Case finished within 29 minutes of winning outright, with her record-breaking run supporting women and girls through Free to Run.

Canadian ultrarunner Stephanie Case has become the first woman to complete 100 miles at the Antarctic Ice Ultra, finishing Sunday’s race in 17:31:39. Case placed second overall, less than half an hour behind China’s Yusheng Ni, who won in 17:02:24. Both runners smashed the previous event record, set by Ni in 2025, of 22:40:47.

Case, 44, is originally from Ontario but now lives in Chamonix, France. She had been aiming to beat the overall record, and was thrilled with her result. “I’m ecstatic to have gotten this record, Case told Canadian Running. I hope it shows women—and moms in particular—out there that we can keep striving for big things after having kids.”Racing 100 miles in Antarctica

The Antarctic Ice Ultra takes place in Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica, where runners complete repeated loops on snow and ice around a remote base camp. Temperatures can drop well below -20 C.

The event began in 2024 and includes distances from a half-marathon to 100 miles, along with a 24-hour relay. Until Sunday, no woman had completed the 100-miler, making Case the inaugural women’s record holder.

According to The Athletic, 28 runners competed across the event’s various distances this year. With a major storm approaching, organizers started the races at 1 a.m. local time. Once everyone finished, they were flown back to Cape Town, South Africa, ahead of the storm.

Case took some unusual steps to prepare for the cold. Before travelling south, she spent 20 minutes in a cryotherapy chamber in Geneva, Switzerland, testing her gear as the temperature rose from -130 C to around -25 C. She told Canadian Running that the experiment helped her reconsider how she would manage food and hydration with freezing hands.Another win for women in ultrarunning

Case has been competing in long-distance mountain races for years. She won the women’s 450-km Tor des Glaciers in Italy in 2021, finishing third overall, and was runner-up at the 2022 Hardrock 100. Last year, she won the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100K in Wales just six months after giving birth to her daughter, Pepper.

She stopped to breastfeed during the race, and later spoke about the criticism she received from people who thought she should have stayed home with her baby.Case went on to finish fifth at Hardrock and second at Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB later in 2025, and continued racing well through 2026, with a sixth-place finish at Trail 100 Andorra by UTMB in June among her results.

She is also a human rights lawyer, and founder of Free to Run, a charity she started in Afghanistan in 2014. The organization works with women and girls in conflict-affected communities, using running to support their participation in sport and leadership opportunities.

Case used the Antarctic challenge to raise money for Free to Run and to bring awareness to the barriers some women and girls face when trying to participate in sport. “This isn’t hard compared to what so many women and girls face trying to experience a bit of freedom outdoors,” she wrote on Instagram.After her record-breaking run, Case was already looking forward to getting back to her daughter, who had watched her finish on the livestream. “I can’t wait to get home to tell Pepper all about it,” she told Canadian Running.

Case’s fundraising campaign is available here, with proceeds supporting Free to Run.