Home with the family!

Mark and I arrived back in Kansas City at 11:30 a.m. on Christmas day. It is great to be home! This is my final blog entry and I thought I would share a few pictures from the ice.


After a few miles into the race a massive storm set in with low fog, wind and snow. It was a complete whiteout. The picture on the left gives you an idea of the conditions. The track was groomed and about 10 feet wide. If you lost the groomed track, however, you found yourself in up to waist deep of snow real quick. This was okay if you found your way back to the tack. The problem, however, was that was hard to do. You completely lose your sense of direction. It is an odd feeling.






When I got the first aid station at 6 miles there was no water available because of a snafu by the organizers. I walked a bit waiting for a promised snowmobile that eventually brought water. I came upon one of the older competitors from France who, despite being 71 years old, is in amazing shape. He was competing in the 60 mile race and has run more than 500 races over that distance. He had taken his goggles off because he had a hard time seeing with them on. As a result, he went "snow blind" and was unable to see at all. I walked with him for quite a while until help arrived. This put me well behind the race pack. This made it impossible to stay on the groomed track because you really had to rely on the people in front of you as markers to keep your way.









This picture give you an idea what I am talking about. The runner is on the groomed trail. If you remove the runner that is what you see. Pure white. You can only see your own shoes. At one point the runners who were ahead of me turned around at a loop and started back on a parallel track. I thought they were on the same track I was on and I kept running towards them and getting lost off track. It was a nightmare, but at the same time an amazing challenge.




I was so happy to see the finish line. I am actually happy the conditions were so poor because it made the whole thing a tremendous challenge.

I want to thank all of you for your interest in our efforts. It meant a lot to us to know that our family and friends were tracking our progress. Thanks again and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


THE FINISH LINE -- remember this is the middle of the day. It gives you a sense of the whiteout. Take care and hope to see you soon!

WOW --- Home at last (kind of)

Hi! We are safely back at our hotel in Chile. It was an amazing experience. The antartic is truly the last great frontier in our world. Late last night a plane from our our camp rescued a skier who was skiing solo from the coast of the antartic to the south pole. Mark and I talked to him for hours. He spent 28 days skiing solo to the south pole. He had never skied before. He almost made it but a blizzard set him back and he ran out of food. He made it further than any other solo before. He was from Washington. Mark and I have I taken a lot of pride in our Country during our time down south. We were truly proud of his accomplishment. It is hard to explain, but it meant a lot to us.

Once the plane took off it felt good to know we were headed home, but I have to admit that the contintent touched my heart. It is so pure and rugid. I want to go back...

Mark and I struggled to find a flight that would get us home by Christmas Eve but we missed our last chance by 2 hours. It is tough. My kids, Steven and Chloe, are old enought to hopefully understand that Santa is coming a day late, and, as a result have agreed to set the presents back a day. Mark´s kids, however, are much younger. It has taken a tough toll on him.

I cannot explain in words how much we want to get home NOW... It is really hard being away at this time of the year. We are leaving shortly for the airport and, after 28 hours of travel, we hope to make it home around 3 p.m. on Christmas day... I will enter a final entry upon our safe return....

Finished Marathon -- White Out Conditions!

We started the marathon at 7:00 AM and after about 2 hours the snow and wind came. Throughout the race there were complete white out conditions. The best way I could describe it was like running through a cloud. You can't tell right from left, or up from down. The course was well groomed, about 6 ft wide with orange flags. But it was easy to lose sight of the flags. On several occasions I wandered off the trail in knee deep snow and lost my sense of direction. Sometimes I wandered for a half hour until I could find the trail again. Ten and one-half hours later, I finished dead last. I am in much need of food and sleep. Mark finished in 7 hours and is currently wearing his oversized mittens on his feet in our tent. We hope the weather clears so we can get home for Christmas. We will be on the next flight out. More later after dinner.

Mike

Marathon in the Morning!!

