#0 What is Antarctica? THE LAST DESERT
Nice to meet you, I am Antarctica.
Everyone, this might be sudden, but do you know about Antarctica?
A. Antarctica is a massive continent roughly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of it is covered in ice, with an average thickness of over 1.6 km. The average minimum temperature drops to minus 45°C, and it is constantly dry.
I've known that since I was in elementary school!! But anyway, let's put that farce aside.
Antarctica is the handle name I've been using without anyone's permission for over 7 years now.
Why Antarctica? That is simply because I have set Antarctica as the final goal of my life.
??????
To break it down a little more,
I want to participate in the Antarctic Marathon.
I want to win the Antarctic Marathon.
Most of you are probably wondering, what is the Antarctic Marathon?
Can you even run in Antarctica? Is there really a marathon there?
Well, there is. And it's 100km long!!
Here is an actual image.
Man, it looks like a lot of fun! lol
There is another event called the Antarctic Ice Marathon, which has distances of 10km and 42.195km, but the one I want to enter is the 100km Antarctic Marathon.
Because if I'm going all the way to Antarctica, I might as well run a long distance. And what's more,
This Antarctic Marathon has entry requirements: you must have completed two out of the three desert marathons (running about 250km over 7 days) held in the Namib Desert, Atacama Desert, and Gobi Desert. Only by completing those can the path to Antarctica open up.
In other words, Antarctica is the final boss. The Antarctic Marathon is held once every two years,
and it is also known as "THE LAST DESERT." It's incredibly cool!!
I first learned about the Antarctic Marathon when I was job hunting in my final year of university. I didn't really have a job I wanted to do, and while I was wandering around the library looking for something interesting, I picked up a book. That book was "The 50 Best Marathons in the World."
(Please keep the thought of 'Why would you pick up that book while looking for a job?' to yourself.)
It had a lot of information about the Antarctic Marathon, including the entry requirements mentioned above and the 1.4 million yen entry fee, but I was most attracted to the RPG-like stage system where you can't enter unless you run two desert marathons. And above all, since I was born on this Earth, I strongly felt that I wanted to step on mystical places like deserts and Antarctica with my own feet.
So, like that, ever since that day I encountered that book, I have called myself "Antarctica" so that I never lose sight of my determination to go there.
Here is a brief self-introduction of Antarctica.
Motto: There is always a third way in any situation.
Favorite quote: "Having experienced defeat will one day become a great asset."
Favorite food: Goya Champuru
Hometown: Oita Prefecture (where I slipped and fell)
Favorite animal: Horse
The scariest thing in the world: The Antarctic ice melting completely.
Next. Encounter with Marathons
Postscript: Thank you for reading this far. I want this Note to be a record of my journey to winning the Antarctic Marathon, other goals, and how I feel from time to time. It will be a long road with many detours, but I will definitely make it all the way to conquering the Antarctic Marathon via two deserts.
I would be happy if you could leave a comment, as it is very encouraging.
Since I haven't written articles since elementary school, I'm sure there are many parts that are hard to read, but I hope to improve little by little. I plan to make each article something you can read quickly in 3-5 minutes.
I will post an article about every 3 days, and the content will vary depending on the time, whether it's about marathons or daily life.
First, I will write about my journey until I encountered marathons and reached my European expedition, so I would appreciate it if you continue to read.