervous when flying if there is snow on the runway? If so, this may not be the airport for you. This is a picture of the runway out my window of the plane. While they do plow the snow. My idea of a clean runway and there idea of a clean runway differ just a bit...

It may be hard to see - but the whole town of Longyearbyen. It is just a small port in the middle of the ice. The island chain is 2 hrs North of the Norway mainland by plane. The North Pole is another 2 1/2 - 3 hrs North from here....

Flying back to the mainland of Norway to the city of Tromso. What is very interesting is that we had to go through immigration in Tromso. We were not officially in Norway in Longyearbyen. Since the islands are encased in ice half the year and you could possibly walk from Russia/Greenland/etc to Longyearbyen (and people do - walk, ski, dogsled) there really are no borders. So when you return to the Norway mainland, the plane stops, you get off, go through immigration and get back on the plane.

90.00.000 degrees North - The North Pole! At least for a few moments.

It's done - I finished the North Pole Marathon. It has taken a few days once I returned to Kansas City to catch up on sleep, emails, thaw out, etc. It was amazing. Almost impossible to describe. Since there is nothing permanently at the pole, a base camp is built every year for the short season when it is warm enough to be there but not so warm that the ice splits. The North Pole is completely on ice, there is no land, and the ice moves, a lot. The ice flows from east to West (kinda) and is constantly splitting and reforming.

Camp Barneo: Every year the Russians fly up close to the pole and look for a suitable place to build a camp and runway. When they find a place they like, they jump out of the plane and parachute to the ground. In addition they bring a bulldozer and a few supplies. After the runway is done, the plane starts bringing people and supplies and they build a camp. Lots of info at: http://www.barneo.ru/

Camp Barneo is only there for 4-6 weeks a year! Then the ice splits up too much, they pack up and leave till next year. It is used by geologist, adventure seekers, a last stop before the pole and well, marathoners. It is constantly moving and was around 20 miles from the pole when we were there. It will sleep about 40 in addition to the staff. The tents are heated...but that doesn't mean they are above freezing. The warmest I saw in our tent was 27 degrees - but that is about 60 degrees warmer than outside. Water bottles had to be in the sleeping bag, wet clothes on the floor would freeze, etc. In a word = cold. But beautiful. Nothing for 1000 miles in any direction. No people, no building, not even any color but white.

We were at the camp for about 24 hrs before the marathon. Marathon started around 3:30 in the afternoon and since the sun never sets, you could run pretty much anytime. The temp at the start was -36 and then dropped to -38. Not too much wind, but enough that you knew when the wind was in your face. The course was an odd shaped, kinda oblong, zig-zaggy route that had to be completed 9 times. The snow/ice underfoot was everything from very solid slick ice to 8+ inches of fluffy snow...and it changed. As every lap proceeded the snow was more churned up and harder to run in. It is so dry that it does not pack. In between each lap there was a heated tent where we placed all of our water bottles and any food that we needed. If you were wearing snowshoes they had to be removed before entering the tent as it had canvas floors. Many people gave up the snowshoes after a couple times of taking them on/off. At those temps, it was very difficult to fasten the shoes. After two laps I was actually sweating and thought about dropping a layer. By lap three I was freezing and glad I kept it all on. I had three layers of socks. Three layers on the legs, five layers up top, face mask, neck gaiter, two hats and two layers on the hands. I had goggle for the first lap, but they kept freezing up and discarded them. It was cold. No other way to put it. As soon as your breath hit the air it froze to the mask/neck. Once I took off my gloves half way to adjust something, the little fine hairs on the back of my hands immediately froze into little ice crystals. When I touched them, the hair fell off. After 5 laps I thought I was done for. I could not get warm, was miserable and was doing a run/walk (run 20 flags, walk 5) I stopped in my tent, changed all my socks and all my upper layers. The warm and dry clothes refreshed me a bit and mentally I was back in it. Physically though, the loose snow was taking its toll. I slowly went to a run 15 flags/walk 5 to a run on the hard ice/walk in the fluff. The final lap I tried to run more and found that in the snow I could fast walk faster than I could run. I finally came in at 7:27 - the longest marathon I have ever done. The fastest time was just under 4:30 and the last person came in at 16:30+

After I finished, I quickly changed clothes and my spirits returned. Most runners then hung out in the heated tent and waited for the other runners. When someone would come in it was like an assembly line. We'd find them a place to sit, fix them tea or coffee, get them some food (mashed potatoes and goulash) and help them strip off the frozen pieces of clothing. After my roommate came in I finally went to sleep - about 6am. Was back up around 9am to see the last person finish and then 2 more hours of sleep.

