Run, Alicja, Run!

Article #2

Rating ****

In early March 1996, Alicja Barahona had been training to be a marathon runner. She loved the thrill and excitement of finishing a race.Like many people she had trained long and hard for running marathons, but how many people train to run in the arctic circle?

Alicja has ran in the most extreme weather conditions from the scorching temperatures in the Sahara desert to freezing temperatures in Alaska. In 1996 at 57, Alicja wanted to do something a little more extreme, run an ultra marathon solo through the Arctic Circle. 76 hours and 370 kilometers later, Alicja had finished and raised $20,000 for an Inuvik homeless shelter, Canada's most northern emergency shelter.

Alicja's biggest obstacle she said was the snowstorm in the NWT. The temperature dropped to about -50 degrees and to keep running at a consistant pace was extremly hard. What inspired Alicja to run this ultra marathon was her two favourite things to do, runing marathons and helping people. She loved a good challenge and extreme weather and she figured the arctic circle would be the perfect combination and a good way to raise money. To this day, Alicja trains 5 times a week and runs long distance on weekends by running a marathon Saturday and another 30 miles on Sunday.

I thought this was a very good story as it kept me interested from start to finish. I love the extreme conditions and very dangerous task that she achieved. I would recommend this article to anyone who is interested in cross country and extreme weather.

Adventura Magazine

Run, Alicja, Run! (pg 8)

By: Travis Persaud