At long last, I am the first Briton to ever think that the weather seems to be conspiring with my needs. This is a satellite image of the UK under the current frosty spell. The snow is no longer such an annoyance, now that I have a bloody good reason to be jumping in it. I can't wait for my Arctic race kit issue, snow proofed boots will certainly prevent a recurrence of my currently sodden and frozen feet.

I've just about acclimatised to the temps. The key point is to let your muscles relax in order for the blood to flow, or at least that's what my boyfriend keeps telling me. Of course, in one week I'm going to be in Hjerkinn, Norway with temperatures of minus 20 C. So I can't really be seen to be bitching about a relatively tropical 0 C, can I?

I'll just moan internally then.

While the rest of the UK ground to a halt, due to the longest freeze since, er, well the last time it was as cold as this, I've been out and about taking advantage of the ideal training conditions for the Polar Challenge.

This was an easy 11 km jog (with a few kgs in the backpack) from Canary Wharf to Aldwych, then back to the Tower of London. The surprising benefit of outdoor running is the sight-seeing potential. This route afforded spectacular views of a snow covered London. I ran along the Thames, through a deserted, frozen and seemingly post-apocalyptic city, to a snow flurried St Paul's that was somewhat reminiscent of the snow globe from Mary Poppins. Huh, a post-apocalyptic Mary Poppins? I'd pay to see that.

Though fitness and cold weather conditioning is the holy grail of polar training, I think the dominant benefit of this run was psychological. By which I mean the winning attitude gained by doing the harder thing, when it would be far easier, let's say, to remain huddled under a cocoon of several fluffy blankets whilst simultaneously being heated by a glowing fire and supping on hot toddy. A purely hypothetical example, of course.

I'm thrilled I didn't break anything in the slippy conditions. Last run on the ice caused me to be severely wounded with what could be best described as a paper cut. I slipped and saved my fall by elegantly crashing into a wire fence, hand first. I am bravely soldiering on.

Anyway the cold isn't too damning as long as you keep moving.

Upon receipt of my entrance forms, the first thing Polar Challenge asked me was "who's on your team?". Until that point I was fully convinced that said team would come, fully trained and raring to go, with the entrance pack. As this turned out not to be the case, two courses of action instantly occurred to me.

1) Asking everyone I knew if they were interested in a little flirting with death by extreme physical tribulation, in the arctic wilds.
2) Asking everyone I didn't know if they were interested in a little flirting with death by extreme physical tribulation, in the arctic wilds.

Focusing on the maximum set size, I chose option number 2 (with a light seasoning of 1, as I don't really know anyone actually crazy enough to want to do this type of thing). Once this course of action was clear, I determined that my time would be better spent getting someone else to do the work for me.

So I pitched my story to my local paper - The Wharf. They responded enthusiastically with the offer of a series of articles. Since someone has already said it and said it better, you can read the first article here.

Bear Fodder

In April 2010 I'm competing in the Polar Challenge, which is a 320 nautical mile race to the 1996 magnetic North Pole.

As you can imagine, the conditions are extreme - blinding white snows, ridged ice, biting headwinds and temperatures dropping as low as -50 C. Each competitor hauls 55kg of supplies in a pulk whilst trying to race to the finish line.

And if frostbite, hypothermia and exhaustion are not enough to occupy us, note also that we are not the top of the arctic food chain: the majestic polar bear, though one of the attractions of this adventure, poses a threat. And by threat I mean that they may mistake a racer for a seal and eat them in a fit of hunger. Rather inconsiderate really.

So in short it's one of the toughest race on Earth.


Why the hell am I doing it?

A few years ago I was a smoking, drinking and slightly podgy couch-potato. It was fun getting into that state, but I didn't like being there. In my mind I imagined being fit, slender, sporty - and an achiever. (And I suspect my boyfriend was imagining the same thing too! :-)

Bit of a leap, to a life-threatening trek through the polar regions, you might think. Well, have you ever dreamt of doing something extraordinary? How many of us put off our wants until another day, or talk ourselves out of the desired because it's difficult? I got tired of putting living on hold.

In a future post I'll talk about what I did to change things, but in the meantime the short version is I stopped wishing and started doing. I look back at the last couple of years, noting the dozen countries I have visited, the regular running and gym habit that I've developed, and of course ... being registered for the Polar Challenge.

This challenge is for me my longed-for-extreme-adventure and a chance to test my physical toughness and mental endurance. Add to that the exploration of an arrestingly beautiful environment and the thrill of treading where few people have trod before. (And at the current pace of global warming, where few people may tread in future too.) Worth a little terror in my book!


ic(E)lation is a good thing ...

This blog is documenting my race, which of course starts now. Some of it will cover my experiences, thoughts, achievements (and failures!) that lie ahead of me. Some of it will be transcriptions of a paper journal I've been casually keeping until now.

You're welcome to travel to the North Pole with me. You can do so by registering for the race or, if you have time constraints, by subscribing to ic(E)lation.


... but Isolation is not.

I'm going boldly but not solely. The Polar Challenge is a team event - we're racing in groups of three to the Magnetic North Pole. In future posts you'll meet James Davers, my one team-mate, and follow as we try to find number three (the post is open if you think you're up for it).

ic(E)lation is my personal blog, and to keep an eye on the activities of our team please bookmark icelated.com.