Ultra leap into great unknown

Athletics Antarctic Marathon Alastair McCooktalks to Peter Bell as he prepares to take on the toughest challenge of his long and distinguished career in the Antarctic 100km Ultra Race

Veteran Co Derry mountain runner Peter Bell lines up for the start of the Antarctic 100km Ultra Race (due to take place on December 15th), as the only Irish competitor in the select international field.

The 100km Ultra Race provides a fitting finale to a series of extreme events on the frozen continent that include The 80 South Half Marathon, due to take place over a 13.1-mile course at Patriot Hills on December 14th, and the third Antarctic Ice Marathon, due to take place on December 12th at an altitude of 3,000 feet. It is a challenge the 53-year-old relishes. After impressive performances in a lengthy list of supremely testing extreme events Bell has proved he has the resolve and physical toughness to last the distance, no matter what conditions nature conjures up on the day or who the opposition might be.

Event organiser Richard Donovan's claim that the event is "the world's coldest 100 . . . reserved for only the toughest of endurance athletes" is not made lightly or without justification. In Antarctica the lowest temperature ever recorded on the planet, a bone chilling -89 degrees, was registered at the Russian Vostock station in 1983.

At temperatures as low as that steel will simply shatter. On top of that, Katabatic winds, unique to Antarctica can reach 300km, or 185mph in old money, threaten to strip the very skin from your flesh. This is not a place for fun runners and joggers.

This is a serious business.

It is one of the toughest challenges of a long and distinguished career, but then Bell is no stranger to extreme challenge. In the North Pole Marathon in March 2007 he battled through a field of 50 athletes representing 22 countries to claim fifth place. It was a result that upset the form book and brought attention at international level. Bell completed the gruelling run in temperatures that tipped -40 degrees in a time of 4 hours 20 minutes whilst wearing snow shoes. And then with only hours to recover, he was back in action in a cycling race over the same marathon distance course.

At the end he had completely lost all feeling in his hands from the wrists down. It took two months to recover from the effects of frostbite, just in time to compete in his next wild adventure, this time closer to home in the 24-hour Roagaine Mountain Race, running day and night to cover a distance of 80km in the Wicklow Mountains in May.

But this is the big one, the great leap into the unknown. Bell hasn't competed over a 100km distance, or in conditions quite as extreme before. His experience gained in the North Pole Marathon will provide an invaluable taste of what is to come though. Bell's preparation is meticulous. Failure is not an option.

Whilst other athletes resort to training in cold stores and freezers in an attempt to acclimatise, Bell concentrates on the basics, physical fitness and mental toughness that he believes will help him drag his body over the finishing line something from 12 hours to God knows how long after the starting pistol fires on December 15th.

Preparation has built slowly over years towards being ready to race on the frozen wilderness. Week in, week out Bell puts in the hours, chalking up 25 to 30 miles, training on his favourite mountain peaks, Benevenagh, Muckish and Errigal in Donegal at least twice each week. On top of that there is a punishing schedule that includes road running and kayaking. Twice a week Bell goes mountain biking, usually in the dark after work, building conservatories all day. The mountain bike is fitted with twin headlights while a powerful torch is fitted to his helmet, lighting the way through the 30 miles of dark woodland paths that are traversed twice each week. It is a training schedule that is tried and tested.

Bell regularly competes against men over 20 years his junior and beats them. His times are as good or better than his own best efforts when he was in his late 20s. His season has already been crowned by claiming the NIMSA Veteran Grand Prix Mountain Running Series title for 2007.

Striving to attain physical condition is only part of the battle. Bell believes that mental toughness may well be the key to survive and succeed in the Antarctic.

"It is the ultimate test of mental toughness, a lot of what helps you withstand the pain of extreme cold and keep grinding away is in your own mind. Mentally, I am a very strong person; I have to succeed; I'm not prepared to accept failure and I like to achieve in whatever I do. It gives me a buzz," says Bell.

"There have been times when I felt like giving up, but you keep on; it's a case of mind over matter. I run with my eyes almost closed, I am totally focused, everything that is going on around me is totally shut out. I wouldn't be going if I didn't believe in myself 100 per cent."

Bell's choice of equipment is as important as any other element of his preparation. It is some testament to his reputation that sponsors have been eager to offer the use of the best equipment available. Bell will opt for trail or mountain running shoes equipped with spikes to achieve grip on the icy surface along with two inner upper body layers not much thicker than an everyday T-shirt, with a third windproof, highly breathable outer layer. Along with these he will don three layers of gloves, the outer layer basically fingerless mitts, usually included in the equipment list of an expedition to Everest.

Double glazed goggles, specially selected to prevent condensation, which impairs vision, are crucial.

"The idea is to keep the amount of skin left bare to an absolute minimum. Sweat freezes instantly and in the North Pole race when the sweat ran down into your eyes you could feel your eyes beginning to stick and freeze closed when you blinked," he reveals.

Bell is already planning the next great adventure. Running on Everest has been mentioned and may well be his next challenge. It would be another step towards achieving membership of the exclusive Marathon Grand Slam Club, comprised of athletes who have completed a marathon distance, 26.2 miles or longer, on each of the seven continents and on the Arctic Ocean in the North Pole marathon. He would be adding his name to a distinguished list that already includes Ranulph Fiennes and Irish runner Richard Donovan, race organiser for the Antarctic event. Few would bet against him.

What the brave souls face

The setting for the Antarctica 100km Ultra Race is at once dramatic, beautiful and savagely inhospitable. It is a continent of extremes, six months of daylight followed by six months of darkness, winds speeds of 300kmph, and temperatures that have plummeted to drop to - 89 degrees. Apart from scientific research stations there is very little human life to be found. On a land mass one and a half times the size of the US that leaves a lot of personal space for each citizen.

The event will take place over a figure of eight course comprising of two adjoining loops, each 25km in length. The course is described as undulating and hilly with ice and snow underfoot. Run under a sun that never sets, against the backdrop of the Patriot Hills and Ellsworth Mountains and in temperatures that exceed -25 degrees, the additional wind chill-factor pushes the whole experience way past the imaginable.

For Peter Bell and the other brave souls he will compete alongside, taking on enough fuel will be crucial. The athletes' feeding stations will be positioned bang in the centre of the course, where the twin loops they will run on intersect. That will provide three passes through the centre and three vital chances to grab some sustenance.

Each athlete feeds differently. For Bell the main source of energy will come from gel bars (providing high concentrations of carbohydrate and protein), and less high tech fare such as chocolate, bananas and even cold porridge. The fourth and final pass through the feeding station will bring the athletes to the finishing line, most in a state of total, aching, elated, exhaustion. For Bell the memory of the pain and abject suffering will quickly fade from memory. He plans to be back in full training less than two weeks after completing the gruelling event.