Antarctic Ice Marathon 2026: The World’s Southernmost Marathon Guide

The World’s Most Remote Marathon

There is a category of race that exists beyond bucket lists. The Antarctic Ice Marathon is one of them. Every December, a small group of runners — fewer than most club races have at a weekend parkrun — boards a Boeing 757 in Punta Arenas, Chile, flies four hours south over the Drake Passage, crosses the Antarctic Circle and lands on a blue-ice runway at 80 degrees south latitude. Then they run a marathon. In Antarctica. On the continent itself, not on one of the warmer islands that other “Antarctica marathons” use.

The 21st edition takes place on 13 December 2026 at Union Glacier, and it remains one of the most unusual athletic events on the planet for a simple reason: it cannot be replicated anywhere else. The conditions — average windchill of -20°C, katabatic winds blowing off the polar plateau at 10 to 25 knots, a groomed snow-and-ice course at 700m altitude under 24 hours of Antarctic summer daylight — exist nowhere else that humans run a certified marathon. The Guinness World Records designation as the Southernmost Marathon on Earth is not a marketing phrase. It is a geographical fact.

For seven continents chasers, charity runners with a compelling story and adventure athletes who have exhausted what most races offer, this is the finish line that none of the others can replicate. At USD $22,500 per entry — which covers your charter flight, Antarctica camp accommodation, meals and race entry — it is also the most expensive marathon entry on earth. But $22,500 buys you something no standard race registration ever does: a seat on a charter jet to one of the most inaccessible places humans have ever stood.

A word before you read further. This is not a race for everyone. If your goal is a PB, book another marathon. If your goal is to run in a place that almost no human being has ever set foot, and to come home with a story that will outlast every other finish line you have ever crossed, keep reading.

Race at a Glance

Registration and Entry Fee

Spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and are capped by the seating capacity of the charter Boeing 757. There is no ballot or lottery. When the field is full, it is full. The 2026 installment window has now closed — any new registration for December 2026 requires full payment of USD $22,500 upfront.

What the entry fee includes

• Round-trip charter flights Punta Arenas, Chile → Union Glacier, Antarctica
• Transfers to/from Punta Arenas airport (for the Antarctic flight)
• Race briefing in Punta Arenas the day before departure
• All meals and tented accommodation while in Antarctica
• Baggage allowance up to 25kg (55lbs) on the Punta Arenas–Union Glacier flight
• Entry to marathon or half marathon of your choice
• Finisher medal, race t-shirt, patches and souvenirs
• Professional photos for personal use

What the entry fee does NOT include

• Commercial flights to/from Punta Arenas (book via Santiago)
• Hotels in Punta Arenas before and after
• Meals in Punta Arenas
• Personal equipment, clothing and gear
• Extra hotel nights if Antarctic flights are delayed (budget for 3–5 extra nights)
• Medical evacuation insurance (mandatory, ~$100)
• Trip cancellation insurance (strongly recommended)
• Satellite phone use in Antarctica

2027 installment schedule

Payment by bank wire transfer preferred. Credit card accepted with 3% processing fee. Contact: ow@icemarathon.com

What Makes the Antarctic Ice Marathon Worth Running?

It is genuinely in Antarctica — not near it

This matters more than you might think. Several events market themselves as “Antarctica marathons” while actually taking place on King George Island, which sits outside the Antarctic Circle near the tip of South America. The Antarctic Ice Marathon runs at Union Glacier, deep inside the continent at 80 degrees south — past the Antarctic Circle, inside the Ellsworth Mountains and 1,600km from the nearest inhabited settlement. You are on the actual continent. This is the distinction Runbuk makes clearly, and it is the only race in the world that can genuinely say it.

It qualifies for the 7 Continents Marathon Club

For runners chasing the seven continents grand slam, this is the meaningful Antarctica tick. The 7 Continents Marathon Club — which has 612 members as of May 2026 — requires a marathon on each continent, and an island race outside the Antarctic Circle does not count. This event does. Pair it with the North Pole Marathon and you can earn the even rarer Marathon Grand Slam Club designation. Both races are run by Runbuk, which makes logistics simpler if you are planning both.

