Blind man to run marathon in Antarctica

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http://news.insing.com/tabloid/teen-blind-run-marathon-antarctica/id-cd6d3f00

A blind man from South Africa and a 14-year-old athletic prodigy from the US are among a group of 20 people hoping to become the latest runners to have completed a marathon on all seven continents after they attempt to traverse Antarctica next month.

In what is known as The Last Marathon, the group of elite athletes will run 42.2 km on King George Island off the coldest, windiest and most remote continent on Earth, where they will run alongside icebergs, penguins, seals and whales.

Near the end of the Antarctic summer season, runners will tread gravel roads that pass the scientific bases of Uruguay, Chile, China and Russia, in temperatures that hover between -10°C to 1°C.

Since the first edition of the Antarctica Marathon in 1995, meanwhile, the Seven Continents Club has inducted a small club of 367 runners into the exclusive group.

Among this year’s group is Hein Wagner, 40, of South Africa, who will become the first blind runner to race in the Antarctica Marathon, a feat meant to promote the integration of disabled persons in the workplace, sports arenas and the arts.

The event is organised by Marathon Tours & Travel and proceeds of the marathon will go to Oceanites, a non-profit organisation that researches the impact of tourism on Antarctica’s environment.

The 14th annual Antarctica Marathon will be held 7 March. The event is sold out until 2016.