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
Sand running and volcano climbing - November 29th, 2013
Why am I going so slowly? 8kph? Really!? My feet are on fire. There is sand in my shoes. This hurts. There are people staring at me. I am sweating more than I thought was possible. Hmm... This... more »
Intercontinental running - November 3rd 2013
A half marathon in Joburg. Have a shower, get on a plane, 16 hours later, get off the plane, run a half marathon in Washington DC. This style of life is becoming the norm and trust me...... more »
Facing up to the Marathon Des Sables - September 8th 2013
The (other) 'Toughest footrace on Earth', as described by the Discovery Channel. 7 brutal days of running 250km, through soft sand, in temperatures exceeding 50c, whilst carrying about... more »
Altitude, heat and hoodlums - August 25th, 2013
Move aside Thames Path with your variety of interesting historical monuments, your traffic free running lane and your shady tree laden shores. I am moving to Johannesburg, city of gold, hills... more »
Part 2: Cruising to Polaris - April 11th 2013
The weather was amazing as we left Resolute for our epic journey ahead. It was ‘only’ about -17c, no wind and beautiful sunshine. For the next few days, we would be pushing forward... more »
Part 1: Journey to the top of the world - April 6th 2013
The nostril hairs and my eyelashes started to freeze up – something that has only happened a few times in my life – typically at about -25c. The worst part was that I was still a two... more »
'Adventure is just bad planning' - March 31st 2013
It is with Amundsen's quote that I start my final blog before my own attempt to walk to a pole. Whilst I doubt my effort will be as celebrated, I hope it will be as successful. In the final... more »
Counting Down... - March 13th 2013
100s of KGs of kit, hundreds of individual items, food to be purchased in Canada, guns and ammunition to manage and sponsorship/fundraising efforts to sort out - the lead in to the North Pole is... more »
Success on Aconcagua - February 9th 2013
100kph winds, -40c, deep snow... I had it all in my fight to get to the summit of the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemisphere's at 6,962m (22,841ft). Whilst telling everyone... more »
How cold is 'cold'? - January 6th 2013
One of the most common questions people ask me is 'how cold will it be at the North Pole?', to which I normally reply 'could be anything from -25c to -55c... and with windchill,... 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 >