Gold Coast runner Natalie Arnold overcame ice and snow to finish marathon on seventh continent

How this Gold Coast woman trained for the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

RUNNING through knee deep snow in freezing conditions Natalie Arnold has become the youngest Australian to run a marathon on every continent unassisted, but she’s not done yet.

The thirty-year-old returned to a much warmer Gold Coast in time for Christmas after claiming second in the women’s Antarctic Ice Marathon on December 13.

“It’s been a long time coming and I really thought it was going to be the end of the journey, but now it’s not the end,” she said.

“I’m just going to take some time to reflect, but I’m definitely not done.”

Natalie Arnold became the youngest Australian to complete unassisted marathons on every continent when she finished second in the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Picture: supplied.

Arnold finished with a time of 6 hours and 15 minutes and while her average marathon time is just over four hours, she couldn’t be happier.

“Not many marathon runners would be proud of a time like that, but in Antarctic conditions it was great,” she said.

“It was a huge milestone and one of those times where I can proudly say that I ran a good race.”

WHY NATALIE ARNOLD BECAME A RUNNER

According to race organisers the conditions had been the worst in nine years, with times much slower than usual.

“They say it’s the hardest marathon in the world and I definitely second that,” Arnold said.

Natalie Arnold competing in the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Picture: supplied.

Most years the runners compete on compacted snow, but this time the glacier had received heavy snowfall in the days leading up to the race, which affected parts of the track.

At 160cm tall Arnold found unexpected challenges.

“I’m a smaller runner and at times I’d turn a corner and be running through snow up to my knees,” she said.

“It was an entirely different race than what we expected, but my goal was just to not stop running and I did that so I was happy.”

It may be a completely different environment, but Arnold said it was Gold Coast beaches which helped her prepare for Antarctica.

“I’d been training on the soft sand on the beaches,” she said.

“I thought the sand was similar terrain and I would go running through the water against the tide.”

I imagined that would be comparable to the winds.”

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Arnold had never run in cold conditions and said this made her nervous before the race.

“Most of my races have been in warmer temperatures,” she said.

“We left a day earlier because they were expecting blizzards, so I was very nervous because I was unsure of when we’d run.”

It was the minus 16.9 wind chill factor that was the greatest challenge for Arnold who was given briefings in the lead up to the race in how to regulate her body temperature.

“It was challenging trying not to overheat and visibility was really tough because it was snowing and at times I could only see about three metres in front,” she said.

Natalie Arnold became competing in the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Picture: Supplied.

Despite this, Arnold was mesmerised with Antarctica.

“It’s the most spectacular place and is pristine white,” she said.

“There’s nowhere in the world like it.”