Chicago woman runs North Pole marathon
Nicole Las is a pretty big fan of long-distance running, having completed more marathons than she can keep track of.
"I've done 11 of them, I believe this was number 12, but I think I have to go back and count," Las said.
It was in 2018 when she first learned of one marathon unlike any she'd done before.
"I couldn't believe anyone would want to do that," Las said. "Run at the north pole a full marathon? that's totally crazy. I had so many questions about logistics, how do you get there, how do you train what do you wear? The more I read about it the more I decided I actually wanted to do that I'm that crazy person."
Turns out getting to the North Pole was a five-day process.
"So we flew to Paris, got on a charter, flew to Svalbard that little island again then boarded a boat to the North Pole," She said.
But there was plenty to take in along the way.
"We saw so many things on the way going up there. Polar Bears, Seals Whales all in their natural habitat you don't normally see that sort of thing," She said.
Running a marathon on 2 inches of ice isn't an easy trek either. The course was about a half-mile loop, which the 50 runners completed 50 times in frigid conditions.
"Maybe around 30 degrees up until the start and then almost as soon as we started clouds came and the wind picked up and it ended up being a pretty grueling race in the end," Las said. "A lot of the course was pretty slushy, unstable, so we weren't really running straight kind of going side to side with your feet working hard to stay upright."
On top of several layers of clothing, runners wore life vests they weren't allowed to leave the boat without. Adding to an already challenging task for even avid runners like Nicole.
"Normally 2.5 hour marathon runners and they finish in 4-5 hours," She said. "I'm normally between 4.5-5 hours normal marathon time, and I finished about 10."
The moment she finally crossed the finish line is one she'll never forget.
"I got a bit emotional at the end. After all that work and that time spent and all of it came to an end and you get through the finish line and it's like my God I finished that," Las said.
All the years she spent training in cold Chicago winters, ultimately paid off.
"It was worth the wait, worth the time, the training the money it was worth all of it and then some," She said.