Love it! How did you stay motivated?
After about two years the streak became part of my identity, which might sound a little unhealthy. It’s easier to just head out and jog a mile or two than to let the number go back to zero.
This being said, it’s made for interesting conversations with medical professionals – I needed a cardiac ablation a couple of years ago and my electrocardiologist came to an “agreement” (as in she didn’t forcefully dissuade me from doing it) that I could jog a slow slow slow mile late in the evening the day after the procedure, as long as I kept my heart rate down and I made sure I was being mindful of my puncture sites.
Here's me from a few years ago, to give an idea of the clothing required https://icecube.wisc.edu/news/life-at-the-pole/2021/01/week-...
Even at the South Pole, we have a 5k "Race Around the World" at Christmas, and a marathon shortly after New Year. In 2022, someone did an ultra. It's compacted snow/ice. Not easy terrain, but doable in your average pair of running shoes (with wooly socks). For the race events we normally ask someone to drive round the route a few times to compact it a bit more. On the coast at McMurdo there are routes that are more like traditional trail running - dirt/gravel, hills. I assume other stations are similar.
The more intrepid folks gave up when it got to around -50C and then it's treadmills until sunrise and it warms up again.
There's also a more pay-to-play marathon: https://www.icemarathon.com/ ($22k)