Mark

Andresen

united states

Completed five marathons over the past three years since taking up running at age 38. Mark has also taken part in shorter competitive runs, including the 198 mile Hood to Coast team relay, and his long term goal is to complete a marathon on all 7 continents. The owner of a technology consulting company in Kansas City, Mark used his Antarctic run to raise money for the Leukemia Society in honour of his father who recently passed away from Leukemia.

Peter

Bell

ireland

Enjoyed a running career consisting mainly of middle distance, road and cross country events. During the past ten years, however, Peter has concentrated on fell running (competing in mountain events at all distances) and marathons. Having successfully run the North Pole Marathon in April 2007, the 52-year old's goal is now to achieve the Marathon Grand Slam by additionally running a marathon on the seven continents.

Marc

De Keyser

belgium

A marathoner and Antarctic enthusiast who worked as weather foecaster at Patriot Hills for the 'summer' season from November 2007 - January 2008. Marc won the 2007 Antartcic Ice Marathon in a new record time of 4:42:32. Marc ran his first marathon in 1993, the Marathon of the Golden Spurs, in native Belgium. He has since run 53 others. Marc has also spent two summer seasons in Rothera, the Research Base of the Britsh Antarctic Survey on the Antarctic Peninsula. He tried to stay fit by running laps on the runway. His love of Antarctica and running made the 43-year-old a perfect candidate for the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

Bernardo

Fonseca

brazil

A 30-year old Sports Marketing Manager with 15 years experience of triathlons and adventure racing. Although a multi-disciplinary sportsman who has practiced marathons, Ironman triathlons, biking, climbing, paddling, surfing and skating, Bernardo spent four months concentrating specifically on training for the Antarctic. He ran six times a week, sometimes twice a day, and took part in several ultramarathons in Brazil. Bernardo even travelled to Argentina to train because his native Brazil does not have cold weather, and he also simulated the cold condiitons by running inside a big freezer.

Henri

Girault

france

Completed 560 official races of 100km since he was 43 years old, having done no sport before that age. Henri is now 71-years old, a legend in the ultrarunning community, and hoped to become the first person to run an official 100km on all seven continents. Hid didn't finish the Antarctic 100km on this occasion, but successfully finished the marathon distance. At the beginning of his running career, Henri ran half-marathons and marathons before finally finding his preferred distance of 100km. He set a PB of 9:15 in 1988.

James

Heddle

great britain

A mountaineering background with more than twenty 4,000m peaks climbed across three continents. James' running experience includes finishing the 2005 London Marathon and he has also run several 10ks and half-marathons, fell runs and even duathlons and triathlons. His training for the Antarctic Ice Marathon involved cross country military runs, half-marathons, summiting Mont Blanc, cycling from Paris to London as well as yomping and cycle races on the Surrey Hills and South Downs. The 32-year-old jumped at the opportunity to test himself in a continent so few people get to visit. He and his two HSBC bank colleagues, Fredrik Nerbrand and Neil Standring, raisied funds for HSBC's favoured charity, www.greenhouseschools.org.

Susan

Holliday

great britain

First female to complete the Antarctic 100km. Previosuly completed 17 marathons including 4 x London, Berlin, Rome, Lisbon, Paris, & Madrid. In addition, Sue also completed Beachy Head, The Neolithic cross country marathon (3 times) and of course the North Pole Marathon, which she won in 2007. She has also finished the Marathon des Sables, the Three Peaks Challenge (3 times) and survived the winter Tough Guy.

Don

Kern

united states

The Antarctic Ice Marathon was the final race in an effort to run marathons on all seven continents in just under 25 days for a new Guinness World Record. Unfortunately, weather delays made it an unsuccessful attempt. Don has run 149 marathons (Antarctica will be 156) or longer races, including running all 50 states, and all seven continents twice so far. In February/March 2007, he ran marathons on all seven continents in 35 days. Don is the race director of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon.

Mike

Ketchmark

united states

Completed 30 marathons with Antarctica being the fourth continent in a quest to run on all seven. Mike was joined in the Antarctic by his friend Mark Andresen. The two men, who have been friends since college, used their participation in the race to raise money for the non-profit Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of Mark's father, who died earlier in the year after an eight-year battle with cancer. In addition to running, the Kansas-city based attorney enjoys mountain climbing.

Gavin

Melgaard

austria

A keen outdoor enthusiast who enjoys various activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, adventure racing, canyoning and hiking. In addition to the 2007 Antartcic Ice Marathon, Gavin also completed the 2006 race. He has travelled to over sixty-five countries, visiting each continent several times. He worked at Patriot Hills for Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions from November 2007 through January 2008.

