MUSC duo goes the distance for Antarctica Marathon

Lynn Schnapp, M.D., called their trip to the Antarctica Marathon a once-in-a-lifetime journey. “It was very out of this world, really. I’d say majestic. Just gorgeous glaciers reflected in the water, and the blue of the ice is amazing,”

The animals were amazing too, said Catherine Rubinstein, M.S.N. “We saw three varieties of penguins, four types of whale and two types of seal while we were out there.”

Rubinstein and Schnapp traveled a long way to get to Antarctica: more than 6,600 miles, including a stop in Buenos Aires, Argentina and a two-day boat trip from there to King George Island.

The island sits at the tip of Antarctica, the southernmost continent on Earth. It’s chilly, with temperatures in the 20s and 30s this time of year. That’s balmy compared to other parts of Antarctica, such as the Amundsen- Scott South Pole Station, where the temperature is well below zero.

King George Island doesn’t have any hotels, or traditional homes, for that matter. It has research stations instead, where scientists study everything from to biology to ecology. 

It may not sound like the ideal vacation spot, but for Schnapp and Rubinstein, it was perfect. Schnapp called it a privilege to be there. “It was an incredible experience.”

The women weren’t long-time running buddies who signed up together. They work in different departments at MUSC and didn’t even know each other when they registered for the marathon. They met through friends at work and got acquainted, Rubinstein said. “We talked about, Well what are you wearing, what are you bringing, what is your course of action? Just exchanging notes. It was crazy that two people from MUSC were in this race of 188 people from around the world.”

Both women have run several marathons and traveled extensively. Schnapp, chief of MUSC’s Division of Pulmonology, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, has been running for more than 20 years. “Probably three to five times a week,” Schnapp said, joking that she does marathons “for the t-shirts.”

Rubinstein started running for exercise after her 40^thbirthday. The nurse practitioner and mother of two boys was ready for a new challenge. 

“I spent the majority of my 30s taking care of other people. I felt like I needed to do something that was different and something for myself. I wanted to be able to show my children that when you set goals, you can achieve them no matter what,” Rubinstein said.

But achieving the goal of running the Antarctica Marathon was no small feat. Not only would the women have to train to run 26 miles on unfamiliar, snowy terrain. They would also have to travel for days just to get there.

Their journey started with 18 hours of flight time to Argentina. Then, after some rest and the chance to meet other runners headed for the Antarctica Marathon, they traveled on ships designed to navigate icy water through the turbulent Drake Passage, finally stopping near King George Island.

The runners were divided into two groups, with one half racing on March 9 and the other the next day, due to restrictions on the number of people allowed ashore for the marathon at one time.

On March 9, race day for Rubinstein, the course was messy. “It was 29 or 30 degrees and three to four inches of snow when we started,” she said. “But by the afternoon it warmed up to 39, and everything melted. We started on snow, and then it went to slush and mud.” She finished the race in five hours and 17 minutes.

March 10, Schnapp’s race day, was cooler with wind gusts of more than 30 miles an hour. Schnapp said it was still slushy: “It was like running through pudding.” She completed the marathon in six hours and 26 minutes.

After all the runners finished the race, they gathered on one of the ships for a barbeque. Rubinstein said it was a great chance to relax, celebrate the fact that they’d completed the course and bond with their fellow runners. “It really was a blast. You go with this group of people, and they all have similar goals and aspirations.”

Now back in Charleston, she and Schnapp are continuing to run and planning to compete in more marathons. Rubinstein has her eye on Ireland and South America.  Schnapp’s next marathon will be in a place where she may see some penguins, but probably only the kind from “Mary Poppins.” 

“I’m doing Disneyland,” Schnapp said, laughing. “Slightly different.”