Visually impaired Irish runner one marathon away from making history

UPDATE: Scroll down to see the latest news from day six (including Irish runner Sinead Kane’s story) of the World Marathon Challenge.

Day one (Jan. 23, Antarctica) recap

Mike Wardian ran the fastest-known marathon in Antarctica on Monday to kick off the World Marathon Challenge (WMC).

The man (who arguably has the lengthiest running resume of the 33 World Marathon Challenge competitors) won the first of seven marathons on Monday in 2:54. The World Marathon Challenge consists of seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Each race is organized by WMC. Any individual race records are not official per the Guinness World Records. (The IAAF too does not list area records for Antarctica.) However, courses are measured accurately.

“That is a record for the fastest marathon run in Antarctica,” the organizers posted on Facebook.

According to race organizers, temperatures at Union Glacier dipped to -20 C during race time with heavy winds. American half-marathon record holder and the fastest American ever over 42K ,Ryan Hall, finished fifth on day one in 3:26:31. He has run 2:04:51 for the marathon but has been retired from professional running for a year. (See why he’s doing the World Marathon Challenge here.) He averaged 68K per week in the buildup to the challenge though much of his training is now weightlifting.

My upcoming marathons are going to feel slightly different than last time I ran one 🙂 Thankful to have Asics 33-Ms to cushion the load pic.twitter.com/yFUZaL3Hc6

— Ryan Hall (@ryanhall3) January 13, 2017

The World Marathon Challenge begins in Antarctica followed by races in Punta Arenas, Chile, Miami, Madrid, Marrakech, Morocco, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Sydney, Australia. The trip costs more than $50,000. Runners fly to the next destination via chartered flights.

Wardian, who resides in Arlington, Va., is popularly known in the running world for his busy racing schedule. In 2016, he raced all six marathon majors – Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City – averaging 2:31, a new world record. He’s also an accomplished trail runner. He runs for Hoka One One.

The 42-year-old will run the Barkley Marathons, one of the toughest trail races in the world, in April alongside Canadian Gary Robbins.

In an interesting twist, there were four newcomers who joined the marathon. Per the race organizers, the team of Alex Brazier, Ollie Stoten, Chris Brookes, and Jamie Facer-Childs joined the race during their cross-continent expedition. They will not compete in the remaining six marathons around the world.

There are no photos available as of Monday afternoon as updates from Antarctica have been sparse. Canadian Patrick Charlebois placed sixth in 3:32:02.

Top day one results – men

1. Michael Wardian (United States) – 2:54:54
2. Peter Vabrousek (Czech Republic) – 3:05.27
3. Luke Wigman (Great Britain) – 3:09:42
4. Alex Brazier (Great Britain) – 3:25:27
5. Ryan Hall (United States) – 3:26:31
6. Patrick Charlebois (Canada) – 3:32:02
20. Jonathon Fischer (Canada) – 4:51:29

Top day one results – women

1. Silvana Camelio (Chile) 4:14:10
1. Nahila Hernandez (Cuba/Mexico) – 4:14:10
3. Guoping Xie (China) 4:23:50
4. Carolina Izurieta (Chile) – 4:46:23
5. Georgina Acons (Great Britain) – 4:52:25
6. Sinead Kane (Ireland) – 5:22:28
7. Celene Loo (Singapore) – 5:32:24

Day two (Jan. 24, Punta Arenas, Chile) recap

Rebounding from a sub-2:55 marathon in frigid Antarctic conditions, Mike Wardian took 10 minutes off his previous day’s time on Tuesday running 2:45 in Punta Arenas, Chile. Tuesday was the second stop on the World Marathon Challenge circuit as runners flew to South America from Antarctica.

U.S. running legend Ryan Hall improved his previous day’s time by 20 minutes running 3:06:33 off of “minimal training.” The World Marathon Challenge group will fly to Miami for the third leg of the seven-marathon adventure before heading overseas to Europe.

Top day two results – men

1. Michael Wardian – 2:45:42
2. Petr Vabrousek – 2:57:11
3. Luke Wigman – 3:02:41
4. Ryan Hall – 3:06:33
5. Patrick Charlesbois (Canada) – 3:08:28
6. Raj Patel – 3:22:45
18. Jonathon Fischer (Canada) – 4:30:06

Top day two results – women

1. Silvana Camelio – 3:45:48
2. Guoping Xie – 3:58:08
3. Nahila Hernandez – 4:10:05
4. Georgina Acons – 4:15:02
5. BethAnn Telford – 4:20:17
6. Sinead Kane – 4:24:39

The World Marathon Challenge is posting regular updates to its Facebook page.

Day three (Jan. 25, Miami)

Top day three results – men

1. Michael Wardian – 2:37:56
2. Petr Vabrousek – 2:55:10
3 Luke Wigman – 3:00:44
4. Patrick Charlebois (Canada) – 3:15:26
5. Ryan Hall – 3:15:38

Top day three results – women

1. Silvana Camelio – 3:58:11
2. Guoping Xie – 4:04:28
3. Nahila Hernandez – 4:16:45
4. BethAnn Telford – 4:27:56
5. Celene Loo – 4:31:34

Day four (Jan. 26, Madrid)

Top day four results – men

1. Michael Wardian – 2:42:35
2. Petr Vabrousek – 3:04:39
3. Patrick Charlebois (Canada) – 3:05:20
7. Ryan Hall – 3:41:41

Top day four results – women

1. Silvana Camelio – 4:08:09
2. Guoping Xie – 4:14:04
3. BethAnn Telford – 4:18:16

Day five (Jan. 27, Marrakech, Morocco)

Mike Wardian ran his fifth sub-2:55 marathon in five days with Friday’s result from North Africa. Canadian Patrick Charlebois had his best result to date breaking three hours for the first time during the World Marathon Challenge.

Top day five results – men

1. Michael Wardian – 2:45:33
2. Patrick Charlebois (Canada) – 2:57:54
4. Ryan Hall – 3:04:56

Top day five results – women

1. Silvana Camelio – 4:10:24
2. Guoping Xie – 4:15:50
3. Georgina Acons – 4:36:05

Day six (Jan. 28, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Saturday’s leg, the sixth of seven marathons, was held in Dubai. Canadian Patrick Charlebois again finished second behind Mike Wardian, who broke 2:55 for the sixth consecutive day. Meanwhile, Sinead Kane jointly finished first in 4:34:25. According to race organizers, she would become the first blind competitor to finish the World Marathon Challenge.

Kane has five per cent vision.

Top day six results – men

1. Michael Wardian – 2:49:25
2. Patrick Charlebois (Canada) – 3:22:31
3. Petr Vabrousek – 3:24:47
4. Luke Wigman – 3:32:20
5. Ryan Hall – 3:46:20

Top day six results – women

1. Silvana Camelio – 4:34:25
1. Sinead Kane – 4:34:25
3. Guoping Xie – 4:48:55

Editor’s note: This article will be updated on a daily basis to reflect the latest results from the seven marathons around the world.