Monday, January 5, 2009

The Admundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race is Underway!


The Admundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race officially got underway yesterday with six teams of three racing 430 nautical miles across the Antarctic ice to the geographic South Pole.

Before setting out, each of the participants went through extensive training over the past weeks as they prepared to embark on this adventure. It all came to a head yesterday though, when all the racers arrived at the starting line, and set off on one of the most challenging races anywhere on the planet.

As the race got underway, the temperature hovered around -20ยบ C (-4 F), but the weather was otherwise clear, and cooperative. The race is meant to commemorate the events that saw Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott duel to see who would be the first to arrive at the Pole back in 1911. Amundsen eventually won that "race", beating his rival by a couple of weeks.

On the race's official website, you'll find more about the route, including a 3D race map, as well as the teams' training schedule, what it's like in Antarctica and more. The first updates from yesterday are also posted, and can be found here and here.

This looks like another really amazing event to keep our eyes on. Should be fun to follow. Good luck to all the competitors.

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