Det er ikke akkurat noen nybegynnere som stiller til Nordpolen Maraton. Jamfør omtale av hver enkelt løper på løpets hjemmesider er de noen hardhauser hele gruppen.

Ikke minst nordmannen Hans-Jacob Berntsen med sine (nå) 258 maraton I tillegg til ultraløp og utfordrende Ironman, triathlons, Trondheim-Oslo(sykkelløpet), turmarsjer etc. kom vel igjennom den tøffe utfordringen et slikt løp er.

Den 66 årige Jernmannen fra Bergen som har vært med på det meste, kom i mål til North Pole Marathon på 7:22:08 . Nå er han også husket fra fjoråret, da han ble dekorert med H.M. Kongens fortjenestemedalje i sølv. Det ble blant annet begrunnet med: «Særlig fortjenstfull innsats over lengre tid i samfunnslivet ved innsats i frivillige organisasjoner eller ved annen personlig virksomhet av samfunnsnyttig betydning».

24 løpere fra 11 land stilte til start i det som betegnes som verdens tøffeste maraton. Tolv menn og fem kvinner fullførte.


Resultater herrer:

1. Byeung Sik Ahn  (Korea)                     4:02:37 
2. Ignas Staskevicius  (Lithuania)                 4:19:05 
3. Charles Sanders  (Great Britain) 4:21:27 
4. Jurgen Heilbock  (Germany) 4:50:01 
5. Hans-Wilhelm Hamke  (Germany) 5:21:07 
6. Craig Davis  (Australia) 5:47:50 
7. Darius Jurgaitis  (Lithuania) 5:54:18 
8. Peter Ferris  (Ireland) 6:12:05 
9. Steve Bicknell  (Great Britain) 6:27:10 
10.Christer Klingspor  (Sweden) 7:01:10 
11. Wayne Pollock  (Ireland) 7:10:22 
12. Hans-Jacob Berntsen  (Norway) 7:22:08


Resultater damer:

1. Cathrine Due  (Denmark) 5:37:14 
2. Margit Andersen  (Denmark) 5:53:10 
3. Kirsty Devonport (Great Britain) 6:12:05 
4. Alison Gill  (Great Britain) 6:44:08 
5. Marie-Hamren Larsson  (Sweden) 7:04:32



Pressemelding:
Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) won the 2008 North Pole Marathon which took place at 04:30 GMT on 1st April. The winner of the women's title was Cathrine Due of Denmark. Constant daylight and -29C temperatures greeted competitors at the top of the world.

The men's race was a close event over the ititial stages before Ahn's persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to reap dividends. He developed a widening gap over his opponents during the second have of the race and crossed the line in a winning time of 4:02:37. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ignas Staskevicius overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second position. Ahn will receive a special Kobold expedition watch for being the outright winner.

Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women's event, battled thoughout. However, Due proved the stronger in the latter stages to take the women's title. Kirsty Devonport of Great Britain was third.

Unfortunately, unusual logisitical delays at the Pole this season impacted the race field. A five-day wait was caused due to delays in establishing the North Pole camp and this led to two competitors having to withdraw before the race began. Furthermore, an effective cut-off time of seven-and-a-half hours was forced upon competitors by the logistics company in order for them to make a return flight to Norway.

Nevertheless, all participants stood at 90 Degrees North, the precise Geographic North Pole. In addition, the few remaining competitors who were agonisingly close to completing the 26.2-mile distance have been invited to attend for free next year. Moreover, the race organisers prefer to have everybody given a much lengthier time to finish the event if necessary. Next year is the centenary of Man reaching the Pole. To register for the race, which is now expected to occur in early April 2009, see www.npmarathon.com.

The North Pole Marathon is contained in Guinness World Records as the northernmost marathon on earth. It is also a member of the Association of International Marathons & Distance Races.

The next North Pole Marathon is provisionally scheduled for March 26. 2009.
Contact: Richard Donovan
Tel: +353-91-566077
Web: www.npmarathon.com
Email: rd@npmarathon.com

Omtale på kondis.no 2007