The Coldest Marathon

We may be enduring some extreme cold throughout the country this week but Oymyakon, Russia is the coldest town on earth and Boris Foyodorov, a jeweller from Yakutsk, Russia ran a marathon in Oymyakon on New Year’s Day. It was -36 C, ten degrees warmer than most years.

The town is one of only two permanently inhabited places in the world to have ever had a recorded temperature below -60 C, but the region has been experiencing a relatively mild winter, with temperatures generally not dipping below -40 C, and very few days as cold as -45 C, which is common some years. Temperatures that cold are dangerous while exercising because sweat can freeze if you stop running.

The 37-year-old trained for two months in temperatures similar to those that he ran the race in, which he finished in 5:08. He started running minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, and before leaving he was wished good luck by Chyskhaan, a Santa Claus-like Russian Lord of Cold.

Foyodorov enjoys running marathons in extreme environments, both hot and cold. He told the Siberia Times he would like to try a race in even colder temperatures, perhaps as cold as -50 to -60 C.