The Antarctica Marathon' was established by Thom Gilligan, president of Marathon Tours and Travel, to enable marathon runners to compete on all seven continents.

The eighth running of the Antarctica Marathon will be held on King George Island on Feb. 26, 2007 and will be sponsored by Capella University, an online university with more than 16,000 students. New broadband satellite technology will enable the marathon sponsor to broadcast video footage from the race for the first time.

Almost 200 runners, including a wheelchair athlete, will compete in the marathon. The course, which has a figure-eight design and traverses both glacial and rocky terrain, loops through scientific research bases of Uruguay, Chile, China, and Russia. The course is also often peppered with "spectators" such as chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). Temperatures at the time of the marathon will likely range from 10 degrees to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Two expedition vessels will ferry the runners from Ushuaia, Argentina, through the Beagle Channel, across Drake Passage, through the South Shetland Islands and along the Antarctic Peninsula to King George Island. Runners will take Zodiac boats from the ship to the shore to run the race.

[edit] External Links Marathon Tours and Travel web site Capella University web site