Icy resolve fueled North Pole marathon win

For 47-year-old Wang Shengxian, the mental fortitude that propelled him to become the first Chinese man to win the North Pole Marathon came from years of hard work and dedication.

The Hunan province native made history on July 17 when he crossed the finish line first after 3 hours, 52 minutes and 22 seconds. Wang said his steady run on floating ice at the top of the world reminded him of his childhood days of running in rice paddies. But instead of battling the mud he was challenged by the freezing cold.

Dubbed the "world's coolest marathon", the 42.195-kilometer event, first held in 2003, has had no more than 700 runners who have crossed the finish line 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.

"The temperature was around minus 10 C, but the humidity made it feel much colder," Wang said.

The course included some 300 to 400 meters of snow-covered terrain, with the snow reaching depths of up to 40 centimeters in some places and making each step a struggle to pull free.

"There was no solid ground beneath the snow, but chunks of ice with gaps between them. It was easy to slip and fall," he said.

Wang fell three times. One fall tore a large hole in his trousers, and blood seeped from the wound. He did not stop to inspect the gash as the cold weather slowed the bleeding. As runners passed, the snow gradually melted beneath their feet, forming puddles across the course. Wang accidentally stepped into one, filling his shoes with freezing water.

Despite the challenges, Wang led the race from start to finish. The runner who finished second was 15 minutes behind — a significant gap in a marathon.

"When I saw the finish line, I was so excited," Wang said. "I did what I set out to do — bringing the championship glory to my country and my hometown, and showing the world the fighting spirit of Hunan people."

Wang was born in a village in Xiangyin, Hunan. As a boy, he loved racing other children barefoot along the ridges between rice paddies. He would keep running long after the others had given up, until his legs could carry him no farther.

After graduating from university, Wang worked in sales for several years before co-founding a tech startup. The relentless pace of work took a heavy toll on his health, and a sudden gallstone attack sent him to the emergency room.

In the wake of the health scare, Wang began exercising, taking up activities such as cycling and swimming.

In the autumn of 2017, a friend who had just completed a marathon showed up at his office, beaming with excitement. The friend, who had once been overweight, had shed dozens of kilograms through running and was full of energy, according to Wang.

"I was amazed by the huge change in him, so I joined him for a run," Wang said. "It felt pretty good, so I took up running."

In February 2018, Wang ran his first full marathon, finishing in 4 hours and 28 minutes. Dissatisfied with the result, he joined a local running club and began training daily. Seven months later, in his fourth marathon, Wang broke the three-hour mark for the first time, clocking 2 hours and 59 minutes.

At the time, fewer than 80 amateur runners in Hunan had broken the three-hour barrier. But Wang did not stop there. He kept asking faster runners for tips and pored over every running book he could find.

In 2021, he set his personal best of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 20 seconds. In January this year, Wang took on the World Marathon Challenge, where participants are required to complete seven full marathons across seven continents in seven consecutive days. The drastic time zone and climate changes push runners to their physical and mental limits.

During the first stop in Antarctica, the extreme cold triggered severe leg cramps and stomachaches, but Wang pushed through and won the race.

He then continued to South Africa, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Brazil and the United States.

"The jet lag made me feel like throwing up before every race. And there was no real rest in between," Wang said. "The Western food didn't agree with me either. I had stomach trouble the whole time."

He finished second overall, the best result ever by a Chinese runner.

For Wang, running is not just a physical challenge but also a form of spiritual practice.

"It's a conversation with your inner self. Whatever difficulties you face, it helps you let them go," he said.

Now, Wang has set his sights on his next target: running a marathon at the South Pole. "The high altitude and temperatures as low as minus 30 to minus 40 C make it much harder than at the North Pole," he said.

"Probably only two or three people in the world have done that, and no Chinese ever has."