Fredrik

Nerbrand

sweden

Made his debut at the marathon distance in the Antarctic Ice Marathon, although he was always an active individual who likes mountain climbing, cross-country skiing and swimming. Although Fredrik has always wanted to run a marathon, the big city marathons never motivated him enough to do all the necessary training. However, it only took three seconds for him to decide upon participating in the Ice Marathon where he joined HSBC bank colleagues James Heddle and Neil Standring on the frozen continent.

Seow Kong

Ng

malaysia

Ran 38 marathons in more than 17 countries + North Pole. Of the more adventurous marathons, Seow Kong has run the North Pole Marathon in April 2007, Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon in Nepal in May 2006 (starting from the base camp at 5300 metres altitude) and the Great Wall Marathon in China in May 2005. Seow Kong's goal is to join the Marathon Grand Slam Club (marathons on all continents + North Pole Marathon), to run at least 50 marathons, including the top 10 marathons in the world, and also a marathon in the Sahara Desert. He has been living in China for the last 14 years.

Toshio

Ohmori

japan

The Antarctic was marathon number 135 for this 67-year old, who ran his first marathon in Melbourne in 1987 at the age of 47. In addition to his 135 marathons, Toshio has run a similar number of ultramarathon distances. For the past couple of years, he has developed an interest in desert and mountain races in particular. Having worked for a Swedish company for over 30 years, Toshio retired at the age of 61.

Raj

Patel

great britain

india

A 21-year old intent on setting a Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to run marathons on all seven continents. The Antarctic Ice Marathon was only his second marathon, having run his first in London in 2004 (3:22). Raj ran regularly since then in local competitions, trying to build up strength off road. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Birmingham in June 2007, and deferred a graduate offer from the London School of Economics. In his year off, Raj aims to complete marathons on all seven continents and raise money for his local children's hospice, Ian Rennie Children's Hospice, in the process.

Mark

Scanlon

ireland

A 24-year-old who ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven months. Mark ran the San Francisco Marathon (USA), Longford Marathon (Ireland), Sydney Marathon (Australia), Nairobi Marathon (Kenya) and the Buenos Aires Marathon (Argentina). Following the Antarctic Ice Marathon, he ran the Munbai Marathon (India) to complete his challenge in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Christian

Schiester

austria

A top international adventure athlete, Christian won the 2007 Antarctic 100km in a time of 19:58:14. Christian had previously won the Himalayan 100-mile stage race in record time (14:43), finished third in the Jungle Marathon 200km (Brazilian Amazon) and among the top 12 in the legendary Marathon des Sables (Sahara Desert). Although a specialist in adventure racing, Christian also has a marathon PB of 2:29:07 and was two-time Austrian champion at mountain and cross-running. He targeted the 100km event only in the Antarctic.

Adriano

Seabra

brazil

Ten years experience in endurance sports, although climbing and trekking since 14 years of age. The 35-year-old has taken part in ironman triathlons, marathons, adventure races, open water swimming and mountain biking. Additionally, Adriano volunteered for high-mountain rescue with the Mexican red cross during the four years he lived in that country.

Neil

Standring

great britain

Recently converted to triathlons having formerly been a soccer player for 20 years. Neil completed his first Ironman this summer, successfully negotiating the tough 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and full marathon run at the UK Ironman triathlon. Along with his HSBC bank colleagues, James Heddle and Fredrik Nerbrand, he ran the Antarctic Ice Marathon in support of the Greenhouse Schools Project, a London charity dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised children. To prepare themselves for the Antarctic conditions, they were given exclusive use of the Ice Station Antarctica exhibition at the famous Natural History Museum in London. The exhibition includes a freezer capsule where temperatures can be dropped to -30C.

William

Tan

singapore

Paralympic athlete who succeeded in becoming the first person in a wheelchair to complete a marathon on all seven continents, thereby setting a Guiness World Record in the process. A neuroscientist and medical doctor, William contracted polio at the age of two and it resulted in his paralysis from the waist down. Earlier this year, he showed remakable courage and determination to complete a marathon on the snow-covered landing runway at the North Pole, taking some 21 hours in temperatures of -25c to do so. William, who has raised over $10 million for chairites via various physical endeavours, sets high standards for himself, in his life as an athlete, as an educator, as a professional healer and researcher, and as a person who believes in making a difference in the lives of others. He dedicated his seven continents challenge to his father-in-law and to little Jessica Doktor, who had both recently died from cancer.

Brent

Weigner

united states

Completed over 150 marathons and ultramarathons around the world, including in the Arctic and Antarctic. Brent won the senior men's title at the 2003 and 2005 United States National Snowshoe Championships and has completed ultramarathons on all 7 continents in the shortest period of time, 267 days. He has served as a race consultant to many of the world's top adventure travel companies and has been race director for the Wyoming Marathon races for the past 30 years. A geography teacher and cross-country coach at McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Brent served as race director on location for the 2007 Antarcic Ice Marathon races and completed the marathon race.