Final weekend at one of many world’s most excessive races, the Sea Ice Marathon in Luleå, Sweden, Polish endurance runner Pawel Durakiewicz defied the icy components. The 46-year-old daredevil raced barefoot on ice and snow to set a brand new Guinness World Document for the quickest half marathon ever run beneath such situations.
Durakiewicz crossed the road in a single hour, 50 minutes and 29 seconds, breaking the earlier file (set simply final yr) by 11 seconds. Despite the fact that there have been a number of athletes who’ve bettered Durakiewicz’s mark (together with Quebec’s Karim El Hayani), their data have gone unratified, since Guinness World Document guidelines stipulate it should be achieved and measured in a sanctioned race.
Luleå’s Sea Ice Marathon is considered one of two half-marathons with all the course unfolding on frozen sea ice–on this case the Gulf of Bothnia, which separates Sweden and Finland. Members could also be surrounded by breathtaking Arctic surroundings, however they need to battle frozen terrain and frigid temperatures. On race day this yr, racers have been challenged by temperatures colder than the seasonal common in Luleå (-5 C), with the thermometer studying -10 C at the beginning.
To place Durakiewicz’s feat into perspective, the occasion’s web site stresses the significance of correct footwear throughout registration for safely tackling the snow and ice—but he selected to run barefoot. For Durakiewicz, the file try was simply one other problem in his rising assortment of Guinness World Information. He additionally holds the file for the longest barefoot run–3,409 kilometres (2,118 miles), and the quickest barefoot Olympic-distance triathlon (two hours, 57 minutes and 40 seconds).
Durakiewicz wasn’t simply chasing one other barefoot file; he was doing it for a trigger. His Sea Ice Marathon problem helped increase funds for his charity, the Diamond Soul Basis, which combats substance abuse and promotes health-focused alternate options like operating, health and diet.
