News
Friday 19 May 2006
Race to the Pole
A team of Nottingham students will brave sub-zero conditions and risk close encounters with polar bears when they take part in a challenge that has been dubbed ‘The World’s Toughest Race’.
Nick Barrett, a second-year human geography student at Nottingham Trent University and David Dieppe, a second-year modern languages student at The University of Nottingham, are in training after signing up for the Polar Challenge 2007.
The Polar Challenge is an endurance race across one of the most inhospitable environments in the world. The Nottingham team will face temperatures as low as -50°C and traverse 320-miles of arctic tundra in the attempt to beat their 19 competitors to the magnetic North Pole. As if the challenge is not hard enough, each team member will man-haul a sledge of essential supplies and equipment weighing 120 pounds and will cross the infamous Polar Bear Pass, which is home to 80 per cent of the world’s population of polar bears, the world’s largest land predator.
Both Nick and David are with the Officer Training Corps, based at Beeston and trained at Chilwell, and are hoping the physical and mental demands of the challenge will help to prepare them for life as an Army officer. They are currently recruiting a third team member, who is likely to be another student from Nottingham Trent University.
David has been given special permission to take time out from the year he is due to spend in Russia as part of his degree to take part in the challenge. It will follow on from him competing in another gruelling race this April, the Marathon Des Sables — a 150-mile race across the Sahara desert.
David said: “I want to go into the Army when I leave university and I believe the more experience I have and the more I have endured, the better I will be at being an officer and leading others. The preparation will be the hardest part — I know I’m quite mentally tough, so once I’m out there, I will finish the race, no matter what.”
Team Leader Nick believes that being part of a three-man team will enable each individual to push themselves to the limit to complete the challenge. “No one wants to be the weakest link and let the others down. We are all natural leaders, so it will be very interesting to see how well we all work together as a team. This experience is going to be a benchmark in my life and will be something to look back on with pride when I’m old and grey.”
Before undertaking the challenge, the team will spend time in Wales and Austria, taking part in activities to develop their skills in navigation, orienteering, cross-country skiing and learning how to deal with the effects of cold weather and spot signs of illness such as hypothermia.
In April 2007, the team will fly to Resolute Bay in the Arctic for their final preparations and intensive training in using weapons to protect themselves in case of attack by polar bears.
In order to take part in the challenge, which is part of the Venture Challenge Group, organisers of worldwide expeditions, each member needs to raise £12,500. However, the Nottingham team is hoping to cover its costs through the backing of companies and would like to attract sponsorship to raise additional funds for the charity WaterAid and help others to benefit from their huge achievement.
WaterAid is an international charity that is dedicated to helping people in Africa and Asia to escape from poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation by setting up low-cost, sustainable projects that can be managed by the communities themselves.
David added: “We really want to raise as much money as possible for WaterAid. When choosing a charity, we wanted something that would really make a difference to people’s lives. Here in the UK, we take access to clean water totally for granted but we wouldn’t if we needed to walk 20 miles to the nearest well like many people living in African villages.”
Notes for editors: Anyone who would like to sponsor the Nottingham team is asked to contact Nick Barratt on +44 (0)772 931 9851.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Nick Barratt on +44 (0)772 931 9851 or Emma Thorne, Media Relations Manager at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5793, or emma.thorne@nottingham.ac.uk .
Dave Rogers, Press Officer, Nottingham Trent University, on +44 (0)115 848 8782 or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk.
Or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, Nottingham Trent University on +44 (0)115 848 8774 or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.
