The Nomura Securities International Inc. convertible bonds salesman’s jog through the leafy streets of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, was a stroll compared with what he will go through in five days at the Polar Circle Marathon: He’ll be running over glaciers wearing ice clamps on his feet in a place where the average October low temperature is about 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 Celsius).
“I increased my life insurance two weeks ago,” Edgar said in a telephone interview. “Part of the problem is, there are polar bears up there.”
Edgar is part of a nine-member team that will race 26.2 miles across a polar ice sheet inside the Arctic Circle in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on Oct. 26. His group is
trying to raise $200,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation and comprises five Wall Street executives along with four retired U.S. Navy SEALs, including Michael Martin, now a portfolio manager at UBS O’Connor in Chicago.
Martin, a 41-year-old with four children under the age of 5, spent 10 1/2 years on active duty with the Navy SEALs before going into finance in 2006. He has finished five marathons on limited training, including the Oct. 12 Chicago Marathon.
“Working out is a low priority these days,” he said. “After being out (of the military) for eight years and sitting at a desk all day, your athletic prowess goes downhill rather rapidly.”
No Comparison
The Polar Circle Marathon is a minor challenge compared with what he went through as a SEAL, Martin said.“The pain I’ll feel at mile 18 doesn’t compare to the wear and tear these guys go through on their bodies and with their families,” he said.
The team also includes Rob Vogel, Jacob Mercer and John Wood of New York’s Whitebox Advisors LLC and Chris Biasotti of BlackRock Financial Management.
The trip, at an average cost of about $2,500 per person, is being underwritten by Vogel, a partner and global head of fixed income with Whitebox.
The team switched to the marathon after realizing only 16 people signed up for the 13.1-mile race, compared with 90 who had pledged to go twice that distance.
“We had SEALs on our team,” Edgar said. “We had to raise the bar.”
Financial Target
The squad has commitments so far for about $121,000 for the SEAL Foundation, which provides assistance to the families of fallen SEALs. Edgar, who is chairman of the Navy SEAL Foundation’s NYC Dinner Gala event on Dec. 4, has raised about $18,000 of the group’s total.Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the U.S. has lost 91 SEALs, leaving behind 78 spouses and 58 children.
Edgar, a 37-year-old with three children under 6 years old, does not consider himself a runner. A football player while attending Maine’s Colby College, he underwent knee surgery after his freshman year. The joint still swells on long runs.
“I don’t like to run,” he said. “And I hate the cold. I’ve never run a 10k or half marathon. I did one Tough Mudder a couple years ago.”
In Tough Mudder events, orange headband-wearing participants go over and under obstacles, jump into pools of ice water, are subjected to electric shocks and negotiate fire-lined slides. Post-race festivities typically include beer and the taking of mud-caked photos to post on social media sites.
Time Limit
While Tough Mudder events have no time limits, the Polar Circle Marathon must be completed within seven hours.Rather than the wet running gear Edgar wore during his recent training session in New Jersey, runners in Greenland must wear layers of clothing and facemasks to protect against the cold.
“The goal for myself is just to finish,” Edgar said. “This race is going to be just as much about mental toughness than the physical challenge, if not more.”
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