Tuesday night one of our new friends, Wiliam Tan from Singapore, set out to complete the first wheelchair marathon in Antarctica. Wiliam contracted polio at age two and has an amazing life story. He was competing in honor of a nine year-old girl who recently died of leukemia. A group of runners took turns running alongside Wiliam to provide him support and supplies. Mark and I were scheduled to run from 9:15 - 11:15 PM last night. When our two relief runners came, I headed back to the tent because I was very tired and cold and in need of sleep after running 4 miles with Wiliam. Mark said he would stay for one more mile. Six hours later, Mark came into the tent! He stayed with Wiliam for the remaining 14 miles of his race. Wiliam set a Guinness record by completing the marathon. It was his seventh continent in 28 days in his wheelchair. It is impossible to explain how amazing this accomplishment is. It is difficult for me to walk 100 yards to the restroom in all the snow. Wiliam pushed his wheelchair over 26 miles literally wearing through many pairs of gloves. He has completed 98 marathons including one at the North Pole earlier this year. That one took him 22 hours! He is a testament to the human spirit and one of the most humble and amazing people I have ever met.

On a lighter note, Mark and I have completed day one of the AICC (Antarctic International Cribbage Championship). After a grueling 5 games, the score is Ketchmark 5, Andresen 0. Day two provides new hope.

The marathon will start tomorrow at 7:00 AM. A big storm is expected later in the day and we hope to complete it before the winds arrive. The temperature dropped to 22 below last night and we expect the same tonight. Mark and I sat at dinner tonight next to a scientist who is good friends with Stephen Hawkins. Another man at our table has taken a submarine down to the Titantic wreckage and also to the ocean floor at the North Pole. He is setting out tomorrow on a snowcat for a 20 day trip across the Antarctic with a group of other scientists. We are having a great time and hope to complete the race tomorrow. One of the major topics of discussion has been everyone's desire to be home for Christmas. This led the group to vote to run tomorrow under less than ideal conditions. We hope to get the race in before the next storm hits.

The sun shines here 24 hours a day and it was impossible today to distinguish the ground from the horizon because the sky was cloudy and the snowy ground blended in. Yesterday, one of our friends did not wear goggles or eyeglasses while outside. Both Mark and I warned him against it but he thought he would be ok. Today his eyes were burned and bloodshot and he had difficulty seeing. The good news is that he will be alright. The only way to sleep at night is with a blindfold over your eyes. I need to go to sleep now and will write more later. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!! Check out a picture of our tent on Mark's blog.

Mike

Here At Last!!!

We got a call at 4:30 AM and were told it was a GO. We took a bus to the airport and loaded on to a massive cargo plane. There were flip down seats attached to the side of the plane and all of our luggage and gear was in the middle, including a huge snow tractor. We were all given earplugs for the 4 1/2 hour flight. We couldn't talk or hear each other because the engines were too loud. We passed the time by throwing a soccer ball around the plane. We landed safely at Patriot Hills on the ice runway. We set off for a 1 kilometer hike to the tents. It was very difficult and grueling because of the snow. It was a real eye opener of things to come. Mark and I unpacked our gear in the tent and proudly displayed the American flag! My brief time on the cargo plane gave me a new appreciation for the men and women who serve our country. Another snowstorm is expected tomorrow and it is unlikely that we will run for at least two days. It is impossible to describe the vast, wide open emptiness of this sheet of ice we find ourselves on. Right now it is 10 degrees below zero with a 10 mile and hour sustained wind. The staff says this is one of the nicest days in recent memory. After we unpacked our tent, Mark and I dug down through the ice and built a 3 foot snow wall around the tent. Our current goal, while aggressive, is to install plumbing and electricity tomorrow. Mark spent six years in the Army and his side of the tent would pass any rigorous inspection. He looks at my side of the tent and continuously hums the tune from the Odd Couple. I am too cold to care. The food is great, we are safe and I will post more later. Thanks again for your interest and support.

Mike

Next Stop...

This is a picture of the tents at Patriot Hills. This is our next stop if all goes well..... more later

De Plane!!! De Plane!!! - Good News

Goods news!!! Just got back from the briefing. It is has finally stopped snowing. The runway is being cleared. We are headed to Antartica sometime after midnight if all holds. The company said that if the runway were already cleared we could land right now.... The weather can turn quick, but if all holds, it looks like we caught a break.... Off to the race and hopefully home for Christmas with the family. Mark & I are off to do some shopping for our kids in celebration! I will post again once we get the final word that the plane is leaving.