2014
Spring
Summer
Edition
Michael Boyes
Michael is a very proud member of the Royal Canadian Navy. He has run several races but the most rememberable were the Terry Fox Run in Afghanistan during a 7 month deployment and the Canadian Army Run half marathon in his Nation's Capital in support of the Soldier On Fund. Michael is a slow but steady runner and enjoys the cold weather training. He has spent several months training with the Canadian Armed Forces in the north in weather of -30 c plus, so he will not be too concerned with the weather conditions. Michael is running to help support the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre.
Jacqui Burke
Jacqui is a 43 year old Fitness Instructor, based in North West London. She started running in her late twenties and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, completed 6 Marathons, 5 UK Half Ironman Triathlons, the Austria Full Ironman Triathlon, and cycled Lands End to John O Groats. Two months after the North Pole Marathon she will be running ‘The Comrades’ 56 mile ultramarathon in South Africa. Jacqui is raising money for the ‘No Surrender Charitable Trust’ for research and support to cancer patients suffering from pancreatic cancer. She will celebrate her birthday at the North Pole.
Patrick Cande
Patrick has run 42 marathons and 24 ultramarathons to date. Included among his ultras are the Badwater Ultra, Marathon des Sables, Comrades, UTMB, Raid des Trolls, Raid Thai, Millau 100km, Desert Cup, Death Valley Cup, Le Grand Raid du Sahara, TransRockies Run and Diagonale des Fous. He has also completed La Trans Gaule, a 1,166km stage race in France, among other events globally.
Howard Choi
Howard starting jogging six years ago to lose weight (~35 lbs / 16 kg lost). He now runs so that he can continue eating what he wants without too much worry. He is a member of the New York Flyers running club and his running goals are marathons/ultras in each of the 50 states of the USA (25 finished so far) and on each of the 7 continents (2 so far: N. America and Antarctica). He has finished ultramarathons up to 100 miles. He spent much of 2013 sidelined with injuries, but is looking forward to getting back fully to long distance running in 2014. His next challenges this summer after the North Pole Marathon are Comrades Marathon, Gold Coast Marathon (Australia), Laugavegur Ultra Marathon (Iceland) and his first full Ironman triathlon (Louisville, KY) in August 2014. He is also a hiker and has summited Mount Kilimanjaro.
Victor Clarke
Victor is a Partner in the Law Firm of Clarke Jeffers & Co and is from Carlow in Ireland. Victor will be running with his brother William. Victor has a strong history in sport having received a sports scholarship in equestrian Polo to Argentina in 1994. He has also represented Ireland in a range of equestrian sports and on multiple continents. Victor is a novice runner but determined to push himself and avail of this once in a life time opportunity in the North Pole. He is a specialist in Commercial and Company Law and will be running to highlight issues surrounding cyberbullying and to raise funds for his chosen charity www.walkinmyshoes.ie
William Clarke
William is a Partner in the Law Firm of Clarke Jeffers Solicitors, and is from Carlow Ireland. He will be running with his brother Victor. William is a sports enthusiast, with keen interests in all extreme sports. He is a former 3 day eventing world champion and recipient of the Sports Person of the year award. He is a novice runner, but has ambitions to push himself to the limit in a once in a lifetime experience. William is a specialist in Internet Law and will be running the marathon to highlight
Mark Cooper
A life-long runner with an ambition to run marathons on all 7 continents and at the North Pole. Mark's life and work travels have resulted in him acquiring what everybody says is a strange accent. He began life in Scotland, but his parents migrated to Australia when he was 15. Mark subsequently lived in Australia until his 30s and then moved to the US, where he now lives and works. Mark's work necessitates traveling to many locations around the world on every continent and this travel continually provides an opportunity to run in many diverse locations. Mark ran the Antarctic Ice Marathon in 2012 and is now looking forward to the challenge of the North Pole marathon in 2014.
Eleanor Dorran
Having completed her second marathon, Eleanor was looking for the next challenge when she came across the North Pole Marathon. She mentioned it to a couple of friends, Alex Kemp and Ian Hunt, who immediately signed up. Hence, to avoid a case of North Pole envy she followed suit. It is definitely more of a challenge than Eleanor was initially looking for, but she is looking forward to the adventure and feels very lucky to be sharing the experience with two good mates.
