Every so often we like to feature crazy hard races.
The Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race is certain one of these.
The race to the far end of the earth, will be the first race to the South Pole since Scott and Amundsens historic race nearly 100 years ago. Roald Amundsen arrived on Dec. 1911, Robert Scott on Jan. 17 1912.
In December 2008 almost 100 years after Scott and Amundsens historic race, international teams will race over 400 miles to the Geographic South Pole.
After almost two weeks of intensive Polar Training in Antarctica covering approximately 100 nautical miles, teams of 3 will set off across the Antarctic Plateau to race 430 nautical miles across the largest ice cap in the world to the Geographic South Pole.
The racers will face constant challenges throughout their journey: surving in temperatures as low as -50C, navigating and skiing while pulling a 70Kg. pulk (sled), climbing up to 9300 ft. to the South Pole and through everything working together as a team.
Needless to say this is going to be a challenge.
But image doing this challenge as a blind competitor?
That's exactly what Irishman Mark Pollock will be doing next month.
According to the Epoch Times:
"When Irishman Mark Pollock lost his sight in 1998 at the age of twenty
two he thought he had reached the end of his world. Ten years on he is
embarking on an amazing challenge by racing to the worlds end in The
Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race.
The South Pole challenge
will take place in December this year. Nearly one hundred years since
the last South Pole race between Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen,
and his English rival, Robert Falcon Scott. This time there will be six
teams of three who will carry their own supplies by sled over 483 miles
of frozen waste lands.
The challenge is expected to take
between thirty to forty-five days. In order to cover this distance in
the Antarctic each three man team will have to pull their 70kg pulks
(sleds) for approximately 16 hours each day."
You can read the rest of the story HERE.