On Friday, 84-year old Roy Jorgen Svenningsen became the oldest person to ever finish a marathon in Antarctica. Svenningsen finished the Antarctic Ice Marathon in 11 hours and 41 minutes.
"At one point, I thought, I don't think I'm going to do this all the way," he told CTVNews.ca.
An inspiration to all generations! 84-year-old Roy Svenningsen (CAN) completed the 2019 Antarctic Ice Marathon, becoming the oldest person in history to complete a marathon on the continent of Antarctica. #AntarcticIceMarathon #RoySvenningsen #legend @AntarcticIceMar pic.twitter.com/mVigWjXCco
— Richard Donovan (@RichardDonovan7) December 15, 2019
The Edmonton native had been training for the past year and has been running since 1964. According to CTVNews.ca, Svenningsen's lifelong goal is to complete a marathon on every continent.
"In Edmonton, we had a very mild winter," Svenningsen said of the weather in Antarctica. "We had just a little bit of snow. It wasn't anything comparable to the temperature or the snow that they have here."
It certainly was extreme, as the temperature was -15C, which is equal to just 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Svenningsen ended up drinking soup during the race to help deal with exhaustion from the length race.
He also spent a good portion of the race walking and jogging in order to pace himself. Svenningsen ended up crossing the finish line holding a Canadian flag to celebrate his accomplishment and show pride for his country.
The Antarctic Ice Marathon costs $24,800 to enter and participants must travel through Chile to come to the race. It's considered to be one of the toughest racing events in the world.