Ian Egan
Ian is a sports injury therapist who holds a marathon PB of 2:43 hrs. He also holds a PB of 25:11 for 8k and a 10k PB of 32:16. Ian completed the North Pole Marathon in 2013 despite suffering from hypothermia during the race. He hopes to have a better run this time! Ian likes piina coladas and getting caught in the rain, he's not much into health food, he is into champagne.
Bruno Ercoli
Bruno has completed several marathons since 2011, including Tahiti, New York, Dubai, the Millau 100km and the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert. An optician by profession, he likes all sport and will take part in his first Ironman Triathlon in Florida in November. Bruno is married with two children and would like to become the first Tahitian to complete the North Pole Marathon. He is running the race to coincide with the milestone of reaching his 40th birthday.
Anne-Marie Flammersfeld
Anne-Marie has won ultrarunning events in the Atacama, Sahara and Gobi deserts as well as in the Antarctic region. A Sports Scientist based in St Moritz, Switzerland, she loves the mountains. In 2013, she was third overall in the Manaslu Trail Race in Nepal and ran from the lowest to the highest point of Switzerland. Anne-Marie is an Ambassador the Paulchen Esperanza Foundationand writes a weekly blog at www.annemariedflammersfeld.blogspot.com.
David Friezo
A financial executive and father of four from Westport, Connecticut who has run a number of marathons including NYC and London over the past decade. David, by no means a competitive runner, is attracted to the physical and mental challenge of running the North Pole Marathon and will combine his love of running with his financial commitment to support the mission of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Pediatric Hospital. David will be running on behalf of the Friezo Family Support Fund at MSKCC which provides much needed help to families of children undergoing pediatric cancer treatment. The Friezo Family Foundation and the Lydian Advisory Group, of which David is the Managing Partner, has agreed to match the first $100,000 of individual donations. For more information on how to support David and donate to this worthwhile cause, visit http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/friezo.
Horacio Galanti
Horacio is an avid long distance runner and high altitude climber. He has participated in the Canadian Death Race (125 Km on the Canadian Rockies) and recently summited Mount Everest (May 2013). He is completing the 7 Summits and the 2 Poles, combining these activities with his career as Civil Engineer. Horacio is originally from Argentina, but currently lives in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada and he has been running and climbing in Arctic conditions for many years.
William Gargiullo
A very experienced marathon and ultramarathon runner who has successfully completed events across the globe. William has run ultramarathon stage races in the Sahara Desert and China, the 100km de Bienne in native Switzerland on 20 occasions, and mountain / altitude races such as the Tenzing-Hilary Everest Marathon, Jungfrau Marathon, Swiss Alpine Marathon, Mount Etna Marathon and Zermatt Marathon. He has also completed numerous regular marathon distances including Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Istanbul to name but a few.
Claudio Gonzalez
A 39 year old Supply Chain Consultant, born in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Claudio has completed 10 marathons and 20 half marathons since he started running 10 years ago. He has run Chicago five times,New York three times, and will be running Tokyo a month before the North Pole. Claudio is aiming at running on all 7 continents and the North Pole to become part of the Marathon Grand Slam Club. He will be raising funds for the Happy Hearts Foundation, an organisation dedicated to rebuilding schools and restoring hope and opportunity in the lives of children after natural disasters. See http://www.crowdrise.com/ontopoftheworld/fundraiser/happyheartsfund.
Paul Grealish
Paul is a polar running specialist who rarely runs marathons outside of polar circles. After completing the North Pole Marathon in 2004, Paul must have spent six years preparing for the Antarctic Ice Marathon in 2010 because he didn't run a marathon in between. He subsequently ran the North Pole Marathon again in 2012 (accompanying multiple sclerosis sufferer Philipe Laurent along the route) and successfully finished the Volcano Marathon in 2013. He returns to the Pole for the third time, searching for a pair of mittens he lost in 2004. Paul is running with his wife Mary to raise funds for Self Help Africa.
Mary Grealish
Mary is a late entrant to this year's race. She has represented Ireland in basketball and despite declaring herself a 'reluctant runner' she completed the Paris Marathon in 2011. Mary & her husband Paul are competing to raise funds for Self Help Africa.
