Stephanie Case becomes first woman to complete 100-mile Antarctic Ice Ultra
Stephanie Case became the first woman to complete the 100-mile Antarctic Ice Ultra at the Schirmacher Oasis in Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica, when organisers moved the start to 1am on Sunday morning; the 43-year-old finished second overall in 17 hours 31 minutes and 39 seconds.
The Antarctic Ice Ultra required competitors to run 38 loops of a 4.2km course in the Schirmacher Oasis, with participants encountering penguins, severe winds and temperatures as low as -35C — the coldest organisers have recorded. Organisers shifted the start time because of the extreme weather, and only four of the eight starters completed the 100-mile event this year.
Case said the race was as much about survival as performance and described the energy demands of staying warm in such conditions. "When you're out in that environment for 20 minutes it's OK but when you're out in it for 17 hours or more, it can take a huge toll on the body because you have to expend so much energy just to keep yourself warm," Case told BBC Sport. "The thing is that you need to run fast, but you need to do it in a way that you don't sweat, because if you sweat, that's a killer. It will make you cold instantly."
As a self-declared "mountain goat", Case did not expect the practical difficulties of toilet stops under Antarctic bio-security rules and extreme cold. "On a trail you could normally just go in the woods, but due to bio-security reasons, you can't leave any trace in Antarctica. And then going to the bathroom, when you are wearing so many layers and taking off your gloves for even five seconds can put your hands at risk of frostbite, it was a real challenge," she said. "The environment is so harsh, and things can go wrong so quickly… It was just relief when I crossed the finish line that I'd actually done it and in a time that I was super proud of. It was just an outpouring of emotion."
Case took regular refuelling breaks — roughly every 26 miles — as she navigated the loops, and she was one of three women on the start line but the only woman to reach the finish. Few athletes attempt the event each year and historically it has been attempted only by men, making Case's completion unique among this year's field.
The human rights lawyer crossed the line 29 minutes after Chinese runner Yusheng Ni, who "smashed his own world record - set last year - by over five and a half hours." Ni has completed more than 500 ultramarathons, and Case said racing him presented a "formidable challenge". "There were parts where I was 60 seconds behind him or I was sometimes just 200 metres behind him. It was a real race. But whenever he saw me getting close, he would look behind and he would just take off. I think we really pushed each other to get our best performances. I feel super proud of what I was able to do," she said.
Case, a Canadian, had gone viral last year after breastfeeding her baby daughter Pepper during a victory at an ultramarathon in Snowdownia, and she said some backlash motivated her to take on the Antarctic challenge to demonstrate that "motherhood is not the finish line." "I know that when I'm going out and doing the things that make me feel happy and whole, it makes me a better mum and I can come home and and show my daughter all the things that she might want to do and all the things that are possible for women," Case said. "I felt like the best way to clap back at anyone who thought that I should be at home with my baby was to go to the most extreme place on Earth and try to get the record."
Case finished second overall in 17 hours 31 minutes and 39 seconds, 29 minutes behind Ni, while only four of the eight starters completed the 100-mile race and Case was the sole female finisher.