Running and writing

Article on np winner, Michael Collins

From NP to Cambridge marathon!

Mark Howe article

Blind leading the blind...

I'm not sure people should be asking me for advice in relation to the marathon - but here's a mail I sent to Marianne who's running next year!!


Firstly - you'll enjoy the whole experience its great! Secondly don't get too worried about the minor details at this stage... Looking back what's important is general fitness level (as opposed to running ability) - Although the conditions are a lottery it struck me that for alot of the race 'running' was not an issue rather just hard work! And in some ways the step machine in the gym is of more use than a threadmill! Also we were lucky wrt the weather - so worrying about the cold shouldn't over concern you either (not yet anyway)!

So all round fitness with practise using snow shoes next winter in snow somewhere, and maybe a few runs on a beach so you get used to running in sand (as thats what loose snow is like!!)

The other aspect we didn't focus on enough was sponsorship and media attention, despite that we raised alot of money - but with some better planning and foresight we could have really done much better. For example alot of the specialist clothing companies were receptive to sponsoring (just don't leave it to the last 48 hours as we did!!) Also we managed to get Bloomberg interested who ran a story - but with some more focused effort we could have got alot more exposure (which probably would of translated into sponsorship and donations!)

Feel free to send any questions, and nearer the race next year I'll give you a more detailed do's and don'ts if you like!!

Best of Luck - Peter

Article from the Galway Independent...

click here

All photos below published with kind permission of Mike (mike@mikekingphoto.com)

out of here!!!

you know who...

lunar landscape

24 hour daylight

and their off

spot the odd one out....

the starting line!

Me after the race!

Thank you!

I'd like to thank the following people, and everyone who helped out and made the whole experience so great!

Firstly to everyone who sponsored us, wow! We are all bowled over by your generosity and encour-agement! Just as we hope you got your money's worth, we know Cancer research and Sloane Kettering will make great use of it! Thanks again!

I have to thanks to Mel for all her help, patience and support. Any one who can live with that beard for 6 months is a Saint!!

I would never have started the race if it was just me and would have struggled to finish without their support during it... cheers to Gareth, Samsie and Jonnsie! Where to next???

Although cursed throughout the race, hats off to Richard Donovan! A more laid back easy going chap you'll never find - he set the tone for the proceedings and wish him all the best in future years and events! Maybe will see him at the Antarctic or the Irish stage race he's planning?!

A big thanks to Mike the photographer and the Doctor! Standing around in the cold for 12.5 hours is tough anywhere, but deserves a medal at the Pole! Can't wait to see Mike's photos from the race (which I will post here!)

The Russians are truly emerging capitalists! Selling beer and Coke on a exponentially increasing price scale and having new trinkets to sell with Polar related insignia every few hours was priceless... com-pass cufflinks you'd turn your nose up at on the high street were fawned at just as Smeagol coveted The Ring! Although Michelin haven't rated camp Barneo in its latest edition, surely that omission will shortly be rectified. My personal favourite was the frozen chips in luke warm water with tinned mush-rooms, Gordon Ramsey watch out!

