Hunan runner makes history at North Pole marathon

Running on a floating ice floe at the top of the world, Wang Shengxian felt as if he were back in the muddy rice paddies of his hometown in Hunan province — except that it was freezing cold and every step was a fight to stay upright.

On July 17, the 47-year-old became the first Chinese man to win the North Pole Marathon, completing the 42.195-kilometer race in 3 hours, 52 minutes and 22 seconds.

First held in 2003, the event is dubbed the "world's coolest marathon". No more than 700 runners have finished the race in its 19 editions. The course is measured and marked on drifting ice over the Arctic Ocean only hours before the start. This year, runners completed a 1,055-meter loop 40 times to cover the full marathon distance.