The Last Desert Ultramarathon Is Underway

It seems not everyone is having problems getting around Antarctica. Over the weekend Racing The Planet launched the 2010 edition of the Last Desert, which is an annual ultramarathon event that takes place way down south. This year's race features 56 competitors from 22 countries around the globe.

The race got underway on Saturday with the runners hitting the ice on King George Island, where South African Ryan Sandes ruled the day, which consisted of a 90km (55 mile) run in temperatures below freezing. Sunday's second stage was suspended due to bad weather, so the race has moved on to Deception Island today, where they continue to run in a snow storm. For updates on the event as they are posted, click here.

This is the fourth edition of the Last Desert Race, and as usual it caps another year of the 4 Deserts Series. Due to the challenging weather conditions, this is the most difficult of the four races, and in order to compete, the athletes have to have finished two of the other races in the series, which includes the Gobi March, Atacama Crossing, and the Sahara Race, in addition to the Last Desert. The seven day, six-stage even, which will cover more than 250km (155 miles) will come to an end on Saturday.