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

Dear Friend,

This is the LAST Polar Race blog posting which I personally will write on my preparations for, and experiences concerning, my wild adventure of Polar Race, the 350-mile foot-race to the geomagnetic North Pole.

STAYING INFORMED ABOUT THE RACE

We arrive in Resolute Bay in the Territory of Nunavut Canada on April 2. On that day, or soon afterwards, the Race Organizers will be issuing daily updates on the race. Our team, Roddy and myself, is called “II Magnetic”. Watch for us.

My own blog www.RaymondsBlog.com will be updated every day and an email will be sent to you every few days. So you can …

1. Wait to be sent an email from my webmaster every few days … OR
2. Go eagerly to www.RaymondsBlog.com every day in April for updates … OR
3. Go right now to www.PolarRace.com/2007/sign-up/ to get your own emails daily directly from the Race Organizers

WEATHER IN THE HIGH ARCTIC RIGHT NOW

The northernmost weather report I could find on the web was for Resolute Bay, at the official website of Environment Canada …

http://weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/nu-27_metric_e.html

You can check there at any time to get a sense of what the weather may be like for me, north of Resolute Bay. For example, today, as I write this, the temperature is a HIGH of minus 24ºC. What a great opportunity for a brisk walk.

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME IN APRIL

Send me warm and positive thoughts every day please.

WHAT I WILL BE WITHOUT

I will be without what I have just taken for granted for all my life.

No running water. No electricity. In fact, this will be the first time I will have ever been outside for a month – yikes, I likely have not been outside for more than a few days of camping in my whole life. I will be without my cellphone and laptop. Without email. Without restaurants. No airplane travel. No movies. No radio. No car. Hmmm, in my whole adult life I suspect I have never spent more than a one-week vacation not in a car. Most interesting, I will be without a nearby thermostat so that I will be living in whatever temperature happens.

No family. No friends. No recognized landmarks. No speeches. No staff. No conference calls. No clients.

This is just what I am now pre-imagining I will most notice that I am without. However, upon my return, I will tell you what I really missed. I wonder what I will miss the most.

WHAT I WILL HAVE

I will have two years of preparations – athletic, educational and psychological – with me during my race. I will have a different body versus what I had when I first enrolled two years ago.

I will be partnered with the strongest, most determined, most loyal partner a person could ever be blessed with. And, we will have a powerful bond of camaraderie, teamwork and cooperation which will not only carry us elegantly to the North Pole but also forge a deep friendship which we will share forever.

I will have world-class equipment and clothing.

I will be watched over, albeit from afar, by the Race Organizers, headed by the irrepressible Sir Jock Wishart, knighted by the Queen of England for the amazing successes and adventures he has created this lifetime.

I will have the feeling of being uplifted by the love of family, colleagues, friends and clients around the world – hopefully sending me warm and positive thoughts every day of April.

I will have my boyish enthusiasm and my total dedication and conviction with me to ensure that I keep going, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what.

I will have my Melaleuca nutritional products to keep me healthy and about 6,000 calories of food each day to keep me stoked with fuel.

I will have my tooth brush and tooth paste to ward off the ill-effects of eating chocolates and protein bars all day long as trail food during the days of racing.

I will be hauling behind me a sled loaded with about 150 pounds of tent, sleeping bags, clothing, cooking gear, food, etc.

And, I will have in my mind the mantra, which I intend to repeat over and over again: “My partner Roddy and I reach the North Pole in safety, health and high energy, with the Northern Lights dancing in celebration of our victory.”

This is what will be with me. What else could a man want? OK, I guess I could also request some good weather and wisdom in the decisions Roddy and I will be making en route.

Enjoy your April. I am sure I will too. Remember, send Roddy and me warm and positive thoughts every day of April.

Love,

Raymond

“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.

Dear Friend …

This is the 13^th posting of my Blog, documenting my training and experiences in my 350-mile root-race to the Geomagnetic North Pole, hauling a sled with all my provisions, weighing 150 pounds. The race takes place in April 2007.

