On April 7, Nigel Clark () and four friends will be undertaking an unusual race across the frozen Arctic Ocean – 26.2 miles across snow and ice in sub-zero temperatures at the geographic North Pole. Just 25 people from around the world are entering one of the most extreme marathons on the planet to test their stamina and fitness in this truly amazing (and daunting) location.
Nigel writes: “We are pushing our endurance levels to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Kidney Centre in memory of Mari-Simon Cronje. Mari-Simon was only 11 years old when she was tragically killed in a boating accident last September, and she is remembered as a wonderful and beautiful girl. Mari-Simon’s family has set-up a memorial fund to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Kidney Centre and over £70,000 has already been raised. Andre, Mari-Simon’s father and our friend, is running with us and this year’s marathon is being dedicated to Mari-Simon’s memory by the race organisers.
“The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity needs to raise £10 million to build a much needed new children’s kidney centre. The new kidney centre will provide patients and their families with a modern, comfortable and practical environment, as well as enabling continued pioneering research into childhood kidney disease.”
Speaking at the end of last month, Nigel said: “I’ve got no one else to blame for the North Pole trip but me. I really fancied giving it a go and persuaded the four other guys to join me. The scary thing is that they have loads of endurance event experience (iron men, marathon des sables, comrades in South Africa etc) and I’ve just plodded around three marathons and played a bit of OC sport over the years. Still I’ve got more insulation than them even though I’ve lost two stones in the last two months!
“When I was at Cranleigh in 1989 my Dad for his 50th birthday ran in the Everest marathon and I think I inherited some of his crazy genes. My Dad died aged 56 and me and my brother having been looking out for various adventures we could do in his memory. It’s me and my bro and 3 mates one of whom, Andre, lost his 11-year-old daughter in September last year in tragic circumstances while she was on an inflatable banana behind a boat at a kids’ party in Chertsey lakes. There’ll be quite a bit of emotion from all of us I think if we get to the Pole and from Andre in particular. We’re meeting the staff at Great Ormond Street next week to see the hospital and the current kidney unit.
“We’re being sponsored by London ski and snow shop, Ellis Brigham, and we’ve got a lot of kit from them. We’ll be running in water proof trail shoes, three pairs of socks, three pairs of trousers, three tops plus waterproof shell, two pairs of gloves and a pair of mittens, balaclava, ski goggles, hat and probably a face mask too. Bit different to my usual shorts and a t-shirt.
“We’ve done a few training runs on the South Downs in the mud and on the hills and that’s been good. The five of us did 21 miles together last Sunday. The actual conditions at the marathon will be completely weather dependent and we really have no idea. After speaking to a number of former competitors (including OC Ted Jackson) we’ve opted not to wear snow shoes but some people are taking them on our trip. I just can’t face trying to do a marathon with tennis rackets on my feet! One guy we spoke to who did it in 2009 said that it was like running on sand dunes at -40 degrees.
“My aim is just to finish the event and run as much of it as I can – I know I can run 26 miles pretty comfortably on the roads in Hampshire now but I’ve no idea how far I can go in the snow and ice on top of the world.”
Please take the time to visit the team’s website where you can find out more about the rest of the team, the North Pole Marathon and the work of Great Ormond Street … and of course donate.