Spitsbergen Marathon, live.

A marathon at 78 degrees north

The Spitsbergen Marathon has been run on the roads around Longyearbyen since 1994 and returns on Saturday 5 June 2027.

Svalbard Turn first held the Spitsbergen Marathon in 1994, and it has grown into a large and popular event. The race uses the roads in and around Longyearbyen at 78 degrees north, in an open Arctic landscape that the organiser calls tough. In early June the temperature is normally above zero and the snow has melted in most places.

There are three distances on Saturday 5 June 2027. The marathon starts at 10:00 and is two equal laps of the half marathon course, passing the arena at Svalbardhallen before the second lap. The half marathon starts at 11:00 and the Spitsbergenmila, 10 km, at 11:15. Start and finish for all of them is the car park outside Svalbardhallen, and the Spitsbergen Mini Marathon for children starts at 10:45.

Safety looks different here. Armed polar bear guards are posted around the course and ATV patrols drive along it, while the Longyearbyen Red Cross is at the start, the finish and out on the route. Running with music is not banned, but the organiser clearly asks participants to leave it at home so they can hear if anything happens. With some luck you may meet reindeer, geese and eider ducks in and along the course.

The race office in Svalbardhallen opens on Friday 4 June, with information meetings for participants. Longyearbyen hospital has a doctor and health staff on duty on race day. The organiser describes the event as what it believes is the most beautiful running adventure in the world.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the Spitsbergen Marathon.