Hans-Jorg Hegner
An insurance lawyer who has run marathons across the globe. Hans-Jorg has also completed several long distance trail events, (up to 100km) in the Swiss mountains as well as the Swiss Ironman Triathlon. The father of four, likes to play the trumpet, wil be accompanied by his wife Pia in the North Pole Marathon.
Pia-Margit Hegner
Pia has completed 7 marathons in addition to the 100km del Sahara and the 50km Trail du Verdon. The mother of four will be accompanied by her husband Hans in the North Pole Marathon.
Karl Hinett
A 26-year-old Ex Armed Forces who was injured in Basra, Iraq in 2005. Karl ran 100 official marathons worldwide between 2011-2012 while also climbing Mont Blanc (4807 metres - successful), Manaslu (8156 metres - successful) & Mt. Everest (8848 meters - (unsuccessful due to weather). Karl also ran with the Olympic and Paralympic Flame in 2012. He has been continuing to embark on some amazing physical challenges since completing his 100 marathon feat, and plans a 5,000km run back to Iraq in 2015. See http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/03/14/tipton-war-hero-karl-in-5000k-run-back-to-iraq-a-decade-after-suffering-horrific-injuries/hinett-4-sl-22/.
Bryn Hughes
Bryn is the father of PC Nicola Hughes, one of two victims of a shooting in Manchester, UK in September 2012. Nicola, along with her police colleague Fiona Bone, were unarmed when they were murdered while answering a routine burglary call. Bryn has set up a charity - the PC Nicola Hughes Memorial Fund - which provides learning opportunities and pre-employment skills support to children (under 21) who have suffered the loss of a close family member through a violent crime such as murder or manslaughter. Police officers thoughout the UK have been involved in a 125-day Run To Remember for their murdered colleagues, which will culminate in Bryn and his good friend Robert Stapleton running the North Pole Marathon. For more information, and to support the Fund, see http://www.pchughesnorthpolerun.co.uk and https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Pole-Marathon-in-memory-of-PC-Nicola-Hughes/413018905441580? ref=stream
Ian Hunt
An IT professional from London with several years experience of distance running including New York, Loch Ness and Anglesey Coastal marathons, as well as all distances of triathlon including Ironman. Ian had been searching for the next challenge when a friend Ellie Doran spotted the NPM, so they signed up along with Alex Kemp and decided to form Team EEK! Ian has Ironman Austria lined up for the summer and then perhaps the South Pole, and perhaps subsequently finishing the continents. he is also looking forward to representing his coach Annie Emmerson and Team Dillon at the Pole.
Taco Jongman
Taco is an adventure race / sports enthusiast who has completed the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon (the highest in the world) the Antarctic Ice Marathon (the southernmost in the world) and the Volcano Marathon among many others. A private entrepreneur in the construction industry, Taco has also been a fireman for 18 years and generally enjoys events lasting up to 24 hours.
Alex Kemp
Alex lives in Watford and work in IT for a firm based in London. He was first made aware of the North Pole Marathon by a friend of his (Eleanor Dorran) who along with another friend (Ian Hunt) are his usual partners in crime when it comes to entering crazy sporting events. Visiting the Poles has been a longstanding ambition of his and the thought of combining a trip to the North Pole with a marathon sounded like an amazing experience not to be missed! Alex has completed a couple of marathons and approximately a dozen half marathons, but generally competes in triathlons. However, having read the testimonials and viewed the videos on the website he has become hooked: If all goes well at the NPM, Alex is planning on entering the Antarctic Ice Marathon with an aim to eventually join the Grand Slam Club.
Blake Lanford
A 35-year-old bond trader from Texas, now living in Boston. Blake ran his first 5K early in 2010 and by December of that year ran his first marathon. He has been hooked ever since, competing in a mixture of adventure races, relays and triathlons. He completed his first full Ironman In May 2013.
Paul Langan
Flavio Lemos
To be added
Masao Maki
Masao describes himself as a" 61-years-old lazy recreational runner" who lives in Boulder Colorado. He has run the Tokyo marathon 3 times in a row and hopes to join the 7 Continents Marathon Club and North Pole Marathon Grand Alam Club. A Sushi chef, he is the author of 15 non fiction books.
