As part of their Geography unit, Harrison School District's second graders emailed me questions about running a marathon in Antarctica (March 2010). :)Christine, can you please tell me how was your trip? I hope you had fun. How come you did not take medicine and everybody else did? –Ashawna
The medicine everyone was taking was for motion sickness. When you’re below deck, on a rocking ship, with no windows, it’s a common occurrence. Your inner ear (which plays a role in your balance) tells your brain that it feels motion, but your eyes tell your brain that nothing is moving. The brain figures that either ears or eyes are hallucinating due to poison ingestion. Cue vomit to rid supposed toxins from your system!
As for why I didn’t take any medicine? I think sometimes we are too quick to take medicine. We use it as a crutch. I wanted to see if my body could handle being tossed about the Drake Passage (allegedly the roughest waters of all the world's oceans) without medicinal aid. It could.
I don’t generally get motion sickness though. I’ll ride roller coasters all day. Some people can’t, and there’s no shame in taking medicine. But I think you could “test the waters” before taking it. You might surprise yourself and find that you are stronger than you think.
Oh, and my trip was a blast! Thanks for askin!
Why did you wear a bikini? —Dante, Cynthia, Brayam, Madison, and Julie
Hahah! My friend sarcastically told me not to forget my bikini when packing. It became an ongoing joke when people asked what I’d wear on race day. The more I joked, the more I thought, why not actually wear one on top of my clothes!? It was a hit. I looked ridiculous, made my fellow runners laugh. I like spreading smiles and good cheer.
When you were racing, did you win or lose? –Kelsey
I came in first place in my age group (20-39 years old); 5th place out of the 18 women who finished; 28th place out of the 70 people who finished the marathon.
The beautiful thing about marathons is that if you cross the finish line, you win. No matter how long it takes you. There were 70 finishers that day; so 70 winners. And it was a great effort put forth by all!!
What did you do before the marathon? What did you do after the marathon?—Dhajia
Before and after the race we sat on the ship, eating and chatting. Ship staff offered educational lectures, documentaries, and slide shows on Antarctica. Weather permitting, we took rafts out to land to explore.
Why were there only 100 people in the race? –Cory
Scientific research bases line the race route and we need their permission (and that of the countries they represent) to run on their “land.” Antarctica is considered politically neutral, but some countries get territorial. They mistakenly think we harm the environment by running. Not really, our foot prints vanish with the next snowfall. But to keep everyone happy, few runners are allowed.
Why doesn't Antarctica get much sun? —Jezeriah
Antarctica does not get any sun during its winter because of the way the Earth is tilted on its axis. Cool link.
What animals live in Antarctica?—Alyssa
Penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids, fur seals, leopard seals, krill, phytoplankton.
Do penguins swim fast? –Karizma
Very fast! Gentoo penguins boast the fastest swimming speed; 22 mph in short bursts. They can’t keep that speed up for long though. You more often see them swimming at a speed of 7.5 mph.
When you walked up to a penguin, did it bite? –Sabella
We had to stay 5 meters away (15 feet) from penguins. Everyone is very conscious about preserving the environment and leaving as little impact on the White Continent as we can.
If it was their choice to waddle up to you, that was allowed. And if you sat down and held very still, many of them did come close! Curious bunch! They never bit us.
Do penguins walk slow or fast?—Christopher
On land, they waddle slowly; adorably awkward; Hopping over rocks, and holding out their wings for balance as they teeter along. Here’s a video I took.
What do penguins eat? –Natalie
Some eat squid and fish. But mostly they love krill; small crustacean that kind of look like shrimp.
Seals, whales, seabirds ALSO love krill. It’s everyone’s favorite food! “the pizza of the Antarctica buffet.” More info.
Did you see a killer whale? –Andrea
No Free Willy sighting. The captain alerted us over the ship loudspeaker whenever he sighted a whale, but by the time we made it on deck, the whale had disappeared.
We had a joke about our fruitless attempts to see whales. It came about after one particularly frantic stampede from our cabins to the deck of the ship. A fellow runner commented, “I didn’t know marathon runners could move that fast, you’d think we were all sprinters!”
Was it super duper fun? –Destiny
Hahha, yes, super duper fun. It was a hard race to run, but achieving your goals is one of the best feelings in the world. So dream big. No limits.
For more pics, clicky here.
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