Finished run today. Very, very, very tough. The packed
snow trail was very difficult to follow due to whiteout
conditions, fear of getting lost was a very real
possibility. Now, before I go on,I must explain the
weather. We had moderate winds, a light snow,
and low cloud cover. This means that everything, I
mean everything was white. The sky the ground, the sides,
everything was white. The sun, while out (as it is 24
hours a day here) cast no shadows and only served to
cast a gloomy white glow to everything. It was like
walking in clouds with no sense of up or down
(more of this later).
My words can not do justice to fully paint an accurate
image of a whiteout, but I must at least try.
Running (with any speed)was possible for short stretches
only as every attempt to move quickly caused you to loose
the trail. It was odd actually, the whiteout felt
smothering, yet occasionally you could see another
runner, miles in front,or behind. The visibility wasn’t
altered as you could see any colors at a great distance,
it was just that everything was white. I spent most of
the race looking at my feet in order to keep on the packed
snow trail.
The orange flags marking the trail appeared to glow as the
only visible color for miles. It would appear as if they
had an aura surrounding them, as if your eyes were
thirsting for any color at all. If you would turn around,
you would lose all sense of up or down and feel as if you
were falling, was really odd.
It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!!
Stayed awake all night again waiting for the 100k runners
to return, it was the right thing to do. I am glad I was
not able to do the 100k (we could only do one, not both
due to scheduling).
Walked a few miles out onto the snow plain when the weather
cleared after midnight with Irish Mark and experienced a
gorgeous midnight sun on a sea of unending snow. I under-
stand now why many arctic explorers would return here over
and over again. Got some great pictures that I will
post soon.
Caught up with Adriano, from Brazil during run and ran much
of the race with him. We crossed the finish line together.
Mike on the other hand, assisted our 71 year old competitor
early in the race for several miles (Anry from France).
Anry could not see very well because of conditions and had
to drop out. This put Mike way behind the field, and thus
ran most of the race alone. He lost the trail several
times wandering in waist deep snow with visions of
spending Christmas for the next thousand years as a
statue of frozen flesh. A permanent reminder to all of
mankind of his failure to complete the marathon and a
startling warning to runners of future generations of
the dangers of wandering off trail. Mike finished the
race and is OK. He is now sleeping after using his
affective sleep aid of trying to prepare for trial.
Had to express some of this so I apologize for the lack of
logistical details (hopefully Mike will cover those).
Weather bad now, waiting for it to clear so we can leave.
Plane will not be in today, and are hopeful for a better
forecast tomorrow.
Oh, remind me to get the book ‘Beyond the Poles’ when I get back.
As someone on Scotts fateful expedition said; “gonna take
a walk now, will be a while”.
Mark
