On August 16th, 2023, 11 runners from 6 countries reached the Geographic North Pole via an icebreaker, and they ran the 2023 edition of the North Pole Marathon, which marked a historic occasion as the first-ever marathon held at the North Pole during the summer season.

The marathon started on August 16th in a temperature of -2°C on a floating ice floe at 90° North. There were 6 marathon competitors, 4 half marathon competitors, and 1 runner in the North Pole 10-Miler.

Patrick Charlebois from Canada won the Men's Marathon category with a finish time of 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 41 seconds. Patrick finished the World Marathon Challenge (7 Marathons, 7 Continents, 7 Days) in 2017. Xiaobin Qiu from China, who completed the 2017 World Marathon Challenge as well, finished in 2nd place with a time of 4 hours, 54 minutes, and 30 seconds. Dalip Shekhawa from Canada won 3rd place, followed by Bagdat Akhmetov from Kazakhstan.

Melissa Kullander from the United States emerged triumphant in the women's marathon, securing the title with a completion time of 5 hours, 24 minutes, and 39 seconds. Haifang Yun from the U.S. came second with 5 hours, 26 minutes, and 50 seconds.

Nikolay Sukhov from Russia and Weijie Yun from the U.S. finished the men’s half marathon. Judith Boyd from the U.S. and Ludivina Ferrer from the Philippines completed the women’s half marathon.

Nolan Wang from the U.S. finished the 10-mile race in 2 hours and 35 minutes. He’s 14 years old and will start his freshman year of high school after the trip.

All runners successfully completed their respective events on the ice. Patrick and Xiaobin joined the Grand Slam Club by completing a marathon on all 7 continents and the North Pole.

For detailed results, please visit the official event website: https://www.npmarathon.com/years/2023‍

The next North Pole Marathon is scheduled to take place in April 2024 via a flight to the floating ice camp at the North Pole, followed by the summer edition of the North Pole Marathon via an icebreaker in July 2024.

Media Contact:

Oliver Wang

Race Organizer

Email: ow@npmarathon.com