84-year-old Canadian becomes oldest to run Antarctic marathon

An 84-year-old Canadian national named Roy Jorgen Svenningsen has become the oldest person ever to complete the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

According to a report in CTV, Svenningse, who started the race December 13, took 11 hours and 41 minutes to finish it on Monday.

"At one point, I thought, I don't think I'm going to do this all the way," Roy said.

Roy is pictured with Race Director Richard Donovan.

"I wanted to finish it, and that was it," he said, adding: "I just thought I better get it done."

Roy, a retired oil worker, is from the Canadian city of Edmonton, and he has been running since 1964. He spent a year training for 42-km Antarctic marathon.

The Antarctic Ice Marathon is the planet's southernmost race and is considered one of the toughest.

For an entry fee of 24,800 Canadian dollars (about $19,000), participants are flown to and from Antarctica via Chile's southernmost airport and are fed and lodged in tented accommodations and provided professional photos of their once-in-a-lifetime run.

The Antarctic Ice Marathon is the planet's southernmost race and is considered one of the toughest.

The winner of this year's race was William Hafferty of the US, who set an event record time of 3 hours, 34 minutes and 12 seconds.

Indo-Asian News Service