Polar Challenge

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The Polar Challenge is a 350 nautical mile team race on skis in the Arctic . The race takes place between mid-April and mid-May every year. The participating teams need about four weeks including the training time to finish it.

background

The participants contest the race in teams of three. Many start individually and form a team with other individual starters during training. The participants come from different walks of life and take part in the race out of a thirst for adventure. The race takes place in an extremely hostile environment with temperatures reaching -35 ° C. The participants pull their supply in bulk and stop at three checkpoints on the route to refill.

Racing history

In 2003, Chris McLeod and Tony Martin were captains of the first and second place teams in the first polar race. On their way home to England they designed their own competition, the "Polar Challenge limited". Since then they have been organizing the races and taking part in the Polar Challenge every year. In 2004 the race was documented by the BBC as a series under the name "The Challenge", which was broadcast worldwide.

route

The Polar Challenge Route is 320 nautical miles. Participants begin a 4-day training session which is 65 miles (105 kilometers). You will be released in the Resolute settlement in Nunavut and then have to reach the starting point of the Challenge Polaris Mine. The race then starts from the Polar Mine to Isachsen on Ellef Ringnes via three checkpoints. The first two checkpoints are replenishment points, where participants can rest for 12 to 24 hours and take new supplies with them. The third checkpoint is the 1996 position of the Magnetic North Pole . The destination is 25 miles past the third checkpoint, near where planes can land.

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