In what could be called a desperate attempt to find reliable January sunshine, John Craven, aged 38, of Abingdon Road, recently visited Antarctica, where he was one of 34 people attempting to run the Ice Marathon. His goal – to raise £10,000 for five fantastic charities – Marie Curie, SANDS, Anthony Nolan, upReach (the social mobility charity) and United World Schools.

Visiting Antarctica was an incredible experience. We stayed in tents for four days acclimatising to temperatures that on race day plummeted to -30C with winds of over 30mph. A marathon in these conditions provides unique challenges – we were warned of the risks of frostbite, and bizarrely, the importance of staying a little cold – if you get too warm and sweat, you could quickly get very cold and die. If we deviated off course, perhaps through disorientation, we risked falling down mile deep crevasses. No-one was tempted to take a shortcut!

Why Antarctica? Temporary insanity? Midlife crisis? Extreme cure for S.A.D.? Who knows…. Were there penguins or polar bears? How cold is it? How do you train? All is revealed on the below website!
http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/jcraven

At the time we went to press, around £8,000, or 80% of the target had been raised so far. The charities and John would be extremely grateful for any donations you can offer (all donations go directly to charity, the trip was fully funded by John). If interested to find out more, you can contact John by email at john@upreach.org.uk