Yusuke Mamada
An IT consultant and Project Manager who has completed several marathons and ultramarathons in Japan. The North Pole Marathon will be Yusuke's first time to run in cold conditions and also his first time to run a race outside of his native country. He wants to share his special experience of the North Pole Marathon with others, spreading a message to "never give up and keep your fighting spirits to achieve your goal".
Alexandr Mazny
To be added
Scott McKay
The North Pole will Scott's first and only marathon. The race is a follow-up challenge to his 2011 charity climb to Mt. Everest base camp and the summit of 20,305ft./6189m Island Peak. The Everest trip was in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and running the North Pole Marathon will benefit the Children's Wish Foundation. Both organizations grant wishes to children with life- threatening illnesses. You can visit Scott's website, www.travelearthadventure.ca, for more information on his quest to visit 100 countries...he is currently at 86.
Eric Mitchell
A sports enthusiast who has taken up distance running over the past few years. The North Pole Marathon will be his first racing experience outside of the United States. Eric enjoys adventure travel, having visited or lived in over 65 countries, and is excited about the challenge of running at the top of the world.
Orla Murphy
Orla owns two dogs called Buster and Harry.
Sierd Nutma
The North Pole Marathon will be Sierd's first ever marathon. The 42-year old owner of a coaching company, which specialises in motivation training and mental skills, has no running credentials whatsoever! However, as a solo adventurer he is familiar with several extreme conditions. He has crossed parts of the Mongolian desert by foot and cycled thousands of kilometres through the wilderness of Siberia. By participating in the North Pole Marathon he hopes to learn more about himself, and about proper skills in the field of mental resilience. Above all he is looking forward to a great experience and meeting inspiring people.
Gary Parker
Gary is more of a mountaineer than runner having climbed many major peaks including 5 of the 7 summits a number of times and over half of the Alpine 4000m peaks. However, he does enjoy a bit of adventure and has completed the Marathon des Sables, the Jungle Marathon, LeJog and swam the English Channel (relay). Gary would also like to complete the Marathon Grand Slam. Surprisingly his business strapline is "Adventure in Business", which is a bit unusual for an accountant!
Judy Scrine
Judy will have completed five marathons by the time the North Pole Marathon comes round, Brighton coming just three days before the NPM. Being travel-obsessive, the chance to visit Svalbard, reach a Geographic Pole and possibly see The White Bear knock three things off 'The Bucket List', so Judy is very excited about the entire trip. Training must fit around her work as an equine veterinary surgeon in the (usually) gentle climes of Surrey and Sussex in the UK – but there was not a lot of opportunity to train in snow this past winter.
Ladislav Simek
Lazy, amateur 40-year-old who has surprisingly completed 8 marathons on 7 continents!
Pam Solberg-Tapper
Pam has been running for 32 years. She started running to lose weight and fell in love with the body-mind-sprit connection that running long distances provides. She is a 7 Continents Marathon Finisher as of 2011 and is aiming to become a member of the Grand Slam Club by completing this year’s North Pole Marathon. Pam is an Executive Coach who sparks her clients to set strategy, take action and stay focused to get results. She uses this same methodology to enable her cross the finish line of every marathon. Pam is passionate about helping her clients be their best version of themselves and she hopes to be a positive example for others by finishing the race. Her motto is: “Live intentionally, be extraordinary and do great things for your world”. Her website iswww.CoachForSuccess.com
Kolja Spori
Kolja is a 44-year old sponsorship agent in Formula 1. He is also an avid traveller who wants "to go everywhere" - and wrote a book, in German, with the same title. His favourite trip was the "Road of Bones", driving through the "Pole of Cold" in Oymyakon, Siberia at temperatures down to -62°C. He has finished one marathon and one half-marathon.
