Runners brave the cold for North Pole Marathon

Greek athlete Argyrios Papathanasopoulos won the North Pole Marathon amongst the frozen waters of the Arctic sea on Sunday (April 15). Over 60 athletes from over 20 nations took part in this year's annual event which takes place at Camp Barneo, known as North Pole Camp, which is located 49 kilometres from the top of the world. Runners braved conditions of - 33 degrees Celsius as well as contending with soft snow and small ice pressure ridges along the way. In the women's race Gouping Xie of China came out on top of the 13 female competitors, while Australian runner Marcus Fillinger completed the race accompanied by two husky dogs, Druro and Blue, who become the first canines to complete the marathon. The North Pole Marathon returns next April. Results Men's Marathon : 1. Argyrios Papathanasopoulos (GRE) 4:34:36 2. Dmitri Voloshin (MDA) 5:03:26 3. David Field (AUS) 5:03:34 Results Women's Marathon: 1. Guoping Xie (CHN) 6:43:20 2. Joanna Medras (POL) 7:02:21 3. Adriana Istrate (ROM) 7:19:51