Polar Circle Marathon & Half 2024

On 26 October, the tour package officially begins. However, as our flight to Greenland leaves early in the morning, we strongly advise against booking same day connections. This means you should plan to arrive in Copenhagen one or more nights in advance. Pre-nights can be booked at the Best Western Hotel Hebron located in Copenhagen’s city center. Hotel Hebron is less than a 5 minute walk from Copenhagen Central Station, which, in turn, is only a 15-minute train ride from the airport.

On Wednesday 23 October, we offer participants the opportunity to book a running sightseeing tour through the beautiful city of Copenhagen. Our local running guide will take us on an 8km tour through the historical streets, and we’ll stop at the most famous and interesting sights. Please see Package Add-ons below for more details.

In the evening, all Polar Circle Marathon 2024 participants – runners and spectators alike – are invited for a free, informal dinner at the Albatros Travel headquarters. Tapas will be served in our canteen, where you can meet and mingle with other participants and browse exclusive offers on running clothes from our partner, Craft. If you’re missing anything suitable for Greenland, this is an excellent chance to stock up. You’ll also receive your race packet, which contains your start number, race shirt, and more.

Any participants that do not make it to the dinner will receive their race packets at the airport on the morning of 24 October.

Meals: Dinner

All participants will meet at Copenhagen Airport Terminal 2. The flight to Greenland departs early in the morning and Air Greenland does not cooperate with other airlines, meaning you must claim your luggage at Copenhagen Airport, clear customs, and check in again for the flight to Greenland. As check-in closes one hour before departure, we strongly recommend that you do not book a same day connection. Please see “Price Info” at the bottom of this page for details on booking pre-nights in Copenhagen.

A 4.5 hour flight will bring us to Kangerlussuaq where we arrive in the morning, local time (GMT –3 hours). Approximately 500 people make up the permanent population of this township, which was established by the American army during the Second World War and handed over to the Government of Greenland in 1992.

Upon our arrival, we’ll check in at Polar Lodge, Old Camp, or Hotel Kangerlussuaq. The tour leaders will give a brief welcome at each place before the optional excursions will run. For those who haven’t booked an excursion it is possible to follow the tour leader on a hike to Mount Hassel or simply explore the area on your own. The guided walk up to Mount Hassel is a 2-3 hour hike that follows the ridge eastwards towards the inland ice. The higher we go the more beautiful it gets and, weather permitting, we will have a fantastic panoramic view from the fjord to the inland ice. If there is too much snow/ice the tour leaders will try to find an alternative route at a lower level.

In the evening dinner is served at Restaurant Roklubben.

Meals: Flight meal, lunch at your respective accommodation, and dinner.

Today all participants will depart for the route inspection in the morning to get an idea of the challenges they will face running on the ice.
Non-runners will also participate in the tour and can use the day as a sightseeing trip to the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The inspection tour heads 35km east of the airport to Point 660, where participants will walk the marked route on the ice sheet. Remember that this will be a cold walk in freezing temperatures – a warm winter jacket, ski pants or similar, hiking or winter boots, hat and gloves are essential. Runners may want to bring their running shoes to test running in the conditions, but it is advisable to bring other, warmer footwear too.

We will drive in large all-terrain vehicles, which will take us along Watson River through the fantastic landscape that varies from lakes, fertile moor and dense scrub to large stretches of dunes and rock devoid of vegetation.

The road from Kangerlussuaq to the ice sheet was originally built by German carmaker, Volkswagen, who had a testing center on the ice. The testing center is now closed and the road is under the supervision of Sisimiut Municipality. The condition of the road is therefore not as good as it used to be, but is more like an adventure marathon route. The access to the ice sheet has also declined over the years, partly because of lesser maintenance and partly because of the retreat of the ice sheet over the past years.

Finally, we arrive at the edge of the ice sheet at Point 660 where we park the vehicles and walk onto the ice cap itself. It is a great experience to feel the massive cold air from the ice, taste the pure crystal clear air and listen to the deafening silence. You’ll suddenly realize that Greenland is in a category by itself.

In the late afternoon, there will be an information meeting about Ilulissat for participants who have booked the extension to Ilulissat.

Later on, all runners will gather at Hotel Kangerlussuaq for the race briefing, where the race officials and medical team will give the final information about the marathon and half marathon races.

If you wish to change distance* or make late registration for the Polar Bear Challenge this is also the time to do it. It is not possible to make late registration to the Polar Bear Challenge after the marathon race on Saturday.

*Both full and half marathons are each limited to 150 runners, so change of distance and registration for the Polar Bear Challenge is due to availability and on a first come, first serve basis.

After the race briefing a pasta dinner will be served at Hotel Kangerlussuaq.

Meals: Breakfast, sandwich lunch, and dinner

At 07:00am in the morning, marathon and Polar Bear Challenge runners will drive in all-terrain vehicles to the starting point near the ice sheet. The marathon is scheduled to start at 08:30am and has a time limit of 7 hours. More information about the race can be found on the race info section.

The marathon finish line will be located in front of Polar Lodge. From here, runners staying at Polar Lodge and Hotel Kangerlussuaq can walk to their rooms while a bus will take runners staying at Old Camp to their rooms.

The runners will be offered water and refreshments at stations posted along the route. In the finish area, a BBQ lunch will be served for all participants (including spectators) between 12:00pm and 15:30pm.

Half-marathon runners and non-runners can spend the day exploring the area on their own, but are also encouraged to cheer on the runners at the finish line. It is not possible to go to the start line to cheer the runners off, as the all-terrain vehicles are in full use.

In the evening, a semi-pasta dinner is served at Hotel Kangerlussuaq.

Meals: Breakfast, BBQ lunch, and dinner

At 07:00am in the morning, half-marathon and Polar Bear Challenge runners will drive to the starting point near the inland ice, once again using all-terrain vehicles to get there. The half-marathon is scheduled to start at 08:30am and has a time limit of 4 hours. More information about the race can be found on the race info section.

At the finish line, the all-terrain vehicles will be waiting to take all runners back to Kangerlussuaq as they fill up. The last vehicle departs when the last runner has finished. The runners will be offered water and refreshments at stations posted along the route. In the finish area, a light lunch will be provided.

Full marathon runners and non-runners can spend the day going on an optional tour or exploring the area on their own. It is not possible to go to the route and finish line and cheer, as the all-terrain vehicles are in full use for the half-marathon.

In the evening, we will celebrate the completion of the Polar Circle Marathon & Half-Marathon with a festive Greenlandic dinner in Roklubben. The awards ceremony for the top three finishers in each category will also take place before the party kicks off under a (hopefully) northern lights lit night sky.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner (also light lunch for half-marathon/Polar Bear Challenge runners)