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Frigid marathon: Runner covers 50 km distance in Siberia at minus 60 degrees Celsius

An extreme runner from Moldova covered a distance of 50 kilometers in the Oymyakonsky District of Yakutia, Siberia, at minus 60 degrees Celsius

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. An extreme runner from Moldova covered a distance of 50 kilometers in the Oymyakonsky District of Yakutia, Siberia, at minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit), the event’s organizers said in a statement on Tuesday.

"On January 14, Dmitry Voloshin, an extreme athlete from Moldova, took part in a charity race in the world’s coldest place, the Oymyakonsky Ulus (district) of Yakutia, where temperatures sometimes plummet to minus 71 degrees Celsius (minus 95.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Dmitry covered a 50 km distance at minus 60 degrees Celsius. According to weather reports, it felt like minus 67 degrees Celsius (minus 88.6 degrees Fahrenheit)," the statement reads.

It took Voloshin six hours to cover the distance. "It was the hardest test of my career. It is like a spacewalk: it is freezing cold and there isn’t enough air. No equipment can protect you from such a deep freeze. I hope my face didn't get frostbitten while running. Breathing was difficult, as there is very little oxygen in the air and my mask got filled with ice. This is where my free diving experience came in handy - I am used to holding my breath," the athlete said, as cited in the statement.

The main goal of the charity project, which involved the running event, was to draw the public’s attention to the issue of childhood cerebral palsy and the need to provide assistance to children suffering from the disease.