39 Days, 7 Hours, 49 Minutes: Todd Carmichael Officially Breaks Hannah McKeand’s South Pole World Speed Record
December 23, 2008
Todd Carmichael has officially set a new solo and unsupported world speed record to the South Pole. His time of 39 days, 7 hours, and 33 minutes bested former world record holder Hannah McKeand’s time of 39 days, 9 hours, and 33 minutes set back in 2006. This is an official time coming from Todd’s tracking equipment and being reported by ExplorersWeb.
How close was it?
The difference between Todd and Hannah is 1 hour and 44 minutes - or less than 0.2% of the time on the ice.
If the same difference was applied to a 100 meter dash, it would equal less than 0.02 seconds - just barely measurable with modern time keeping.
Along with gaining the new official solo and unsupported world speed record, Todd Carmichael has also become the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole. It is still undecided if Todd will gain the record for going the longest distance on foot. When I first interviewed Todd before this journey, becoming the first American to go solo and unsupported was his biggest priority. A week before he set foot on the ice, I got an email that nonchalently stated “I might as well go for the world speed record while I’m at it. What do you think?” Todd felt that his conditioning and preparation for this journey were miles ahead of where he was with his unsuccessful South Pole expedition last year. Obviously, we can now see how far ahead Todd was.
This is a very exciting time for all of us that have supported Todd, gotten to know Todd, and even pushed Todd to go all out on this expedition. I might be a bit biased when I say this, but if you had talked to Todd Carmichael from the start, you would have understood that nothing was going to step in his way. He was well-prepared, knew what he had to do, and proved to all the people that called him nuts for running uphill with that strange tire trailing behind him, that this expedition would be quite different than anything he had ever done before. Todd was driven and like everything else that he strives for, he never quit. Congrats, Todd, on achieving a new WORLD RECORD!!! So when are we going on the Jon Stewart show?? (inside joke)
So what exactly were Todd’s plans once he officially made it to the South Pole? Not much has been said about what Todd had planned to do to celebrate, so I thought I would take us back in time to when I had the opportunity to ask him (here’s the interview) about his South Pole celebration:
When you finally do reach the Pole, solo and unsupported, have you planned how you’re going to celebrate?
First, I intend to play some real wicked air guitar. After shredding it up some I’ll then plant a few flags, the first the American flag that covered my Grandfather at his funeral, that’s an important one to me, two, the Ethiopian Flag, in tribute to a country that means a great deal to me and my wife, and finally, my expedition flag. After a few photo op moments and a proper thanking of the gods I’ll pitch my tent and sleep for 20 hours.
Todd, I am sure that your grandfather is proud. Well, done my friend!
So what does Hannah McKeand think about Todd Carmichael breaking her solo and unsupported world record? I think I can speak for her and her family when I say that they have shown nothing but support. Hannah sent a message to Todd early on, rooting him on and giving him some pointers for the big finish. You may remember how excited Todd was to receive this message. He elaborated on his thoughts and what it meant to have her support during one of his audio dispatches. If you slide over to Todd’s Expedition Earth website and go to the guestbook, you will also see a little noticed comment from Hannah McKeand’s father, Ian. It simply states: “Todd, you are the ‘KING OF THE ANTARCTIC”. I think that speaks volumns for what this record means and Todd’s place in polar history.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under South Pole 2008, Todd Carmichael |
[...] 39 Days, 7 Hours, 49 Minutes: Todd Carmichael Officially Breaks … (skinnymoose.com) - December 23, 2008Todd Carmichael has officially set a new solo and unsupported world speed record to the South Pole. His time of 39 days, 7 hours, and 33 minutes bested former world record holder Hannah McKeand’s time… [...]