Since the camp wasn't exactly at the pole when we were there, we boarded two old Russian transport helicopters for a quick flight to exactly 90.00 degrees. When we landed, the guide planted the temporary pole exactly at 90.00 We had a drink, took pictures, ran around the world, played alittle soccer and then headed back to camp. (that's not me on the left. Ted Jackson - crazy man. But that's a great pic of how it was)

Less than 48 hrs after leaving the pole I was back in Kansas City. 1 helipcopter and 7 plane flights later. I have a little bit of frost bite on my nose and a few toes, but nothing serious and all will be fine in a few weeks. I took lots of pics, but it will take a little bit longer before I can get them downloaded and in a form to post. I took lots of flags to the pole including the family flag seen on the right. That's right - the Bundschuh family has a crest/flag. Sure it is not the most colorful or interesting thing, but it has now been to the North Pole. I made new friends and had time to be completely alone in a place where when you are alone, you are REALLY alone.

It was amazing, simply amazing.

ps: the channel has been frozen solid for so long that the town has not had a supply ship in 4 months..... they have actually run out of keg beer..... please send....

It's 10pm in Longyearbyen....still light as the sun will not set again until August 23rd.... wow, this reallymesses with your brain. The temp is a balmy -22.24 degrees. (yess, they give the temps that way) Last check it was -38 at the pole. We leave tomorrow at 4pm, arrive 89 degrees North at 9pm. The marathon is set for 2:30pm on Tuesday. Fly back to Longyearbyen on Wednesday.
It is hard to descibe this place. All the roads are ice. A few cars which are mainly taxis or delivery vehicles - everything else is by snowmobile. A polar bear wandered into town yesterday.... yup, that sums it up.

wow - I am not even at the North Pole and it is a completely different world. Got off the plane after 27 hours of travel and walked out into a -22 degree evening. (no airport gangway, just down the steps and walk across the runway) The sun will never set while I am here, gets twilightish, but never dark. Was a nice -27 this morning, about to go snownobiling to wear the polar bears are. Though one did walk into town yestersday. You do not leave town without a weapon! Gotta go....

North Pole here I come!

Today is the day. 1:30 this afternoon I start the next journey.
From KC to Newark to Olso to Longyearbyen (off the northern coast of Norway) arriving tomorrow evening.
Sunday is dogsledding and snowmobiling to see some polar bears - hopefully
Monday we fly to base camp at 89 degrees North.
Tuesday we fly to the pole and have the marathon.
Wednesday back to Longyearbyen
Thursday back to Oslo - London - Newark - KC
Home Friday evening....

A couple more quick pics from Antarctica

Came across a couple interesting pics I wanted share:

Go Kansas City Royals!

The penguins loved the Travelocity Roaming Gnome..... sometimes a little too much....

And now....The North Pole Marathon

I just got this:

"GREAT NEWS FOR NORTH POLE MARATHONERS - the tractor worked. from the web March29,200 Barneo starts!Ice runway of Barneo airdrome is ready + accepts several technical flights today. First landed on floe at 1 p.m. MST.Construction of camp started immediately + after several hours there was a roomy mess tent built where the team can take a snack and warm themselves during their work.Temperature is -39°C "

Sounds great until the last little sentance.... -39 degrees celsius???? WTH? How can you start a paragraph with "Great News" and end with "Temperature is -39 degrees Celsius"
(for those who don't have their conversion tables handy, -39c is almost the same as -39f. Though something tells me at least 3 of the TrailNerds knew that without me telling them)

So, that's what I have to look forward to. I leave Friday - back the following Friday. In between I will travel from KC to Newark to Oslo, Norway, to Longyearbyen, Norway (an island off the Northern coast) then off to the North Pole itself. Spend one to two days at the pole, run the marathon and return... lather, rinse, repeat.... sounds like fun doesn't it?

Pictures, pictures and more pictures!

Since the pictures are really what everyone wants to see......

That would be a leopard seal getting lunch....

The Humpback whales were friendly
VERY FRIENDLY!

Dinner time for a Gentoo penguin chic

It is called the 'blue' continent - can you see why?

See the part of the iceberg that is under water

The juvenile penguins were very curious

More blue

It was hard to figure out what NOT to take pics of

The icebergs are amazing

A juvenile fur seal showing off for the ladies

The ladies are not interested

The Marathon

The marathon was set for a start of 9am, considering the body was in about three different time zones I did not know if that was a late start or early start. A 9am start meant a 6am wake up call, 6:30 breakfast, first trip ashore at 8:15am. To get from the ship we stayed on to the shore on a normal excursion was a interesting enough process with layers and layers topped with wet gear, life jacket and a bumby open ocean ride; add the fun of gathering your runnig gear...made for a fun and frantic morning.

