On April 29th 2013 at 9.29pm Paul Gurney made it to the North Pole as part of his attempt to complete two of the toughest races in the world - a 600km race to the North Pole, followed by the infamous Marathon des Sables,
LATEST FIRE AND ICE CHALLENGE NEWS
Preparing for Aconcagua - December 27th 2012
Given the focus on the Pole, I think I have perhaps been belittling one of my training trips - my effort to climb Aconcagua - the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas. At 6,962m... more »
Getting fat(ter) - December 16th 2012
This training thing really isn't that hard... I am not fat enough and I need to put on 15kgs... I recently went out for dinner with Jock Wishart - the Polar Race organiser and world leading... more »
This is my rifle - December 2nd 2012
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine... Well, it's not my rifle as it goes, but I will be armed throughout my time in arctic with a 12 gauge pump action shotgun as... more »
Injuries - November 16th 2012
People often ask me if I think I am putting my body (and life) at risk by doing this challenge and some of my training trips. I normally say 'no, not really', although to be fair, I have... more »
The 100km race - September 30th 2012
My first official 'ultramarathon' ended with a 3rd place (out of 1,500, albeit most walking) with a time of just over 12 hours. Always being a little competitive, I was a bit annoyed to... more »
Ice climb photoshoot - September 28th 2012
Not quite a normal day in that I packed my full arctic gear and headed to the office. I was asked to do a photoshoot of me training for a promotional video for my company. Unfortunately the team... more »
The return from Elbrus - September 2nd 2012
I have had to ‘surgically’ remove another toe nail using the kid’s scissors I found in my flat… I guess I have to be thankful that this is all I lost following my... more »
The 24 hour run – August 13th 2012
Whilst not entirely ‘essential’ training, I figured it would be ‘fun’ to see how far I could run in 24 hours straight. Loaded up with 4 litres or water, 2kgs of food, 2... more »
The Challenge
In April 2013, Paul completed the Polar Race – walking to the Magnetic North Pole from Resolute Bay in Nunuvat (Canada). The 6 week challenge, ‘probably the toughest race on earth’ was followed by the infamous ‘Marathon des Sables’ (also ‘the toughest race on earth’), a 260km multi-day ultra marathon across the Sahara Desert. more >
Maps & Tracking
You can explore the full route to the North Pole and follow Paul’s progress with live maps that will plot his position each day as he progresses towards the pole more >
Training
Paul trains for 15-20 hours a week to physically prepare for the challenges and learn the key skills he needs to survive and succeed in two of the harshest environments on earth. more >
VSO
VSO is the world’s leading independent international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries (www.vso.org.uk). The Fire and Ice Challenge is aiming to raise £50,000 for VSO’s secure livelihoods programme more >
Donations
We would be hugely appreciative if you can support this initiative, make a donation and help hit the £50,000 target. 100% of your donation to charity will reach VSO with no money from charity donations going towards to the cost of the challenges. more >