The ultimate cold-weather challenge: 26.2 miles in 2°F
We’ve all been there. You’re running late, scrambling to find that perfect pair of shoes before you head out the door. Now, imagine this: You’re on your fourth continent, about to run your fourth marathon in as many days — and the only alternative to your running sneakers is a pair of Birkenstocks.
That’s exactly what happened to Ashley Paulson, an ultrarunner who recently tackled The Great World Race — a grueling challenge where athletes have to complete seven marathons in seven days across seven continents.
“That was probably my most panicked race up to that point,” Paulson, 43, told The Post, recalling the nail-biting moment she faced in Istanbul, Turkey.
Spoiler: She found her sneakers in the nick of time — and then did the unthinkable. Kicking off her Birkenstocks, Paulson completed the marathon in 3 hours, 18 minutes and 2 seconds, shattering the previous world record by nearly 30 minutes.
Sound hard? Try doing it in freezing temperatures.
Paulson’s jaw-dropping adventure kicked off on one of the coldest, most desolate places on Earth: Antarctica.
The first leg of the Great World Race took place on the bone-chilling Wolf’s Fang runway, a groomed, looped course carved into the icy, inhospitable wilderness of the world’s coldest continent.
Even crazier? It was Paulson’s favorite race of the entire trip.
“I didn’t know what it was going to feel like. You can’t train for that,” said Paulson, a seasoned professional athlete, coach and trainer from St. George, Utah, a desert city that averages over 300 sunny days a year.
In Antarctica, the window of opportunity for a marathon is razor-thin. Paulson’s race was actually moved up 24 hours when an incoming storm threatened to derail the entire challenge.
“From the time we landed to the time we took off, there was an eight-hour window where the weather was good,” she said.
I’ve gotten through muscle cramps, diarrhea, everything. But this was very different
Ashley Paulson on challenges during her marathon in Miami
So, with little time to spare, she prepped her usual race fuel: a bag of Jelly Belly Sports Beans for a quick dose of electrolytes, ketone supplements and a sports drink packed with 400 calories to keep her energized.
“It’s the same routine every time,” said Paulson, who has run more than 100 marathons since her first at age 19 — as well as over 25 Ironman triathlons, two ultra triathlons and four 100+ mile races.
But this marathon was unlike any other. Paulson was up against 26.2 miles in a brutal 2°F — the coldest temperature she’d ever run in.
The course, carved into the harsh terrain, had been roughened up to give the runners some grip, but there was one unbreakable rule: stray off the path, and you risked sliding into the treacherous ice fields.
“It was very obvious where we needed to run, because there was a beautiful, crystal blue on either side of us,” said Paulson. “It looked like a frozen ocean.”
Bundled up in double gloves, triple layers and a thick fuzzy hat, Paulson found herself shedding layers mid-race. By the time she crossed the finish line, her bottom layer was soaked with sweat — an unexpected challenge in the Great White South.
“If you sweat and the wind picks up, you could get hypothermia in seconds,” said Paulson, also a wife, mother of four and grandmother. “You finish that race, and they send you straight into a bunker.”
But even in the bone-chilling cold, Paulson said she didn’t feel it — her runner’s high kept her warm.
Strength in solidarity
In South Africa, the second leg of the challenge took place at Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town, where the paved walkway offered runners views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic coastline.
Here, Paulson found her rhythm, buoyed by the camaraderie of several female athletes on the trip. “I received all this energy from these women,” she said, describing how they ran together, crossing the finish line hand-in-hand.
The group celebrated a five-way tie for first place in the women’s division, with Paulson joined by Becs Gentry, Chirine Njeim, Hillary Kupish and Jenny Simpson.
“That was so much better than taking it as a win on my own,” Paulson recalled, smiling.
Heat, injury and voodoo
The next day in Cartagena, Colombia, the runners faced a new enemy: 103-degree heat and full humidity.
For Paulson, who’d trained under Utah’s scorching sun, this was just another challenge. But when she stood up, she felt a sharp pain in her hip and panic set in.
“I hadn’t been injured in 15 years,” she said. “I’ve had sore muscles or a fall, but no overuse injuries.”
In flight to Colombia, word spread, and a fellow athlete with a biometrics background, along with a massage therapist, began working on her hip.
“I wish I could say I kept cool, but internally I was freaking out,” said Paulson, fearing it might be the end of her journey, just two marathons and two continents short. “I needed a miracle.”
An hour later, she got one.
“I stood up and I could walk totally fine,” Paulson said. “I was like, ‘What in the world did they do? This is voodoo!’”
Though Colombia marked her slowest race, the women worked together to help each other cool down, sharing ice and water as they ran. But after crossing the finish line, her hip flared up again. Two hours later, she could barely walk.
And she still had one more race left.
The final stretch
On the plane to Florida for her final race, Paulson cranked up some punk rock to drown out the pain.
“I didn’t want to hear or feel anything,” she said.
In Miami, with the temperature hovering around 85°F, Paulson limped to the starting line, prepared for a world of pain.
“I’ve gotten through muscle cramps, diarrhea, everything. But this was very different,” she said.
In that moment, she locked eyes with her husband, and he gave her a mantra that would carry her through the final stretch: “You know pain. This is just a different pain.”
“Just hearing those words got me through,” Paulson said.
With those words echoing in her mind, Paulson completed the marathon in 3 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds — faster than in Colombia, but still not the time she wanted.
She crossed the finish line hand-in-hand with the athlete who’d worked on her injury. “I wasn’t running pretty, but I was running — and it was because of him,” she said.
And just like that, it was over. Seven marathons, seven continents, seven days. Paulson placed third overall among women participating in the Great World Race, completing 183 miles total.
“I was on crutches from there on out,” she said. It would take five weeks before Paulson could run again, the longest break she’d ever taken (after her C-section, she was pounding the pavement within two weeks).
Once home in Utah, doctors diagnosed Paulson with a bulging disc in her lower back and a labral tear in her hip. With a combination of physical therapy, red light therapy, platelet-rich plasma therapy and other treatments, she was able to avoid the surgery her doctors initially recommended.
Today, Paulson said she has a more balanced approach to her exercise routine — mixing cycling, swimming and strength training with running.
“That’s one thing I did really badly last year — I did so many miles and not enough functional training,” she said. “When something gets taken away from you that you love, you don’t take it for granted again.”
Even in recovery, Paulson said she carries two powerful mantras with her: “You know pain” and “Smile, it will make you run faster.”
“It sounds cliché, I know, but it’s so true,” Paulson said with a grin. “There’s actual science behind it — it helps you push further and tricks both your brain and your body.”
But she’s quick to add, “That’s not just for me, it’s for other athletes too. When you focus on encouraging others, it takes your mind off of your own pain — and, in turn, that energy comes right back