The 2 winners were not the psychotic freaks one might imagine only capable of winning such events! Michael with his wry smile and Irish humour was a very talented runner and great character, who had the misfortune of been lectured in Oslo about the benefits of unfettered capitalism by yours truly! Al-ison was a real lady, who working for Runner’s World had taken up running only 2 years ago and travelled the world running and writing about events.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to know all my fellow competitors due to differing flights and tents and so forth! But fair play to the BBC star Kate for showing us all that great feats are only one facet of life. For The French runners who could declare, “C’est n’est pas difficile” with only the confidence one gets by being French! The Calvados they shared was truly great, Sante mes amis! To Johnny whose story of been thanked by people in South African slums inspired him to raise charity money to build further houses there was inspirational. To Giles and Jim whose sartorial elegance was matched by their wit and conversation! To Marcel for buying us all water and letting his hair down gracefully! To Jim who ran kilted and face painted and kept us all guessing with stories of sleeping with Gazza and God knows what else! To Neil and Johan for being the first to Row and Bike at the Pole! For Sal for play-ing soccer with panache and Brendan who could keep his hair intact no matter what and always smiled no matter the conditions! To Catriona, Kenwynne, Colleen and all the ladies for mucking in when the going got tough and making the whole experience more bearable! For the Ross’s who never let a draft go unchecked! For Simon who wrote the story in RW to get to the Pole that conveyed a great sense of imagination and by being there made us all feel appreciative of what we were doing! To Mark and Mark one finishing the ‘grand slam’ one in the middle of it – both bewildered by the card game 25 but great fun and characters who have raised tremendous amounts for charity! To Osy who ran 100 mara-thons and trudged a lap dressed in full Polar outfit! And to Brent who 150 marathons on was as light on his feet and humble as anyone I’ve ever met – a great inspiration to his students no doubt!!! To all the other runners, and to everyone who sponsored them!!! Thanks for the memories!!!

Finally thanks to my Grandad who passed away before the race, Life is not a dress rehearsal and if anyone ever instilled in me a sense of restlessness it was surely him!

Reminiscences of a runner

There are ways to concisely summarise the North Pole marathon; the 8 1/2 hours it took me to finish; the -23C it got down to during the race; the fact that all 54 competitors were able to laugh about the experience that evening despite times ranging from 4 ½ to 12 ½ hours! But the race and experience as a whole is not something easily summarised and so the following gives you a flavour of what it was like, for me at least...

The defining moment came at about half way through the race. I was running with Gareth and every second lap we were seeking out the warmth of the mess tent to have some water and sit down for a minute or two. In the tent we were told there was no more water. I've seen two year old children react with more dignity when told they can't have something, yet after the tantrums all we could do was plod on and hope the Russians in charge of the camp would sort out more water. About then the tran-quillity of the Pole and the surrounding wilderness was shattered by the drone of Russians wielding chain saws! It failed to dawn on me why they were cutting blocks of ice from the ground, I was at the point where Russians waving chain saws around was par for the course. In hindsight the ice blocks were slowly been melted in the kitchen tent to get us more water. The drawback of water melted from sea ice is that it’s salty!

Much later when I had switched from salt water to whiskey I was encouraging Kenwynne, the resident 66 year old Granny, to keep on going despite the pain she was in and despite the fact that she was pet-rified of a new crack at one corner of the course! She had just been given some very potent pain killers by the Doctor, who was starting to ask her about allergies, medication etc., when she spotted the whis-key - and proceeded to wash the tablets down with it! The doctor's questions trailed off and his eyes looked to heaven - you had to sympathise with the years of training and careful diligence been dis-carded, but I was more concerned the Granny didn't neck all my whiskey!

Before we had set out we had spoke of ice leads and the dangers of only feet separating us from the Ocean depths below. Much of this was said tongue-in-cheek, to impress sponsors and make the ex-perience sound less package-holiday, more adventure. Thus with gasped breath we noticed the ice lead across the runway just before the landing gear touched down. The crack was 12 to 16 feet wide and in between was ocean. As we stepped off the plane into the 4am sunlight I was hit with a sense of claus-trophobia as the horizon all around was very close (possibly due to the earth’s greater curvature at the Pole?!) We sought out empty sleeping bags in the heated tents, and fell asleep to the sound of snow been blown against the canvas.

The morning before the race I walked the course with Samsie. It had been marked out the night before with the apparent help of a blind drunk who had a liking for icy hillocks and snowy drifts. A lap went from the Pole, past the mess tent, down the runway to where the ice lead forced the track right along the waters edge (Richard told us later that he wasn’t allowed to go left as the Russians said that side had more open water which was where Polar bears went to hunt seals) and then in a large sweeping loop back to the Pole again. While the runway had been flattened out and was runable, the rest of the course was tough to walk – let alone anything quicker! One thing we did notice was the weather was not a big concern, with little wind and a low sun shining we felt warm in all our Polar gear. This would change much later that day when my knee prevented any quick movements and the sun was covered by cloud!