Robert Stapleton
Robert is running the North Pole Marathon with his good friend Bryn Hughes. Bryn is the father of PC Nicola Hughes, one of two victims of a shooting in Manchester, UK in September 2012. Nicola, along with her police colleague Fiona Bone, were unarmed when they were murdered while answering a routine burglary call. Bryn has set up a charity - the PC Nicola Hughes Memorial Fund - which provides learning opportunities and pre-employment skills support to children (under 21) who have suffered the loss of a close family member through a violent crime such as murder or manslaughter. Police officers thoughout the UK have been involved in a 125-day Run To Remember for their murdered colleagues, which will culminate in Robert and Bryn running the North Pole Marathon. For more information, and to support the Fund, see http://www.pchughesnorthpolerun.co.uk and https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Pole-Marathon-in-memory-of- PC-Nicola-Hughes/413018905441580? ref=stream
Douglas Thompson
Doug has run over 63 marathons/ultras including a one day 100 mile run, staged races including the 4 deserts Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Gore-tex trans rockies race and the Coastal Challenge in the jungles of Costa Rica. He has run a marathon in 35 states and 6 continents (Asia is left) and has additionally competed 3 ironman triathlons, including the Hawaii World Championship this year. Doug has also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Whitney and goal is to complete a marathon in all 50 states and 7 continents and the North Pole by age 50. He is a medical oncologist and many of his endurance events are used to raise money for cancer research. Check out Doug's fundraising page at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=35522512&pg=personal&fr_id=61008&fl=en_US&et=A75ujTkx1S4-zsk76z9DQQ&s_tafId=1343096.
Shona Thomson
Shona became a member of the 7 Continents Marathon Club in September 2013 after running New York, London, Comrades, Antarctic Ice Marathon, Rio, Perth and Vietnam. She is now hoping to become a Grand Slam member by running at the North Pole, and hopes to be the first Scottish female to do so. In her spare time, Shona is involved in mentoring and encouraging other individuals to become more active. She is a supporter of the 5x50 challenge aimed at getting Scots more active.
Christian Ulrich
Born in the middle of the Alps, Christian started regular marathon running in 2004 and soon added mountain marathons to his list. His motivations for the North Pole are the unrivaled experience and personal challenge in running in a unique location under extreme conditions. It may also be his first step to the Grand Slam. Christian is owner of an executive search firm in Switzerland.
Pascal Vinarnic
Once finished the North Pole Marathon, Pascal will have completed the Grand Slam challenge having run on all Seven Continents (as of 2012) and the North Pole. When he is not running ultras or marathons, Pascal is managing an investment fund Ceres Finance and spending increasingly more time on his charitable foundation Demeter, which is focused on new economic models to solve social issues.
Michael Wardian
Michael is one of the top ultramarathon runners in the world. The ship broker and UVU Racing athlete is a four-time USATF ultra-marathoner of the year, four-time USA 50K Champion, 2008 USA 100km Champion and 2010 World 100K silver medalist. The prolific racer and 2:17 marathoner has competed in the last three US Olympic Marathon trials, set world indoor and treadmill marathon records, and won countless races at home and overseas. A summary of his athletic achievements, which are too numerous to mention, is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wardian.
Anna Wester
Anna began running when she was 41-years-old in 1996 when she thought she would run 42km by her 42nd birthday and subsequently completed the New York Marathon. She has since completed many marathons in the Netherlands, incouding Rotterdam on two occasions. In 2009, Anna ran the highest marathon in the world in 2012, the Tenzing Hillary Marathon on Mount Everest. In 2013, she ran one of the hottest marathons in the world, the Sahara Marathon, and now she will run the world's coolest marathon, the North Pole Marathon.
Luke Wigman
After running his first marathon in 2007, Luke ran a few half marathons over 2007/2008. He joined the RAF Regiment in 2008, but suffered an accident in Afghanistan in 2011 when he stepped on an IED. Luke was in hospital for two months, followed by a year of rehab. He started training again in late 2012, deciding to do some triathlons. In 2013, he participated in an aquathlon (a swim followed by a run), two half distance triathlons, an Ironman triathlon, a few half marathons and 10K runs. With his focus now on running, Luke had a 2nd place finishing position at the Mablethorpe Half Marathon in September.
Pierre Wolkonsky
To be added
Peter Zehetner
Peter is a Manager within Management Consulting in the energy business. Having completed one full marathon and about a dozen half-marathons, Peter was seeking for the next challenge. Not knowing if he will be able to finish this race, the main motivation for Peter is to participate in this adventure and to get to know other challenge-seeking people from across the world. However, it is only one out of two major highlights for him this year: Peter will also marry his fianc�e Mihaela in just a few months.
Team EEK
Team members: Dorran, Hunt, Kemp
UVU Racing Team
Team members: Wardian, Flammersfeld and Hinett