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The Coldest Marathon On Earth
Runners brave -62 Fahrenheit (-50 C) temperatures
Running a marathon is difficult, and it represents the peak of running accomplishment. Outside of a small subset of (crazy) athletes who decide to participate in ultra-long distance challenges, the marathon is the longest distance most people will willingly run. That is what makes the Oymyakon marathon so insane and impressive.
Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. Temperatures in the winter routinely plunge to -60 F, with a record low recorded at -96.2 °F a century ago. That makes it the perfect place to run a marathon, right?
The “Pole of Cold — Oymyakon” is a two-day event that sees over 50 participants come from all over Siberia. The event hosts races of various distances, including a marathon and a 50 km race (31 miles.) The 2025 race was held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the 1945 victory by the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany and featured temperatures of -62 F.
Most runners are used to wearing as little clothes as possible to reduce chafe and keep temperatures regulated. These marathon runners ran while bundled head to…
