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Dear Friend …

This posting is the latest in a series of postings in my Polar Race blog to document my preparations for the wild 350-mile foot-race to the North Pole in April of this year.? I will be hauling a sled with 150 pounds of my provisions in -20 degree to -40 degree temperatures. Enjoy this brief update with 8 photos. And, feel free to enjoy the freshly-revised official website of the race itself … www.PolarRace.com.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

When my friend Jan Meek (now age 62) told me she was doing this crazy Polar Race, I just signed up because it seemed wild and outrageous. The reason was, alas, no deeper than that. However, over the last two years of training and preparation, three deeper reasons (not initially know) have surfaced.

One such reason is that I am in excellent shape now and my strength is way up and my fitness level is high and my weight is down. A second reason is that my high blood pressure is now exactly normal. Exactly. I am so grateful for that side-benefit of my training. But, those two reasons have to do with me. The third, and most exciting, is that I am doing my real job this lifetime of being a model for other, an inspiration for others. No, I do not want anyone to register for a Polar Race. But, my thousands of clients around the world are seeing me prepare for a huge challenge. Many of my clients have told me how they are inspired by what I am doing and have resolved to clean up issues in their lives and do activities in their lives which they had been procrastinating. The truth is that many of my clients have also said that I am crazy and are totally ignoring my adventure. But, for those whom I am inspiring, I am grateful for whatever benefit they get by what they perceive as my leadership. And, if you read the comments that people are leaving, comments which you can read at the bottom of each posting, you will see very positive and uplifting comments.

CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY

Friends, clients, staff and family have expressed concern for my safety, particularly at my age. So, it is time to address this issue. Is it dangerous? YES. The dangers are extreme cold, polar bears, high winds, extremely dry climate causing dehydration, extreme distance of 350 miles, extreme remoteness, the possibility of injuries, and likely many others too.

But, friends, nothing worthwhile is easy. Nothing outrageous can be achieved without risk.

The Race Organizers are deeply devoted to our safety. There have been training sessions which Roddy, my partner, has attended. I have attended two of them. We have the highest quality clothing to protect us. Also, twice a day, during the Race, the Race Organizers contact us by satellite phone to get our location, and an update on our health and weather. So, we are in touch even though we are remote.

In addition, there are three checkpoints along the way so that each leg is in the 60-mile to 140-mile range. We see the Race Organizers and the Race Doctor at every check-point.

And, in addition to all that, we spend several days at Resolute Bay, the northernmost airport in North America, after arrival there and before the gun goes off. During that time, we will be checking and re-checking our equipment, practicing erecting and tearing down our tent in the extreme cold, practicing cooking and eating and making water inside our tent, testing our clothing in the extreme cold and going on a mini-march to ensure that we are ready for the big Race. Though it may sound a bit crude, I am also looking forward to practicing eliminating in the extreme cold. I’ve got to learn how to “pee” and “poop” really really quickly as there is no part of my body involved in those activities which I would like to lose through frostbite.

The Race Organizers are deeply committed to our success and safety. I hope I have alleviated some of your worries.

SITTING IN A DEEP FREEZER

My Executive Assistant Denise has found an industrial deep freezer for me to sit in, wearing my race clothing. If there is enough room, I also plan to erect and tear down my tent several times. My only concern is that industrial deep freezers for storing meat are typically kept at -14 degrees and that is nowhere near cold enough to really test my clothing. But, it’s a start and should be loads of fun. Without needing to prepare for this Race, I would never have the experience of sitting in an industrial deep freezer. What a loss that would have been in my life !!

TRAINING SESSION IN ENGLAND

Last month I attended my second training session in England.? I am a Canadian and the North Pole is in Canada (much to the surprise of most Americans), so why is the training in England? The answer is that wild explorations are in the blood of the Brits. And, it is a Brit — Sir Jock — who has created this Race. So, I go there for the training.

Roddy and I drove several hours from London’s Heathrow Airport into Wales and camped in a soaking wet rain-drenched field for one night.

One charming aspect of this experience is that we camped beside Ogmore Castle. We sure don’t have many castles in North America so it was delightful to have this as our neighbour as we camped.

They marched us to the biggest sand dune in the United Kingdom. It is roughly a half a football field long and it rises about 50 feet. They tied four of us together, so we had to work as a team, and we had to get to the top as fast as we could and then race back down. Seem easy. Let me fill you in. Racing to the top of a sand dune is really tough work, sliding back with every step taken. At the top, our hearts were pounding. We then turn around and begin our descent. Gravity pulls us forward and our feet slide downhill an additional foot or so with every foot placement. So, though our hearts are pounding and our legs are rubbery, the descent is faster than we can actually achieve on our own because of the pull of gravity and the ‘give’ of the sand. Two people collapsed exhausted at the end, one Race Organizer (actually Sir Jock’s own son) and one of the competitors. I did it three times.

This is a photo of me racing down the dune. I am second from the right. Sir Jock’s son is on the far left. You can just barely see the rope which ties us together.

Next is a photo of my friend Jan preparing to begin her ascent of the dune. She is on the far right. You can easily see the rope in this shot.

Then we did an orienteering exercise, using our GPS gadgets and hauling a sled in the rain over sand hauling 50 pounds of weight on our sled. I had far more difficulty with that than I imagined and it acted as a huge wake-up call for me. Since then I have been working on my speed and endurance. I have switched my exercising from stairclimbing to a cross-trainer in the gym. It is a machine that simulates cross-country skiing so that I get my arms and legs accustomed to the actually activities I will be doing in the Race.

Here is a picture of me hauling sand in my sled preparing for the orienteering trip.

