North Pole Marathon Runners Wear Life Vests on Drifting Sea Ice Above 12,000-Foot-Deep Ocean

Twenty-three runners from seven countries completed the 2026 North Pole Marathon on July 19, circling a 1,055-metre loop carved into drifting pack ice above Arctic Ocean waters more than 12,000 feet deep. Safety rules required life vests alongside thermal gear, reflecting the thin-ice and open-water hazards of running on a moving surface with no land beneath.