A man who last year set a new world record for the fastest 100-mile run in Antarctica has given his followers a glimpse at one of the grimmest realities of the mission.
Alongside closer friend and fellow adrenaline junkie Paul Johnson, Rob Sembiante conducted the fastest run in Antarctica in November 2024, finishing the race in less than 24 hours.
The Antarctica Ice Marathon - which enables athletes to complete the marathon grand slam, a marathon on all seven continents and the North Pole - sees participants enduring conditions at temperatures as low as -25 degrees.
This is alongside the fierce winds and 6,300ft elevation in the deadly environment of the Antarctic.
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Sembiante and Johnson completed their race in a staggering 23 hours, 22 minutes and 57 seconds. Despite breaking a pretty impressive world record, however, their challenge came at a cost.
Taking to Instagram days after their victory, Sembiante shared a video of his foot inside his waterproof, insulated shoes, captioned: "Aftermath of 100 Miles of Running in Antarctica.
"Prepare for trench foot," he added with a vomiting emoji.
In the clip, the athlete removes his boot, followed by two pairs of socks.
"First of all, my shoes are steaming," he went on to write. "Look at the top of those toes."
Several of Sembiante's toes appeared to be bleeding as a result of the running, whilst others looked swollen, purple or bruised.
The runner then turned his foot over to reveal the underside, showing off wrinkled blue skin and oozing blisters.
"The top of that toe is completely dead," he told his online followers. "100 miles in Antarctic, ahh. That was a silly idea."
Naturally, it didn't take long for thousands of fan comments to come flooding in, many of whom confessed to how uneasy Sembiante's upload had made them feel.
One demanded: "How do i delete someone else's video?" as another jibed: "Have you tried turning your feet off and on again?"
"Okay but all jokes aside," a third added. "Did you keep your toe is does it need to come off?"
"Men will literally lose some toes to avoid therapy," teased another.
Writing about his victory in a later post, Sembiante gushed online: "We ran 100 Miles in Antarctica in 23 Hours 22 Minutes and 57 Seconds, a World Record.
"13,823 Calories Burned. Nutrition. 8,800 calories, 1,760g of carbs, 12,000mg of sodium. These were the hardest conditions I have ever operated in any capacity. By far the coldest night I have ever had in my life.
"Support from race staff and fellow racers was incredible, every person counts. With the right team anything can be accomplished. I am very grateful to be on a team with Paul.
"We ran the last 65 miles together. Every square inch of my body suffered."
He continued: "Morale from all parties. Runners, support and base staff was always through the roof.
"I am now a world record holder; it doesn’t feel any different than before. I have a much more in depth write up on this entire event that I will release in the future. For now I leave you with this.
"Cherish the moments that got you there and you will never feel like you lost the moment you’ve been working towards."
Rhianna Benson