You can win an entry, travel for North Pole Marathon

UPDATE: The entry period is now closed. We will not be accepting any more entries to the contest. Thanks to everyone who has entered!

OVERVIEW:
YourRunning.com is giving away one entry to the North Pole Marathon, April 15, 2007, including air travel (value: well over US$12,000)! The new running website and community for running enthusiasts is holding a competition to find the best marathon runner to enter the race -- and be sponsored by Brad Feld and YourRunning.com.

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See who's already applied to run

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BACKGROUND:
Brad Feld, an avid marathoner and an investor in YourRunning.com's parent company, the Enthusiast Group, was signed up to run in the 2007 North Pole Marathon. While excited about the polar run, he reconsidered the prospect of running for 8 hours (his projected time in that environment) in the sub-zero conditions at the top of the Arctic Ocean -- so he decided to pass his already-paid entry on to another hardy entrant. YourRunning.com is holding a competition among runners and will award Brad's entry to the person deemed most worthy and capable of succeeding at running long distance at the top of the world.

The North Pole Marathon is run at ... yes ... the North Pole, making it the only sanctioned marathon to be run on water! You'll be flown to the Pole, where you'll run on top of a thick sheet of ice on the Arctic Ocean. There should be no worries about polar bears -- they're usually not crazy enough to go this far north (and race organizers keep weapons on hand just in case). This year, 50 nutcases competitors will be running. More information can be found at www.npmarathon.com.

THE COMPETITION:
YourRunning.com is inviting hardy marathoners to submit their running and athletic resumes to a North Pole Marathon application. Entrants in the contest should demonstrate not only their athletic prowess and endurance, but also their media savvy, for part of winning will be the duty to write about the experience of training to run 26.2 miles at the North Pole and to document the race itself, shooting photos and video, and recording audio reports.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Entrants in the YourRunning.com North Pole Marathon contest should demonstrate:

• Extensive marathon experience. You should be a marathon or ultra-marathon veteran. This is not a marathon for beginners.
• Experience in cold-weather running. (Do we really need to say more?) Depending on snow and ice conditions, you could be running in trail shoes or show shoes.
• Strong writing skills. You should have a solid collection of writing clips about adventure and sports topics, especially documenting your own athletic exploits.
• Experience with video and audio reporting. Don't worry, we don't expect network-correspondent quality. But you should be comfortable doing an audio report, or shooting a video with a small video cam.
• Possession of arctic-capable clothing. We'll work on finding sponsors to contribute polar-suitable running wear, but no guarantees, and you might need your own. (Hint: Layers! You won't need -- or want -- to dress like a polar explorer. Running will keep your body warm.) The marathon website has good equipment advice.

SELECTING THE WINNER:
YourRunning.com will select the winner from entrant submissions received by 11:59:59 pm EST, January 31, 2007. The winner will not necessarily be the best and strongest athlete; it could be a middle-of-the-pack runner who demonstrates the fortitude to complete the North Pole Marathon. A marathoner with excellent and creative media skills could beat out a better athlete. The selection will be made by the judges based on the criteria set forth in the official rules -- and their decision is final. Please read the official contest rules.

RUNNER-UP RACER WILL BE SELECTED:
In addition to selecting a winner to go to the North Pole Marathon, we'll also choose a runner-up, who will participate in the event that the winner falls ill (or chickens out). If the winner can't participate, the entry and travel will be transferred to the runner-up.

WHY WE'RE DOING THIS:
When Brad Feld originally signed up to run the race, it was his intention to blog about preparing for the race and give publicity to the International Polar Year (2007-08), a major scientific initiative designed to draw attention to the changes occurring in the Arctic region due to global warming. With Brad not running, this competition and the winner will serve that purpose, helping to educate the world's population about the situation and supporting polar research programs.

ON TO THE APPLICATION:
Go over here. Deadline: January 31, 2007 (11:59:59 pm US Eastern Standard Time).

CONTEST SPONSORS:
The Brad Feld/YourRunning.com North Pole Marathon entry giveaway contest is sponsored in part by:

There's still time for your company to become a sponsor! Contact Yann Ropars at sponsors.northpole@enthusiastgroup.com or 303-543-7810.