Supporting Epilepsy Action Blog

The Great North Run 2009

I went up to Newcastle with friends who were also running on Saturday 19th September, having a quiet evening before the big event on Sunday morning.

The air was cool but the skies were blue, and in increasingly warm conditions I joined 54,000 runners on the 13.1 mile run from Newcastle to South Shields.  Having run 3 times before, rather than aim for a specific time I ignored my stopwatch and as a result had a far more enjoyable race!

The support along the way as usual was fantastic, not just from the charities lining the route, police and first aid crews, but the spectators as well, and despite the huge turnout I didn't find the running crowded at any time.

I was lucky enough to be on the Tyne Bridge as the Red Arrows screamed over, and arrived in South Shields 2 hours 2 minutes later, to a warm and welcome reception from the staff of Epilepsy Action.  They had around 120 runners in this year's race.

I raised £370 (plus Gift Aid) and my site is still receiving donations if you'd like to nudge me up to my £400 target!

http://www.justgiving.com/stevegoesnorth2009/

All in all a great day out, a fun race and although I've been saying I'd like to do a half-marathon in Bristol or Cardiff next year, the Great North Run will be hard to beat!

A big thank you from Epilepsy Action and me, to all who sponsored me.

Unfortunately I don't think the official photographers were fast enough to snap me (!!) but below is one photo taken by Epilepsy Action on my arrival at the finish.

Magnetic North Pole - Planning our Unsupported Expedition for March 2010

On Saturday 5th September I met the full team of 12 together for the first time, when we set in stone the date of Sunday 28th March 2010, when we would depart the UK from Heathrow Airport, bound for Ottawa, onto Resolute on Cornwallis Island, and by foot the 360 nautical miles – unsupported - to the Magnetic North Pole.

The specific destination is the 1996 surveyed position of the Magnetic North Pole – its actual position is constantly moving slowly further North and West – which has become the officially recognised position for the Polar Challenge, Polar Race, and other Expeditions.

We are an all-British team of 12 with 10 men and two women.  The Expedition will take around 25 days of walking, skiing and camping on ice, in temperatures down to minus 50C and below, pulling sledges weighing up to 14 stone, avoiding frost bite and 80% of the World’s Polar Bears which live in these regions.

I need to do more research at the RGS, but if we succeed we believe we’ll be the first all-British mixed-sex team to reach the Magnetic North Pole unsupported.  Most attempts are supported through the Polar Race, or Polar Challenge, and only have to carry enough supplies for one week at a time.

We have an experienced guide in Richard Bull, who has led numerous Expeditions to the Magnetic North Pole and across Baffin Island, also supporting and advising on many other Expeditions to this hostile region.

The team comprises four members (including me) from the Baffin Island 2008 crossing – Roddy, Tracey & Nick.  We also have two ex-Army soldiers in Rob & Steve.  Another Steve (three of us in total so nicknames will be required!) went to Baffin earlier this year for a shorter Expedition, while the rest – Mark, Shaun, Mina & Ben - are new to Arctic Expeditions, however bring with them diverse and extensive experiences in the outdoors.

More training dates have been put in the diary to teach us the skills we’ll need to survive for up to 4 weeks in the Arctic, particularly the basics of pulling our sledges through large fields of ice-rubble, safely using and maintaining the MSR fuel stove – our only source of heating and water for the duration – and erecting and dismantling our tents – our essential and only form of proper shelter – often in high winds.

More to follow in a few weeks...