FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Thom Gilligan
Marathon Tours and Travel
(617) 242-7845
Patrice Malloy
Malloy Marketing Group
(760) 635-2833
2007 ANTARCTICA MARATHON SELLS OUT
"March of the Penguins" Film Creates an Avalanche of Interest
in the Last Continent
BOSTON (November 8, 2005) — The popularity of the documentary film, "March
of the Penguins," has runners flocking to the Antarctica Marathon and Half
Marathon, according to event organizers.
The blockbuster movie depicts Emperor penguins' mating rituals, which
involve trekking miles across the Antarctic wasteland, going months without
food and enduring temperatures of 70 degrees below zero with 100 mph winds.
The penguin pilgrimage has apparently resulted in a migration of the
two-legged human variety.
"The movie's spectacular scenery and fascinating storyline has created an
avalanche of interest in Antarctica, much like during the media frenzy that
surrounded the British explorers who ran seven marathons in seven days on
six continents in 2003," said Thom Gilligan, president of Boston-based
Marathon Tours and Travel and the Antarctica Marathon expedition leader.
"Increasingly, people are realizing what an incredible once-in-a-lifetime
experience it is to run at the bottom of the earth."
In response to the increased demand, Marathon Tours and Travel has created
a wait list for the next event, scheduled for February 26, 2007, and have
announced that the event will be held in 2008 as well. The Antarctica
Marathon and Half Marathon have been held seven times -- every other year
in recent times. The event is not scheduled for 2006.
Dramatic scenery and face-to-face encounters with penguins, seals and
whales are not the only reason marathoners head to the remote place on the
planet. "Many of the runners who have signed up for the Antarctica Marathon
have a goal of running a marathon on all seven continents," said Gilligan,
whose company hosts the Seven Continents Club for runners who achieve this
marathon or half marathon milestone. Currently, there are 114 men and 34
women in the club.
Given the absence of accommodations on the continent, entrants in the 2007
Antarctica Marathon and Half Marathon will call two chartered Russian
ice-rated ships, the Akademik Loffe and the Akademik Vavilov, home for
their 10-day voyage. The event's field size is limited to the number of
ship berths. There were 180 participants in the marathon and half marathon
in February, 2005.
The Antarctica Marathon is staged on King George Island just off the
Antarctic Peninsula. Its two-loop course travels up and down Collins
Glacier and through Russian, Chinese, Uruguayan and Chilean research bases.
The course can change from year to year due to glacial shifts.
Complete race tour packages start at $5,099 USD and include membership in
the Antarctica Athletic Federation. For more information call Marathon
Tours and Travel (617-242-7845) or log on to www.marathontours.com.
Marathon Tours and Travel, the leading marathon tour operator in the U.S.,
offers comprehensive travel packages to marathons worldwide including,
Easter Island and the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya, the only marathon run
entirely within a game park.
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