Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LIVE FOR TODAY
Running with terminal cancer by Kevin Webber
After a year of planning, training, trying kit out, reading all I could about racing in the Arctic and generally getting stressed, I finally left the UK.
More than 24 hours, three planes and a bus ride later I reached my destinataion – Whitehorse, in the Yukon, Canada. That was the easy bit.
And now for my latest challenge – the 6633 Ultra, a 380-mile, non-stop fast walk across the snowy plains with just my kit-filled sledge.
I had three days to acclimatise and to meet my fellow competitors from all over the world, to share strategies and scare ourselves witless about the enormity of the task ahead.
It’s a small race. Of the 28 entrants, three have already dropped out due to injury.
In all my races before, the biggest reason for drop-outs were blisters.
On this one it’ll be frostbite, frostbite and… frostbite. I’m risking frostbite in places no man wants it – plus my thighs, chest, nose and chin. So as much as my chemo has allowed me, I’ve grown a beard.
The weather has been amazingly good, it’s only about –20C now. But that can change rapidly.
On the official practice, we all walked a few miles then put up our tents, got into our sleeping bags and boiled water on our tiny stoves. I broke a tent pole, so will now sleep in a tent with no poles.
There’s no point getting stressed – I’m glad it happened then, not in the middle of night in the pitch black on my own in a –40C gale.
Did I mention the aggressive moose, watching arctic foxes, bears coming out of hibernation and polar bears venturing further south… Somehow I don’t think I’ll be sleeping easy any night.
Follow the race at 6633ultra.com or on Facebook. Wish me luck for the next week.
In practice I broke a tent pole.. there is no point stressing, at least it was not at night in -40C gale