Churchill marathon needs mascots, drivers

The standard marathon experience goes like this: wake up too early, pay too much to suffer publicly, and at the finish line receive a medal. Churchill has taken this concept and improved it in just two ways, they’ve added polar bears and sub-Arctic temperatures.

The annual Polar Bear Marathon returns Nov. 22, and organizers are now searching for people willing to help make the event run smoothly. “Help,” in this case, means anything from wearing an oversized polar bear costume to driving slowly enough beside a runner to make sure they are not mistaken for a polar bear’s lunch.

“It’s unique,” says organizer Albert Martens, in the polite Canadian way of admitting something is mildly insane. “It’s not meant to be easy.”

Martens means this lovingly. Every winter, a small group of runners from around the world descend on Churchill specifically because the race is difficult. They pay hundreds of dollars to fly north, don layers of thermal fabric, and jog through the sub-Arctic wind while hoping the wildlife remains uninterested. It is less like a marathon and more like a meaningful brush with nature.

Organizers are looking for two people willing to don polar bear mascot suits. The job involves cheering runners at the start line, greeting them at the finish line, and, according to official instructions, possibly sprinting the last 20 metres alongside them for morale.

This is a touching idea: the exhausted runner, the frosted air, and a giant cartoon bear huffing dramatically beside them. For this service, mascots will earn $100 and the admiration (or confusion) of tourists. Anyone interested can email albert@albertmartens.com.

Another unusual feature of this marathon: every runner comes with their own vehicular bodyguard. Because polar bears also use the roads, each participant is escorted by a driver in a slow-moving vehicle, a kind of mobile chaperone to ensure no one becomes part of the food chain.

Martens puts it simply: “Each runner is escorted by a safety vehicle … just to make sure they’re safe.” He then pauses. “From bears, yeah.”

Drivers who volunteer will receive $50 for fuel, a spot at the post-race banquet, and a really good story for the rest of their lives. Out-of-town runners especially need drivers, and there will be a matching meeting at the Seaport Hotel at 7 p.m. on Nov. 21. Interested volunteers can email david_p963@shaw.ca.

Spectators are invited to gather at the finish line outside the Seaport Hotel, where they can watch a spectacle: determined runners, blasting wind, the occasional snowflake stinging the pride. Martens says the support matters. “We welcome everyone to come out and cheer on the runners as they persevere through the long run.”

In Churchill, cheering isn’t about noise. It’s about showing up and letting your eyelashes freeze in solidarity.

The field is modest, usually eight to 20 runners, but the impact is not. Athletes have travelled to Churchill from Mexico, Morocco, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand and across North America.

Martens himself is the kind of person who considers extreme running fun. He has completed endurance races in Death Valley, on the Sahara Desert’s dunes, and in temperatures that suggest the universe is actively irritated with him. Because of this, he understands the appeal of Churchill’s race: “People don’t come for it to be easy,” he says. “They come because it’s supposed to be hard.”

The prize is not a podium. It’s the privilege of saying, I ran where only polar bears usually walk. And also possibly getting a soapstone bear sculpture.

» Winnipeg Sun