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About Us
Polar Running Adventures is operated by multiple polar marathoner Richard Donovan. A native of Ireland, he is also the organiser of the annual North Pole Marathon.
In addition to completing marathons in both the Arctic and Antarctic, Richard has participated in other extreme locations such as the Sahara and Atacama Deserts, the Andes and Himalayan mountains and the Amazon Jungle. He has won races such as the Inca Trail Marathon, Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race, Everest Challenge Marathon and South Pole Marathon as well as representing Ireland as an international ultramarathon runner.
In February 2009 Richard set a new record for running marathons on all seven continents when he completed his 'World Marathon Challenge' in 5 days 10 hours 8 minutes. Later that year, he won the Antarctic 100k for the third time and was race director at both the Anglo Celtic Plate 100km and the Commonwealth Championships 100km.
In 2010, Richard was race director of the official World 50km Final and in July 2011 he organised the IAU Trail World Championships where he was awarded the Order of Merit by the International Association of Ultra Runners. He was also race director at the inaugural Commonwealth Championships at Trail Running in September 2011. On 2nd December 2011, Richard completed the first 100-mile run within the Antarctic Circle to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of Man reaching the South Pole, and in February 2012 Richard broke his exisitng world record for running marathons on all seven continents when he completed the 2012 World Marathon Challenge in 4 days 22 hours 3 minutes.
Richard was Chairman of UltraRunning Ireland from 2005-2012 prior to being elected Executive Director of the International Association of Ultra Runners, the world governing body for the sport, for the period 2012-2016.
Leading international magazines, including National Geographic Adventure, Sports Illustrated and Runner’s World, have published feature length interviews and reports on Richard’s adventure race performances. He also featured in various documentaries, including the world syndicated BBC programme ‘Desert: The Challenge’, which was narrated by Mike Stroud.
A former economist, Richard was educated in Ireland and the USA and received postgraduate academic scholarships in both countries.
While Polar Running Adventures promotes and organises the Antarctic Ice Marathon races, Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions provides all of the associated logistical support.