Steve’s mentally chilled for the great ice run

POLAR bears and temperatures of minus 40C are some of the challenges a superhero teacher will face when he takes on his toughest charity mission yet.

While other people are polishing off the last of their Easter eggs, Steve Hill will be running the North Pole marathon.

The deputy head teacher at St Joseph’s Primary School, Shaw flies out to Oslo and then Svalbard — an island off the north coast of Norway — on April 5.

He will then spend two nights in the Arctic Circle where he will complete the gruelling 26.2 miles — described as the world’s coolest marathon.

“I thought long and hard about doing it. I will really be pushing my boundaries but it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Steve.

“The three things I always wanted to do as a child were climb Mount Everest and go to the North and South poles.”

The North Pole marathon will be the ninth charity challenge Steve has done as part the annual fundraising efforts by his Year Six classes which have raised more than £50,000 for a range of charities.

He has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc and Mount Elbrus, trekked through the Sahara Desert and the jungles of Borneo and driven a team of huskies in the Arctic.

Last year he trekked to Everest base camp before competing in the world’s highest marathon and said: “I won’t have the extreme altitude this year. Frostbite and hypothermia will be the main problems and the conditions underfoot. There will also be guards to deal with any polar bears.”

Steve hopes to complete the marathon in under 10 hours and recently did the Tough Guy Challenge — an obstacle course which includes barbed wire and flames — as part of his training and fundraising.

He also has to fit in a visit to Buckingham Palace into his busy schedule as he receives his MBE for services to education on Thursday next week.

And while other people are training in walk-in fridges, he added: “I’ve not got that opportunity so I am just running four or five times a week.

“I am trying to get my fitness up but you have also got to be mentally ready. You can be the fittest person in the world, but you won’t succeed if you are not mentally ready.”

Pupils are having a competition to design a flag for him to take to the icy wilderness and they are also planning a range of other fundraising events from a car wash to a fancy dress run.

This year they are supporting: the Multiple Sclerosis Society; the still birth and neonatal death charity Sands; the Royal Oldham Hospital’s special care baby unit; British Heart Foundation and a defibrillator for the school.

Steve will be back in school the day after he returns from his adventure and he added: “It’s a bit mad. The head has offered me the day off if I need it but I’ll be in and sharing my experience with all the pupils.”


To sponsor Steve visit www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Hill07