The starting gun never went off, and a fake start for the TV cameras caused confusion – but as the leaders stretched off into the distance the reality of 26.2 miles ahead bore down on us and we shuffled along with great expectations. Turning right at the lead these expectations melted away very quickly as despite snow shoes strapped to our feet, the terrain was very tough to run on without constant tripping and stumbling. Although conjecture, I think part of the problem was that as it was so cold the snow didn’t react as ‘normal’ snow does! Normally you can pick up some snow and crush it in your hands to form a compact snowball. The pressure creates heat which melts the snow which then refreezes in a compact shape. But at the Pole the pressure never creates enough heat to melt the snow so the snow has the same consistency of sugar or sand. We had hoped against hope that after a few laps of 50 odd people trampling the snow a nice flat hard track would form – but if anything the snow was getting tougher to traverse as each time someone moved it more air was mixing with it making it even harder to move on!

Most people never find out if they would crack under torture, but I’m sure everyone would hope they would maintain their dignity and not lower their standards or moral beliefs. Most people can hold very high standards safe in the knowledge they’ll never be tested. Well the Pole created a quirky experi-ment in this regard… the course was marked out with small flags every 100 metres or so in a large loop. The course had been marked out with the help of 2 GPS devices and the 26.2 miles were closely enough mapped to warrant official classification as a marathon. The first lap or two people kept these flags to their right, ensuring the proper distance was been covered each lap. As the day wore on and minds became weary the tracks inside the flags grew and grew. At all points the flags were visible, just. Under enough pressure, people within the safety of a crowd can justify anything, do almost any-thing, rationalise anything. The same base human instincts that surface in riots and mobs and mass hysteria came to the fore out on the hillocks of ice at the Pole as the laps became subtly at first but then steadily and progressively shorter. People are monkeys with less hair, and cold tired monkeys will cut corners, I was no better!

The animal instincts were to be seen again the day after the race when we got stuck at the Pole due to bad weather. The Russians were running low on food and salt water was a luxury at this stage! We came to discuss what would happen if our enforced stay became prolonged and how we could possibly survive in this desolate ice hell. Quickly we settled on eating human flesh, and although there was a lot of laughing and mirth about whom and when we should eat first you sensed that behind the laughter were hungry bodies eyeing up the weak!! Perhaps a coincidence, but the French runners started to share their 10 year old Calvados apple brandy just after it was widely agreed that they would be the first to be eaten. Over hearing the conversation they surely realised their previous isolation might back fire when the knives were been sharpened!

The race itself was just a long hard slog. Little insight into life or my place in the greater scheme of things was gleamed. Highlights were far and few between, but near the end I had plugged the ipod in and was trudging along the back of the course alone when the Moby track, “When its cold outside I’d like to die” came on. The track is uplifting at the best of times and at that moment the sun came out from behind the clouds and the scattered ice formations around me were illuminated in a golden glow and the air was still and all the world seemed to stop. A moment I won’t forget in a hurry.
The low points were many; The disbelief of there being no water; Forcing down lukewarm salt water; the point with 3 laps to go that I couldn’t run anymore as my knee was locking up; Going back to the tent to change into dry clothes and having to explain to the winner that yes I had trained for this and yes I could run and yes I was a broken man…; Been lapped on many occasions; Falling flat on my face in the snow and just lying there without the will to move ever again; the realisation that I could be anywhere in the world in a field of snow – the futility of a marathon at the Pole, the futility of life!

And then it was over.

Heading south

Well, what a crazy experience. Impossible to describe how hard it was, but 8 and a half hours after setting out I stumbled across the finish line... was then snowed in at the Pole for 48 hours, eating salt water and frozen chips in boiling water! Finally back in civilisation and had my first shave in about 6 months...
Guinness in hand, weary legs but some great stories to be told... will fill in more blanks soon!

