Almost 2,500 years later, the marathon is one of the most popular and admired events in athletics, but it's hard to imagine it being run in such adverse weather conditions as at the sixth edition of the 'Cold Pole - Oymyakon' last weekend in Yakutia, Republic of Sakha in Russia. 

Yakutia is the coldest place in the world, a region six times the size of France or Spain, but only one million people live there in such extreme conditions on permafrost, the ground that remains completely frozen over the years.

With a population of just over 300,000, Yakutsk is the capital of a republic famous for having recorded the coldest temperature ever recorded in an inhabited place, at -71.2°C in Oymyakon. However, some experts believe that the real record belongs to Verkhoyansk. 

In these conditions, 38 Russian athletes from six different regions decided to run in Oymyakon, even though it was slightly warmer than the world record. The participants woke up very early as the race started at 6am at -55°C and competed in two different distances: 21.0975 metres (half marathon) and 42.195 metres (full marathon).

The course ran between Oymyakon (462 inhabitants) and Tomtor (1,256), a rural village and administrative centre for four settlements. The athletes were accompanied by doctors throughout the race to prevent frostbite, but none of the runners required medical assistance. 

Amateurs from various professions took part in the marathon, even retired people came to try it out and only a few professional athletes took part in this special day in the distant Republic of Sakha. 12 men and two women finished the marathon. The winners in both the men's and women's categories received 100,000 rubles (1,038 euros). Konstantin Dragunov won in three hours and seven minutes, followed by Mikhail Aprosimov (3:36) and Albert Sivtsev (3:57).

Isabella Borisova won the women's race in an astonishing three hours and 37 minutes, just one minute behind the men's runner-up. Marina Sedalishcheva was second (4h:25).

Finally, there are a few questions that come to mind after reading this article and looking at the photos. Is it healthy to run 42km at -55ºC? How does the body react when it starts to get tired at these temperatures? Is it possible to sweat in these conditions? Is it harder or easier to get heart problems when it's so cold? Any other questions?