Lundin laces up

Marathons seem to be held almost anywhere these days, and the World’s Deepest Marathon aimed to be the first to do one more than 1 kilometre underground in October. The race brought together 55 runners from 18 countries to run 42 km through a tunnel inside Boliden’s Garpenberg zinc mine in Sweden. 

Among the mining executives who joined the event was Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) CEO Jack Lundin.

“It was actually my first marathon, and potentially my last marathon,” he told Northern Miner podcast host Adrian Pocobelli.

The event set two new Guinness World Records for the world’s deepest marathon and deepest underground distance run as a team, Guinness announced in November.

‘In good hands’

Even though the mining veteran is a marathon rookie, he had few concerns about the air quality, temperature and logistics of the event.

“With Boliden and the ICMM that were putting it on and Becoming X…We were in good hands. The operating standard for Boliden is top notch as well. It was more just about like, ‘Okay, we got to run a marathon 1.1 kilometres below sea level, 1.3 kilometres below surface, in the dark, with a headlamp on. How do I mentally prepare for this environment that I’m going to be in?”

Lundin, who at around age 35 is one of the industry’s youngest leaders, was initially invited to join the marathon by Boliden CEO Mikael Staffas in February. But “I respectfully declined,” he said.

ICMM CEO Rohitesh “Ro” Dhawan then approached Lundin, saying it would be really good if he could join it.

Mine safety

Lundin noted that one of ICMM and Boliden’s goals in organizing the event was to show that mining today is much more modern than most people realize, such that running a marathon inside one is possible and safe.

“I just said, ‘Fine, let’s go for it.’ It sounds like something that I’m crazy enough to try anyway,” Lundin said. “I was just worried about the training because it takes a lot of time to prepare the body for a marathon. But we made it happen.”

The humid conditions during the race meant that Lundin, like all runners, had to make sure he was fuelling properly and drinking enough water and electrolytes, which was hard to manage, he said.

Injury-free

“[We] got through that and overall I was really pleased that I came out without any injuries, and was still smiling at the end of it. That made it all worth it.”

Reflecting on whether the marathon experience has changed his perception of underground mining, Lundin suggested he might feel differently once the blisters on his feet have cleared up and he’s more recovered.

“It was unique for sure,” he said. “I’m happy to be contributing to something that can show the world that mining is much different today than it was 100 years ago, and it continues to get better.”