Questions Part1

Everybody genuinely seems quite interested in what I’m going to do, here are answers to some of the questions.

Race distance:-
352 miles!! (that’s 13.5 back to back marathons) in 7 days

Location:-
Yukon Territory Canada (North West) the start is 26 miles south of the Arctic circle and continue until we hit the Arctic ocean (which will be frozen!) at Tuktoyaktuk

Temperature:-
The average temp for this time of year is -30, the rival race which was held a week ago and is held in a more southerly (warmer) location had temps of -50(!!) on the first day

Footwear:-
Having spoken to numerous people who have raced in this sort of location it appears that trainers(!) are the way to go, they need to be a couple of size larger than normal so accommodate the 3+ pairs of sock i will wear to keep my feet warm, my trainers of choice are Salomon XT Wings...

Daylight:-
During the race we are expected to have 15 hours of day light, it goes from day light to darkness in just 15 minutes, and due to the lack of residual light from towns/cities etc. when its dark it is really dark.

Stove:-
Nobody has actually asked me this, but seeing that i tested it at the weekend i thought i would share my finding, my stove boils 1liter of cold water in 5 minutes, and a quarter bottle of fuel lasts for about 1hour, these figures will be effected by the severe cold, but it is important that i don't run out of fuel, cos no fuel means no hot what and no hot water means no hot food and that means i go hungry and that is not an option!!!

Water:-
Due to the severity of the conditions the race organiser will provide some water at some of the checkpoints, but between checkpoints water will have to be carried and you will have to find ways to stop it from freezing, any extra water you will have to get by melting snow

Sleeping bag:-
A very warm sleeping bag (rated to -35) plus a fleece liner which should take me down to -40, if it is colder then it will a case of layering up the clothes until you are warm enough to grab a few hours sleep

Where do you sleep:-
In the snow off the trail/road not using a tent, but using a bivvy bag which is just a big water proof/breathable bag that you put your sleeping bag and 2 sleeping mats and yourself inside and then just lie down on the snow!!