My partner Roddy is the man behind me chatting with the girl and working on his GPS gadget.

At the end of this grueling weekend of training, we all marched back to Ogmore Castle. Only one problem. The water level had risen considerably because of all the rain over the weekend and our way back (over the boulders) was no longer available. The boulders were now well under water. I walked a ways upstream and crossed a foot bridge. But, Jan and her team were so eager to finish the day that they just kept walking right into the fast-flowing very-cold river and emerged soaking wet but happy.

After our huge weekend of training, we gladly accepted the Race Organizers’ offer of a pub dinner and good local ale. You can see my partner Roddy and my friend Jan sitting together.

And, I got to know Roddy a lot better on this trip and as a bonus I got to know his wife Nicky and delightful daughter Georgina.

The scratch on his nose was NOT from wresting polar bears.

THANK YOU

I intend this to be one of the most visually exciting and most athletically challenging and most awe inspiring experience of my life. I am keen to do this and I am pumped — in body and mind. I will get to the starting line and my partner Roddy and I — The Pole Dancers — will get to the finish point. In excellent health. With the Northern Lights dancing in celebration of our success.

Thank you for joining me in spirit. Your support inspires me.

Love,

Raymond, A Pole Dancer

“Bite off more than you can chew, then chew like crazy !”

You may make whatever comments you wish by simply clicking on the “comments” link below.

You may make whatever comments you wish by simply clicking on the “comments” link below.

Welcome to 2007. This year may mean many things to you; but to me it means that I am actually in the calendar year of my High Arctic adventure.

SADNESS

About a month ago, I received some very sad news. I took it hard and have been feeling down for all of December. I have tried to go into my grief and get through it. I have tried to avoid it by superimposing ‘happy’ on top of it – a silly approach but one I tried anyway.

How has this sadness affected me?

In my professional life, I have been barely present at important meetings and two of my speeches suffered badly.

In my Polar Race training, the negative impact has been considerable and measurable. You will recall that, to get ready for hauling a 150-pound sled across 350 miles of ice, I decided to walk UP flights of stairs and then run back down. I reasoned that the extra energy of walking UP would be like hauling a sled on the level. My training had progressed so well that I was able to make my MINIMUM exercise 300 flights of stairs up and then run back down.

In December, I was forced to lower my minimum to only 100 flights because I just could not do 300 any more – and I still struggled even to do just the 100.

I have always done 100 flights up and down in well under 40 minutes. Indeed, my record set in November was 32 minutes. In December, I completed 100 flights up and down in a snail’s pace 55 minutes – including many pauses and lots of panting.

Thankfully, my sadness is ebbing and the evidence shows it.

In the final days of December, I did 100 flights up and down in 36 minutes – well under the benchmark 40 minutes. So, it seems I am getting back into the flow.

ENGLAND

The first weekend of the year will find me in Wales for a mandatory Polar Race educational and experiential training session. I am so excited. I take the red-eye from Toronto to London Heathrow Thursday night arriving Friday morning. My Polar Race partner, Roddy, will pick me at the airport and we drive the several hours to the training site.

It’s so fascinating because the driving instructions include such directions as “turn at Oswold Castle”. We don’t have castles in North America. Yet, in the United Kingdom, they are simply part of everyday directions!

This is going to be a rigorous 2-day weekend in which we get our first taste of what the Polar Race itself is like. We will be wearing our real race clothing and we will be doing a mini-trip including cooking and setting camp and breaking camp. We have not been given much detail about this weekend because I think that the Race Organizers want us to surprise us.

Also, my partner Roddy has raised the stakes of fear by hinting to me that we will be asked to jump naked into the ocean in January. Maybe he is just scaring me. Or, maybe the Race Organizers want to scare us. Or maybe it will really happen – just to see if we are prepared to face extreme cold.

Oh, well. I am sure the Race Organizers know that it is better to weed out those who are unwilling or unready or unprepared as early as possible. I am going to succeed at whatever they throw at me. I am ready and I will succeed.

Roddy and I are going to have hours in the car together between the airport and the training grounds on Friday and between the training grounds and his home on Sunday evening. We will have lots to plot and strategize about. He has done several extreme adventures and I am keen to capitalize on his knowledge.

REAL FUR

My seamstress is just completing sewing my parka hood to the parka. Why? Because in the last running of this race, the wind was so extremely high that it ripped the parka hoods off two the competitor’s parkas. So, the Race Organizers have now suggested that we have our hoods sewn on

Also, I bought a real fur foxtail boa on eBay and I have asked her to sew it on the front of my parka hood. Though it is politically incorrect to use real fur, the reality is that fake fur clumps in the wet and cold and provides insufficient warmth. This foxtail sewn around the front of my parka hood will create a shallow cavern of warmth, protected from wind in front of my face.

I’ll send you a photo in my next posting so that you see what it’s like. Also, I’ll send some photos from the training in England.

THANK YOU

I wish to end this message with a sincere ‘thank you’ so that you know how you are helping me. When I am having some lethargy in getting up the excitement to get off my chair and get out to train, or when I am training and it’s tough – at such times I think of you. I think of the commitment I have made to myself, and to my partner Roddy – and to you. You give me the courage to keep going and the strength to put out the extra energy when it’s tough going. I write to you to involve you and to further and further commit me to this absurd adventure. The wonderful experiences I have from I leave the starting line and up to the time I arrive at the finish line will be because of the love and support and self-imposed pressure I feel from you to do this adventure and succeed. So, thank you deeply for helping me.

You may make whatever comments you wish by simply clicking on the “comments” link below.