The pic is right before we headed down the gangway to make the trip to shore. Not your usual running attire. oh yeah, that's my sister with me.

So, down the gangway to the zodiacs, across some choppy ocean with a bit of spray in the face to wake you up and onto shore. (the next pic is an overhead shot of loading a zodiac)

Once on shore it was hurry up and take off the wet gear, the knee high boots, put on the running gear, shoes, etc, pack your waist belt or jacket and get ready to run. The temperature was almost warm - about 32 degrees, but the wind was blowing a bit. 3-2-1 go and the race was on. The course was primarily dirt with patches of snow and a couple trips up a glacier. The warm weather was welcome at first as jackets were unzipped and the worst fears of Antarctica were unfounded. The downside of the warmer weather was that where there would normally be frozen ground, there was mud and muck. the kind that rips the shoes from the feet and saps the energy from the legs. And lots of it.

The course was a double out back x 2. Run from one end where the Argentinian research station was, through the Russian station and to the Chinese station - which to our suprise had set up a water stop. they had water, coke and BEER! Don't ever underestimate the Chinese. They stood outside all day welcoming the runners, offering drinks and posing for pictures. After about an hour into the run it was almost to a point of ditching the jacket, thank god I did not. If you think the weather in the midwest changes fast, try it in Antarctica. The nice warm weather was quickly replaced by 30 mph winds and fog/snow that reduced visibility to 50 feet.

Towards the last part of the marathon I started getting a little light headed from lack of any food/gu/etc and graciously accepted a coke at the Chinese station (and some beer of course) The cold was starting to get into me and I was having a hard time keeping the hands warm. I walked the uphills - did I mention there really is no flat part of the entire course? Yeah, failed to mention that - and ruan the downs. Alas the finish, i was closer than I thought but with the visibility i had no idea where I was on the course. Finished in 5:01:43....two minutes slowwer than last time, but I'm six years older, so I'll take it.
I had left my sister about an hour into the run, but had seen her several times and she was doing great. She came in about 43 minutes behind me. Like a good brother I waited. Froze my a..... off, but it was great to see her finish.
Afterwards, no chute to go through, no blanket, no food. Strip off the running gear, put on the other clothes, on with the wet gear, the boots, the life jackets, etc.... take a nice 1/4 stroll to the beach, get in the zodiacs, off the ship, up the gangway (ouch) scrub the boots in case of anything that might have gotten on the boots, off with the boots, wet gear, lifejackets, down the hall, into the shower....

Home Sweet Home....for 16 days.

I made it back to Kansas City after a marathon of travel so to speak. The boat made the turn away from Antarctica at 5:30pm Saturday, March 14 and headed for Cape Horn at the tip of South America. We arrived in port around 6am on Monday, March 16 after 36 hours of pretty rough water with some ghale force winds. Debarking from the ship at 8:30am, I started the last four legs of the journey home. From the port town of Ushuaia, Argentina a three hour flight to Buenos Aires. Four hour layover and then to Miami, Florida. Three hours in Miami and then off to Dallas. Three more hours in Dallas and then finally home to Kansas City at 2:35pm. Just short of 36 hours from leaving the ship to being home - the clothes I was wearing started to show/smell a bit of the travel. But it was worth it.

The trip to Antarctica is like no other. A once in a lifetime trip most say; so I did it twice.

At the reception dinner in Buenos Aires, the owner of Marathon Tours tells all in attendance that the marathon is just a very small part of the whole trip. Most laughed this off as nonsense as the marathon WAS the reason for the trip. At the end, I would be willing to bet 99% of those who made the journey would agree with him. While the marathon was the reason for the trip, it paled in comparison to everything else. maybe because running a marathon was the only familiar thing for us. We knew what to do, how to do it and somewhat of what to expect. Sure the terrain and conditions may be different, but the objective was the same. As for the rest of the trip - everything was different. How do you prepare for living on a very small ship for 10 days? Not a cruise ship, but a Russian scientific research vessel not designed for luxury. How do you prepare for twice-a-day calls to suit up in three layers of warm clothes covered by waterproof clothes, knee high rubber boots, life jackets, backpacks, etc...then down the gangway to an awaiting zodiac (rubber boat with motor) and off to play with the whales or onto land to play with thousands of penguins? And what do you take pictures of? What don't you take pictures of? Every second of everyday is worth taking a picture. The whole trip was one big photo-moment. It's hard to explain.

whew - gonna take a breather and post some pics. More later.