24-hour daylight and the most otherworldly race environment on earth

The Antarctic summer means you run in permanent daylight. There is no dramatic mountain silhouette to run toward, no crowd noise, no city backdrop. What you get is something harder to describe: a vast white silence, the crunch of ice underfoot and a horizon that stretches without interruption to the Ellsworth Mountains. Runners consistently describe the psychological weight of that emptiness as one of the hardest parts of the race — and also, once they are done, the most unforgettable.

The most inclusive extreme race on the planet

It sounds counterintuitive at that entry fee, but the 10-hour cutoff means this race is designed to be finished by determined non-elite runners. The oldest male finisher was 84 years old (Roy Svenningsen, Canada, 2019). The oldest female finisher is 70 (Domitilia dos Santos, Portugal, 2025). Wheelchair competitor William Tan completed a marathon distance on the runway in 2007. The race’s ethos is genuinely completion-focused. A 2013 testimonial from a Singapore-based runner notes that “it is achievable by anyone with determination who seeks a challenge.” Over 1,030 runners have finished across all editions since 2005.

The field size makes it intimate in a way no other major race is

Because the field is capped by the aircraft, you race with roughly 50 to 60 people at most. You will know most of them by name before you reach the start line. The evening before the race, at camp, runners from 60+ countries end up sharing meals in one dining tent. The camaraderie is genuinely unlike anything a city marathon produces. Former Jungle Marathon organiser Shirley Thompson called it “the most memorable and enjoyable weeks of my life.”

History was made at the 2025 edition

The 20th anniversary race in December 2025 introduced live results from Antarctica for the first time ever — made possible by Starlink. Frederic Aubry of Canada also ran the first officially recorded backwards mile in Antarctica at 10:06. These firsts matter because they show the race continuing to evolve after two decades, rather than coasting on its reputation.

The Course

The loop setup: four repetitions of 10.55km

The marathon course is not a point-to-point or an out-and-back. It is a 10.55km loop that you run four times, laid out around the Union Glacier camp and marked throughout by flags. This is not the dramatic glacier traverse some runners imagine when they sign up. It is a measured, safety-controlled circuit designed so that camp staff can monitor all runners and reach anyone in difficulty within minutes. The aid station at every 5km means you are never more than a few kilometres from support.

Surface conditions: compact ice to soft snow

The course is groomed before the race. That grooming produces a reasonably firm ice surface on most sections — but not all. Different parts of the loop shift between hard compact ice (where you move well) and sections of soft, loose snow that sink slightly underfoot. The ratio changes from lap to lap depending on wind patterns and temperature. There is no elevation chart that captures this variation. Surface quality is the hidden X-factor of this race, and it is a significant reason why finishing times vary by 45 to 90 minutes year on year for the same calibre of runner.

The Ellsworth Mountains backdrop — and no spectators

There are zero spectators on course. The race happens in a vast, flat interior glacier. What you have, in every direction, is white. At certain points on the loop you can see the Ellsworth Mountains in the distance. They look close — the clear polar air is deceptive — and they do not get any closer. The camp is always visible on at least part of the circuit, which helps mentally. But there is no crowd noise, no cheering, no music. Just wind, ice and the sound of your own footfall.

Where recreational runners fall apart: loops 3 and 4

Loops 1 and 2 feel manageable. The cold keeps your core temperature down, your legs feel surprisingly fresh, and the novelty of the environment carries you. This is the trap. Runners who go out too fast — or who overheat from too many layers — sweat through their base layer by the end of lap 2. Wet fabric against skin in -15°C is a medical situation developing. By loop 3, the katabatic wind typically picks up. Accumulated cold, wet clothing and a direct headwind on certain sections of the circuit is where 90% of recreational runners hit the wall — not from cardiovascular failure but from thermal failure. The transition from lap 2 to lap 3 is the moment this race exposes unprepared runners.

Race Weekend Schedule

The full event runs across seven days, of which only one is the race itself. Build travel flexibility into your plans — Antarctic flights are subject to weather holds that can delay departure by 24 to 72 hours. Runbuk strongly advises not planning anything important for a minimum of two weeks after your expected return date.