Heading North

Long story. Got to Svalbard. Luggage was found. Fly to Pole in 1 hour. Will be there at 4am Saturday morning. Will start running soon there after. No regrets!

Character building

Well its 10 past 10pm in Oslo, Norway and I'm meant to be relaxing in the business class seat of SK4469 to Longyear byen at the moment... I'd probably be declining the glass of champagne, maybe a glass of red would be OK... would probably be sitting beside some fellow competitors for the race, chatting about this and that... the pilot would be giving the low down on the weather in Longyear byen... The cute air hostess would be joking about polar bears or something else...

Instead SAS, scandinavian airlines, decided to go on strike.

So I've just had a 30minute bus journey to downtown Oslo and checked in at a "comfort" hotel that's doesn't live up to its name...

These things happen I hear myself saying... but it gets better! Its hard to say exactly when it dawned on me... but to be perfectly honest I had an almost immediate sense of doom when I stepped towards the baggage carousel at Oslo airport... you see there's a golden rule with marathons: namely never pack your running gear in the luggage, ALWAYS take it onboard! Its a simple rule and one I've followed in the 3 previous marathons I've done... Problem is you can't fit all the stuff listed below into hand luggage... So with that sense of foreboding I stood before the carousel as it stopped. nada. nothing. zip. ingen fckn ting!

Tomorrow there is a 9:20am flight to Svalbard. SAS may fly, they may not. No one knows.... Its very very very tempting to get hammered, and I do know a great niteclub in Oslo... but as I said, this is character building!

I spoke with Jonnsie, who is at svalbard, and apparently half the competitors are not there due to the strike... The russians, who now control the Pole, are booked to fly two loads to the Pole - one at 10am and one in the afternoon. If I get the flight tomorrow morning I should make the afternoon flight....

Apparently the russians are a law unto themselves... seemingly they have to air lift a tractor to the Pole which will then flatten out a runway! If the ice cracks across the runway they lengthen it further, and so on.... maybe I'm safer here...

-ps I would change the profile photo to Ronald Reagan if I could... I know he didn't have a beard - but back in 1981 when the American air traffic controllers went on strike, he sacked the lot of them

Ronald I salute you...

Last supper...

Well, all packed and have splashed out on one of those crazy Artic coats... Called SAS and the story is I should get to Oslo, but due to the strike will be 50/50 whether will get to Longyear byen today... Hopefully there will be enough north pole competitors affected that any delay in teh flight will mean a short postponement of the marathon - and nothing worse than that!!

Running home yesterday parts of my body hurt that have never hurt before... I'm putting it down to pre-race nerves!!!

To be packed...

1 pair of Sorel snow boots
1 pair of neoprene socks
1 pair of double layered cotton socks
1 pair of ice bugs trail shoes
1 string wool long johns
1 jodhpur style woolen pants
1 double zipped ski trousers
1 windproof light leggings
1 string woolen long sleeved vest
1 armour fit wicking t-shirt
1 wicking long sleeved running top
1 long sleeved cotton running top
1 insulated zip up running jacket
1 insulated ski coat
1 woolen scarf
1 synthetic skimask/balaclava
1 woolen hat
1 pair of gloves
1 pair of oversized mitts (to be bought)
1 expedition style canada goose coat (to be bought)
1 pair of snow shoes (to be got off Jonnsie)
1 compass
1 termometer (to be bought)
6 sheets of warming tissue for gloves
1 box of compeed blister plasters
5 energy gels and bars
1 hip flask of Irish whiskey
1 ipod nano fully charged on shuffle
1 mobile phone
1 phone charger
1 list of addresses for postcards to be sent
1 ski shoulder bag to be worn to carry water depending on conditions
1 passport
2 books to read if get stuck in Oslo due to strike
1 fully charged beard trimmer and razor to get rid of beard after race
1 printed list of fellow competitors so know whos who!
1 certificate for emergency medical cover