I survived phase 1

Well, I survived the marathon. Two minutes slower than last time, but I didn´t train well, so I am ok with that. More mud than snow, quicksand to be more exact, sucked shoes right off the feet. The rest of the trip was amazing as predicted. Penguins, seals, whale and beautiful ice.
More to follow when I get to the states.

Bob

Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina!

I love this city. This is my third time down here and I enjoy it more everytime. The people, the food, (the wine) and the laid back feeling are wonderful. If anyone ever gets the chance and wants a great vacation spot, even for a short trip - I recommend Buenos Aires.

The group for the first ship left this morning. They will e a day ahead of us the whole trip. We will meet up on race day and then two days later for a BBQ and awards. We leave at 4am Saturday morning (1am KC time)

We found out that the race almost didn't happen. As late as last Friday, all the countries involved on the course, had not signed off on the marathon. A lot of politics and posturing went on this year to be able to hold the race. I feel soon that they will be unable to have the marathon in the same place they have had it for years.

Not much to post or to follow yet; and when I am on the ship there is no communication so there will be no posting. But I will be back with pics and stories.

Enjoy the weekend!!!

-Bob

It starts tomorrow

Time is up - time to leave (almost)

6:00am flight tomorrow morning is gonna come really quick and early. Up at 4am, to the airport around 5am and on the plane at 6am. From KC - Dallas - Miami - Buenos Aires...2 days in Buenos Aires and then fly to Ushuaia and then onto the ship..... whew.

From the middle of the country to the ends of the earth...

Wow, first ever blog...I guess that means I'm evolving?

I decided to join the masses by having a blog, at least for the next month or so.

Why? Well, next week starts a whirlwind month of travel and running. I leave next week to travel South to Antarctica and run the Antarctica marathon, I come back for two weeks and then travel to the North Pole to run a marathon there.

I know, I know....I'm not right.

It's not that I really like cold weather and thousands of miles of bareren tundra, I just like to run the 'different' marathons. I came to the realization years ago that I am not the fastest runner. I do ok with a PR of 3:48, but not close to a Boston qualifying time. I might be able to shave some time off with more dedicated training, more time doing speedwork, more miles, etc, but would I really enjoy it as much?

Instead of the fast path, I have chosen the fun path. I have run a marathon on every continent (Asia, N America and soon to be Antarctica twice) and have made countless new friends from all over the world. Along the way I have got to run on the Great Wall of China, stand surrounded by penguins, be awoke by a lions roar at 2am and realize I am sleeping in only a canvas tent, stare at billions of stars from deep in the New Zealand outback, drink some of the finest beer in Prague and watch the sun set over the Himalays. And now the next adventure...

Antarctica:

Run on the Antarctic peninsula, starting at a Russian research base called Bellingshausen. http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/stations/bellinghausen.shtml

It is not as cold as you would think. Some years it is snowy and cold, others it is more mud than ice. In 2002 the weather was so bad that the runners could not leave the ship and had to run laps on the top deck to get in their 26.2 miles. The marathon is the reason for the trip, but the other 14 days are the reward. Standing among thousands of penguins, floating alongside humpback whales and just enjoying the quiet and beauty of the ice and sea. Amazing.

North Pole:

Yeah, a weeee bit colder than Antarctica. Last year the temp was -29 with windchills approaching -40. It is run in a circle: 4.2 kilometers x 10 laps and the course actually moves during the race. Since there is no land at the North Pole, you are running on floating, moving ice.

The plan is to spend between 24 and 48 hrs at the pole and run the race when conditions allow.

The hardest part for this race is trying to grasp what -29 degrees feels like? The Northern US had a spell of these temps this last winter, but I don't think many people went out for a 26.2 mile run. That, and running in snow shoes. I have my snowshoes...all ready to go...and then Kansas City doesn't get but a few little inches of snow the whole winter. So unfair.

www.npmarathon.com

In addition to wondering why I am doing this you may ask, How can I do this?

No, I did not win the lottery or make a killing in the market. (has anyone?)

All this would not be possible without several great companies that are making my strange hobby a reality. So, if you are planning to do your part to stimulate the economy, consider the following: Redfeather Snowshoes www.redfeather.com makes great snowshoes and was the first to talk to me and actually not laugh when I told them what I wanted to do! FRS healthy Energy drinks www.FRS.com have been part of my training for some time. While they don't make the miles go faster, they make the recovery from long runs much faster. Thorlo socks will keep me warm through all 26.2 miles of running and just hanging out in the middle of no-where. www.thorlo.com and thanks to www.Travelocity.com for their support and my little Travelocity Roaming Gnome that will accompany me along the way.

Whew, that'a alot for a first blog. It's time to pack, repack and think of things that I will forget.

Hope you tag along for the journey....it's gonna be cold, but fun!

-Bob