Northwest Passage Ultramarathon

I made it.  Very slow of course, but I made it all 50 kilometers of the Northwest Passage Ultramarathon.  There were only 3 of us who decided to tackle the 50K and the other two were much younger, stronger, faster, and men!  So of course I was the last person to drag myself across the finish line there at Arctic Watch.  There were 4 who did the marathon and 4 who ran the half marathon.  It was interesting because each runner had an ATV driver following along with a shotgun to chase off polar bears.  They also carried extra clothes, water and anything else we wanted for support.  It was the best supported race I have ever run!

It was a tough one though because it was on rough gravel and loose rocks and was up and down many hills.  At the end there was an 8 mile stretch on the sea ice of the actual Northwest Passage.  Then we were back on dry land for the last 2 miles. I liked running on the ice because at least it was flat.  But as the snow melted, there were small rivers of melt water that we had to either jump or wade through.  That was some really bone chilling water and my feet were soaked the whole time I was on the ice. I took about 9 hours to complete the course and was a bit worried that people might be getting tired of waiting for me.  But at least I did finish.  I'm so glad I had the chance to do it.  My week at Arctic Watch was really wonderful in every way.

My finishing picture from the Northwest Passage 50K