Dozens of runners braved air temperatures of around -50C (-58F) to complete a marathon in Russia’s Yakutia region on Sunday, 12 January.
Oymyakonsky district is also known as “Cold Pole.”
It is one of the world’s coldest regions with a permanent human population — its all-time lowest temperature was recorded as -67.7C (-89.9F) in 1933.
Runners’ hair and eyelashes were white with snow and they drank hot water instead of cool for rehydration as they navigated spectacular forests.
Participant Leonid Zykov said: “After about 23 kilometres it became really tough for me, my liver started hurting.”
