Three Korean students finish Antarctic ultra race

Three Korean students completed the 250-kilometer Antarctic ultramarathon held on 10 South Pole islands from Nov. 22 to Dec. 3.

Fifty-five runners from 28 countries competed in the race, including Youn Seung-chul, 22, a junior in the creative writing department of Dongguk University in Seoul; Kim Sang-hyeon, 24, a senior in civil engineering at Yeungnam University in North Gyeongsang Province; and Choi Kyu-young, 28, a senior in Christian Studies at Hannam Univeristy in Daejeon.

Competitors are required to carry their own food, sleeping equipment and clothes and run about 40 kilometers a day for a total of 250 km over six days and seven nights.

The Antarctic race is one of the world’s four toughest endurance marathons, which require the completion of a 250 km distance over six days. The other three take place in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China and the Sahara Desert in Egypt. One should complete the three desert races to qualify for the Antarctic ultramarathon.

Youn raised about 17 million won ($15,700) for the race registration fee from 91 sponsors who chipped in through www.fundu.co.kr, a social funding site. The 22-year-old has become the youngest in the world to claim the Grand Slam title by completing the four races.

Both Choi and Kim completed the four races in a year and were inducted into the Hall of Fame, which admits only Grand Slammers who complete them all in a year.

By Chun Sung-woo(swchun@heraldcorp.com)