Race Briefing and Gear Check

There is no traditional race expo. The briefing in Punta Arenas on December 10 is the equivalent. It is mandatory, not optional. Runbuk’s team checks every runner’s kit against the recommended gear list before clearing them to board the Antarctica flight. If your layering system, gloves, goggles or footwear are considered inadequate for Antarctic conditions, you will be required to source alternatives in Punta Arenas before departure.

Punta Arenas has outdoor gear shops, and the briefing day allows time to address gaps — but arriving with complete, already-tested kit is strongly advised. Gear that has never been worn in sub-zero conditions will not feel the same as gear you have trained in during a cold-weather run.

Race Day Weather

The race course is groomed before the start but conditions at Union Glacier in December are variable by nature. Temperatures are milder during Antarctic summer compared to winter, but -15°C with a 20-knot headwind is still a serious physiological challenge. The race team has an on-site meteorologist at camp who monitors conditions throughout the event. The Race Director can modify the course or schedule based on conditions, and has done so in past editions.

Prize Money and Course Records

The Antarctic Ice Marathon awards no prize money. This is not an oversight — it is structural. Every runner at the start line paid $22,500 to be there. The race’s competitive identity is tied to finishing in one of the most extreme environments on earth, not to racing for a purse. The winners receive the same medal and recognition as every other finisher.

Past Results — Recent Champions

2025 Results (20th Edition — December 13, 2025)

Source: icemarathon.com/years/2025

2024 Results (19th Edition — December 13, 2024)

(CR) = All-time women’s course record · Source: icemarathon.com/years/2024

Spectator Guide

The finish line atmosphere at Union Glacier camp is described consistently as one of the most emotionally charged in all of distance running — a small group of people who have just done something almost no one else has ever done, gathered in one tent, in Antarctica, at the bottom of the world. The celebration is intimate and unfiltered in a way that no city finish line, however large, can replicate. But you have to be a runner to experience it. There are no spectator tickets.

Where to Stay

There are two accommodation phases: Punta Arenas before and after the Antarctic flights, and the Union Glacier camp itself (included in your entry fee). The Punta Arenas hotels deserve serious attention — weather delays are routine, and you should budget for up to five additional nights beyond the schedule.

Punta Arenas, Chile

International Runners — Visa and Travel

A Short History of the Antarctic Ice Marathon

The Antarctic Ice Marathon traces its origins to the 2005/2006 Antarctic season — the first edition ran in January 2006 at Patriot Hills, a logistics camp near the Ronne Ice Shelf that served as a hub for polar expeditions. The race was conceived as a genuine distance-running event on the continent itself, not on the Antarctic Peninsula or the outlying islands, and it drew its first small field from a community of adventure runners who had already run out of places to go. In 2010, the race moved from Patriot Hills to its current home at Union Glacier, in the shadow of the Ellsworth Mountains at 80 degrees south — a location that offers better logistics infrastructure and a more consistently viable runway through the summer season.

RUNBUK has operated the race since the 2019 edition, bringing it into a portfolio of polar endurance events that includes the North Pole Marathon and the World Marathon Challenge (7 Marathons, 7 Continents, 7 Days). Under Runbuk, the race has added professional timing, formal result publication and, in 2025, the first-ever live results feed from Antarctica via Starlink. Guinness World Records recognition came earlier, cementing the event’s status as the Southernmost Marathon on Earth. The 2012 edition brought the Marathon Flame to Antarctica, carried by UNICEF ambassador Nasos Ktoridis. A documentary on the 2010 race was nominated for an International Emmy Award. Through 20 editions, runners from 62 countries and territories have started the race, and 1,030+ finishers of all distances have crossed the line.

The 21st edition in December 2026 arrives with the event in rude health. The combination of the seven-continents community, the World Marathon Challenge feeder event in January (the sister 777 race that also uses Antarctic terrain) and a growing global interest in extreme endurance has kept the field consistently oversubscribed. The race has never expanded its field beyond what the charter aircraft can carry. That constraint — frustrating for applicants who miss out — is also the thing that has kept it from becoming anything other than what it is: the world’s most exclusive, most remote and most credibly documented marathon.