how cold is too cold for a jog?
for most people, below-freezing temperatures generally put a stop to outdoor exercise, but siberian native boris fyodorov is not most people.
minutes after the calendar ticked over to 2014 this past new year’s eve, fyodorov set off on a solo, out-and-back marathon run from his home in the siberian village of oymyakon, completing the 26.2-mile course ― his first marathon ― in just over five hours. during the run he experienced temperatures as low as -36 f (-38 c).
and that was just the way he wanted it.
"i [heard] about other marathons around the globe, naming themselves 'the coldest', like the most recent north pole marathon with runners going at -28 c [-18 f]," fyodorov told the siberian times. "i thought surely this cannot be right. our oymyakon is the coldest inhabited place in northern hemisphere. why don't we arrange a marathon here?"
oymyakon is widely considered to be one of the coldest places on the planet, and its record-low temperature of -90 f, recorded in 1933, is tied for the coldest recorded temperature for any inhabited place on earth. the average january temperature in the area is -50 c (-58 f).
not only did fyodorov finish the marathon in high spirits, but he also wants it to be colder the next time he tries it.
"i really want to organize [the] next oymyakon marathon in january when the air goes down to -50 c or -60 c," he said.
fyodorov is not the first person to take on a cold-weather athletic challenge like this. in addition to the north pole marathon that he mentioned, the antarctica marathon is held every year in late february, taking runners on an out-and-back tour from russia’s bellingshausen station. a second antarctica event ― the ice marathon ― has been held at 80 degrees south since 2006.
当气温降到零度以下，相信多数人会拒绝户外活动，但土生土长的西伯利亚人鲍里斯?费奥多罗夫是个例外。他在新年夜零下38摄氏度的低温中跑完了单人马拉松。
据美国媒体报道，2014新年钟声敲响后不久，费奥多罗夫就从位于西伯利亚地区奥伊米亚康村的家中出发，在零下38摄氏度的低温下跑完了大约42公里的往返马拉松。这是他第一次跑马拉松，5个多小时跑完全程。
费奥多罗夫说：“我听说世界上有别的自称‘最冷的’马拉松，比如说，“北极马拉松”选手最近就挑战了零下28摄氏度的低温。我觉得这肯定不对。我们奥伊米亚康是北半球有人居住的最冷的地方。为什么我们不能在这儿安排一场马拉松呢？”
奥伊米亚康被广泛认为是地球上最冷的地方之一，1933年创下的零下68摄氏度的低温记录，和地球上有人居住地方的低温记录持平。到了一月份，奥伊米亚康的平均气温为零下50摄氏度。
费奥多罗夫不仅精神饱满地跑完了这趟马拉松，而且希望下次跑的时候更冷。“我想在1月份温度降到零下50或60摄氏度的时候组织一场奥伊米亚康马拉松，”他说。
其实像费奥多罗夫这样喜欢在严寒中长跑的人大有人在。除了上文提到的北极马拉松以外，还有每年2月底的南极马拉松，起点是俄罗斯的别林斯高晋南极考察站。另外，南极还有一项“冰上马拉松”，提起来就叫人心“冻”。