Nicole Las is now one of 134 women in the world to have completed a marathon in the North Pole, and she credits more than 20 years of Chicago winters for helping her cross the finish line.
“A lot of people including myself got pretty emotional at the end,” said Las of Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood. “It was one of the greatest points of my life for sure.”
Las returned home from the race this week with accolades, a medal and a lifetime of memories.
“I mean I don’t mind saying it was definitely hard, a very difficult course,” she told NBC Chicago. “It’s a pretty exhilarating feeling finishing something like that.”
It took a week via an ice-breaking ship to arrive at the geographical North Pole. Once they arrived, officials checked the ice levels to determine the best course for running a marathon.
Las said they chose roughly a 1-kilometer trek that runners completed 50 times to make it to 26.2 miles.
The conditions were cold, windy and slushy.
“Certain areas had puddles that got bigger and deeper as time went on,” Las said. “At some points it would go down to mid-calf or almost your knee, so a lot of high stepping.”
Everyone wears a life vest for safety, she said.
And the run wasn’t the only exhilarating part. From the ship they saw many natives of the North Pole.
“We saw a total of 14 polar bears, schools of seals and a walrus from afar,” Las said.