Well, the time has very quickly arrived and ready or not the time has come for me to pack my bags and begin the multi-day journey down to Antarctica. I think no matter how many months I would have had to prepare for it, it always would have come around very quickly but I’m excited to actually get the show on the road and start this epic adventure.

I printed off my packing list and a bit like Santa, checked it more than twice to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. There’s not exactly a lot of options to pick things up last minute so I wanted to be as prepared as possible. There’s a lot of things to squish into a suitcase, and almost half of it is just for the race day itself!

My journey down to Antarctica started with a long over night flight from London to Amsterdam and then onward to Buenos Aires. Thankfully it all went pretty smoothly and I managed to get a decent night sleep which meant I arrived feeling pretty normal. I was the first to arrive but quickly other runners started to arrive and soon we were ushered into a bus to head off to the hotel. I had a nice morning wander around the area where we’re staying before crashing for a much needed nap.

Our group gathered in the afternoon for a fun shakeout run around a local nature preserve, it was super warm but it was nice to get moving and get to know a few more of the people in the group and a better sense of the local area.

The next day was a good start with a bus tour around the city, where we learned a lot about the history and culture of Argentina and Buenos Aires. We visited some of the main sites starting with the presidential palace where Eva Peron gave her famous speeches, and then onward to the Caminito district filled with colour and music and some pretty interesting papier mache scultptures of the most important people, footballers and the pope.

We hopped around to some more of the famous local sites and paid our respects to Evita at the Recoleta Cemetery.

After the tour finished, I took myself on an extended tour, mostly to find the El Ateneo bookstore which is located inside an old theatre. It was pretty impressive and certainly a beautiful way to transform such a magnificent space. It was an early night to try and build up some good sleep before we go on the ship.

Sunday morning I took advantage of our last morning on land and went for a (very) warm 10km run around the nature preserve. I underestimated how hot it was and the run quickly became a struggle as I sweated and panted my way around the trails, it was tough but I’m glad I went and got my worries out through the run. The rest of the day was spent doing some last minute exploring, taking some photos for a creative project to tell the story of this adventure, finding a recommended coffee spot and then sitting and chatting with a fellow photographer from the area.

After picking up all my race goodies (I’ll be fully on brand now!), we all gathered for a welcome dinner/debrief where everything certainly became a lot more real. We went over everything from medical safety, to the elevation profile, what to expect on the water, and all the basics of the race itself. There’s 114 marathoners, 29 half marathoners and 13 10km runners about to enjoy this experience together!

Next up, flying down to Ushuaia before we board the Ocean Victory , our home away from home for the next 10 days.