On Thursday, at the first leg of the Great World Race in Wolf Fang, Antarctica, Irish runner William Maunsell clocked an impressive time of 2:38:42, setting a record for the fastest marathon ever on the frozen continent. Maunsell broke the previous record of 2:53:33 by almost 15 minutes, held by none other than his coach, Sean Tobin.
Maunsell’s achievement came during the first of seven legs of the gruelling Great World Race challenge, which involves running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. The challenge also makes stops in Cape Town, Perth, Istanbul (twice), Cartagena and Miami, with 54 competitors from 15 countries.
The 39-year-old described the Arctic race as “manageable” despite the extreme cold. “It was a bit tough at the start for about 2K, but there’s a big back section that’s slightly downhill. The wind was behind you, and you can really make time on that part,” he said in an interview with Reuters.
What’s crazier is that Maunsell is taking on this challenge two weeks after he ran a personal best marathon time of 2:14:23 at the 2024 Dublin Marathon, where he placed 10th overall and was the third Irish finisher.
On Friday (Day 2 of the challenge) in Cape Town, Maunsell started right where he left off in Antarctica, clocking a 2:34:03 performance that saw him lap the entire field on the four-lap course.
Maunsell’s coach, Tobin, set the previous marathon record for the Antarctic continent at the 2022 Antarctic Ice Marathon. It was Tobin’s first marathon. Maunsell and Tobin both hail from Tipperary, Ireland, which means they will be keeping the record in the county.
