The North Pole is one of the most inhospitable and dangerous locations on the face of the Earth. It is a hostile utterly alien wilderness of snow and ice where temperatures of minus 30 degrees are as warm as things get. Added to the extreme cold, the danger of losing extremities to frostbite and the risk of being blinded by the dazzling endless white is the planets largest predator – the Polar Bear.

The Polar Bear, or Ursus Maritimus, to give it its Latin name, can weigh up to 1500lb making it a very large and dangerous animal. Though this animal is feared by scientists to be under threat from global warming due to the melting of the sea is which is its hunting grounds, when human beings enter the world of the polar bear it they that must fear for their lives.

It is this world that forms the backdrop for what has a very strong claim to be the world most extreme marathon. The 26.2 mile course is comprised of 10 laps of a circular circuit around the geographical North Pole. This insane race has been run a total of 6 times before.

The 2010 North Pole Marathon had 26 brave competitors. The winner of the men’s event was Joep Rozendal from the Netherlands in a time of 5 hours and 58 seconds. Rozendal is a super tough former marine officer who underwent gruelling military training in the north of Norway and since his military retirement has logged very fast times in a number of marathons.

A plucky second place in the men’s race was taken by Britain’s Rik Vercoe, coming in a mere 7 minutes and 2 seconds behind the winner. A veteran of many distance races (including ultra marathons, races much longer than the standard marathon), Vercoe has added to an already impressive running CV which includes completing the London Marathon 3 times. His arctic adventure was to raise funds for children’s charity The Elizabeth Foundation. Third place was snagged by Yen-Po Chen of Taiwan.

The field in the women’s completion was more spread out with second place Julia Tizzard (also a Briton) coming in over an hour and a half behind winner Emer Dooley of Ireland, who clocked a time of 5 hours, 56 minutes and 54 seconds. Dooley, Tizzard and third place Sarah Oliphant of the USA all reside in the states.