Latest from Svalbard

Just got off the phone with Jonnsie... the news is not good

Firstly there may be a sas strike tomorrow! i.e. can't fly to Svalbard as skandinavian airlines on strike
Secondly they ran 1 mile in the snow today and it took them 20 minutes!!! You do the math
Next, people have not been able to fly to some of the northerly islands in svalbard as the weather has been so bad
On top of that they haven't been sleeping well and they haven't seen any polar bears as the weather's been bad compared to the usual at this time of the year...

hmmmmmmm

Tomorrow Oslo

No more need to count days, its now a matter of hours

Ran 4 miles this morning in a ski coat, heavier than I'm used to but will probably be what I run in at the Pole. The run was fine, just want to get the real thing started now...

Loads to do today, buy the last equipment, pack all the gear, get some food / drinks for before and during the race, get ipod loaded, send out last begging letters, write a will....

hmmmmmm

Hello Svalbard...

Made contact with the 3 guys in Longyear byen this evening!

"Its freezing"

hmmmmm, quality information back from Jonnsie!!

Tomorrow need to pack and repack everything. Also tomorrow will probably be the last running before Svalbard, or maybe even the Pole....

Here comes the sun indeed...

The world's most extreme cold weather parka

Just realised, that will need something to keep warm while not running (before and after the race)... this should do the job!

PRESS RELEASE

April 4th - Contact Richard Donovan at rd@npmarathon.com

World's Coolest Marathon to begin at North Pole
The North Pole Marathon, which is scheduled to take place on April 8th, will see a record field of 54 competitors from across the globe.


Forty-four men and ten women will contest the certified 26.2 mile marathon event, the world's most northerly marathon, and BBC will be on location to film the race. Kobold expedition watches will be on offer to both male and female winners.

Among the favourites for the men's division is Michael Collins of Ireland who won the Sahara half-marathon in the run-up to this event. An award-winning novelist, Collins beat former world marathon champion Abel Anton in the process. The Irishman has previously run a 2.33 marathon on an island off the Antarctic peninsula.

Meanwhile, the women's division will see recent Antarctic Ice Marathon winner, Wendy MacKinnon of Scotland take on Alison Hamlett of England who finished fourth in the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans.

Brent Weigner (USA) will contest his third North Pole Marathon and seven others in the race field will seek to join him as members of the global Marathon Grand Slam Club. The Grand Slam Club consists of athletes who have completed a marathon on all seven continents and at the North Pole. Among them, twenty-five year old Mark Sinclair of England is recognised by Guinness World Records as the youngest person to run the distance on all seven continents while Kimi Puntillo (USA) is acknowledged as the first woman to achieve this feat.

The diverse race field will additionally include a father-son duo, a sixty-six year old grandmother, a ten-person corporate team and people making their marathon debut. They can expect wind chill temperatures of -25C or below in addition to 24 hours of daylight at this time of year. Six to twelve feet of ice will separate them from the 12,000 feet of Arctic Ocean below.

Subject to Mother Nature being kind, the race is scheduled to get underway in the early hours of April 8th at the drifting Russian ice base at the North Pole. Competitors will depart from Spitsbergen (Norway) on the previous day and will hope to return within 48 hours. They have the opportunity to not only run the marathon, but to stand at the precise Geographic North Pole in the course of the trip. Mike King, a UK Sports Photographer of the Year recipient, will photograph proceedings.

For more information, including profiles of the participants, see www.npmarathon.com.

tick, tick, tick...

Jonnsie, Samsie & Gareth are in Oslo... time vanishing fast

Blind panic

Back from Ireland... Sunday evening and this time next week it'll all be over Oh Christ I now feel very very unprepared...
Not much I can do tonight, but tomorrow is monday, and I fly to Oslo on thursday... hmmmm
5 days to the Pole....

While I've been away sponsorship has been going crazy!! wow... check out the link to the right...

Need sleep...