It probably goes without saying that when you are running a marathon in Siberia, good face protection is pretty much a requirement. We are thrilled to introduce Ignasi Prat.
Ignasi recently completed the 8th annual Lake Baikal Marathon in Siberia. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, and at 25-30 million years old, it is one of the oldest in geological history. The conditions for a marathon there in March are pretty harsh (from the event website):
“The surface of the frozen Lake Baikal is covered in fields of “hummocks”, small hills of ice rubble. Beneath the ice surface, geothermic springs and seismic activity cause localized melting that sometimes may weaken the ice to form holes…
The course is predominantly flat, but the surface is hard at times and uneven. Although it’s mostly covered in a soft layer of snow, there are areas of highly polished ice that create conditions similar to an ice-rink. Wind can add to the already bitingly cold temperature and provide serious resistance to progress across Lake Baikal.
The utterly featureless landscape gives little or no sense of perspective to competitors. The finish line at the port of Listvyanka can be seen almost from the start line. It is a long, cold, lonely 42.2 km trail across the baren white landscape, where progress is marked only by checkpoints positioned at 5 km intervals ( with hot drinks, food and, for the brave, some more vodka).”
What a fun place for a marathon! Ignasi is the Owner of Events and Travel Barcelona, a destination management company in Barcelona, Spain, so it is probably not surprising that he would travel to exotic locals to experience extreme sports.
Head over to Ignasi’s YouTube page to see videos of his run, and the race site has a photos page here (2012 shots not up yet, but check back, and for now, view previous year images).
Congratulations, Ignasi. Nicely done! You are ColdAvenger!
Tags: Baikal Ice Marathon, E&TB, iamcoldavenger, Ignasi Prat, Ignasi Prat Payeras, Lake Baikal, Siberia