GLOBAL WARMING

You may have seen Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH on Global Warming. At least, you have heard of the controversy. So, the question arises: Has Global Warming warmed the High Arctic so much that there will be insufficient ice cover for the race to proceed. Interestingly, we need sufficient cold so that we race on ice, instead of swimming. My answer is that there have been no announcements to me from the Race Organizers either canceling the race or alerting us to any dangers that may have arisen as a result of Global Warming. But, I will report back to you in May.Beginning early April, the Race Organizers will start sending updates by email to my webmaster who in turn, re-send them to you. In this way, you will be able to keep track of the progress of my team “II Magnetic”. I will then resume sending you my own comments in early May, upon my successful return.

PROGRESS OF THE RACE

For your information, my goals for Polar Race are:

MINIMUM … Get to the Starting Line in Resolute Bay

TARGET … Get to the Finish Line

OUTRAGEOUS … Win one of the four legs of the race.

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

Indeed, it is inauspicious for the first day of this adventure to be April Fool’s Day. But, be certain that this is no joke. I have been in training for two years. I have paid about US$45,000 so far to participate in this adventure. It does, though, seem funny.

Also, you may click on www.PolarRace.com to learn more about the race itself. That is the official race website. You will discover that the race is run every odd-numbered year, beginning with 2003. By the way, the entry form for the 2009 race is now posted. You can enter that race, if you wish.

Love,

Raymond

“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.

Dear Friend …

I absolutely could not do this race without you. I think of you when I am training. I think of you when I get tired. And, you spark up my enthusiasm. Knowing that you (and ten thousand others who receive my blog postings) are counting on me to finish inspires me to go on and train harder. Know also that you will be with me in the High Arctic.

NO ALCOHOL …

I made a commitment to myself on February 1, 2007 that I would abstain from all alcohol until I drink champagne at the North Pole. I don’t know if this decision will help me physiologically, but it is sure helping psychologically. That first drink, of champagne, in that outrageous setting, jumping up and down in excitement, hugging everyone in sight, laughing and congratulating, will be a sweet drink. I am savoring it already.

PERSONAL CLEANLINESS (or not) …

We do not wash or even change our underclothing for almost a month of hard exercise. Why? The temperature inside our tent, after both stoves have been going full blast, is a balmy 55F at the top of the tent (where we are not), but a scary -2F at the bottom (where we actually are). A brisk wash at -2F does not seem like a good idea. So, why not a quick clean with “wet wipes”? Because the fragrance of “wet wipes” attracts bears. So, no personal hygiene except brushing our teeth. The reason that brushing is so important is that we will be eating raisins and chocolates and other sweets all day long for a month. We will have no teeth at all left if we do not brush. The airplane ride back from the North Pole will be the first room temperature we experience in almost a month. The extreme cold somehow hides the smell of our bodies. But the warmth inside the airplane will bring it out. So, the air inside the plane on the way back gets really, really raunchy. When we return to Resolute Bay or maybe get all the way back to Ottawa, I understand that we need to sit in a sauna for hours to allow the smell to ooze out of our pores. What a weird thought.

RACE DETAILS …

The race is 350 nautical miles, divided into four Stages by three Checkpoints. Elapsed Stage times for each team are added for the four Stages to determine the winning team. Each team must wait at each Checkpoint until the last team to arrive at that Checkpoint has had 24 hours to rest.

This Polar Race is run in odd-numbered years, first in 2003 and then in 2005. This is the third running of Polar Race in 2007. See more details at www.polarrace.com. In case you are inspired to do this race, the 2009 application form is now posted on the website.

Below is the map of our route from the northernmost airport in North America, Resolute Bay, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. We are aiming for the official Geomagnetic North Pole. More details than you could ever want are shown below of the actual route and timing.

… April 1 … ARRIVE OTTAWA

I fly from Toronto to Ottawa on April 1 to meet the other competitors and the Race Organizers who will be flying from London Heathrow that day to Ottawa. We then stay in Ottawa overnight at the Lord Elgin Hotel.

… April 2 … ARRIVE RESOLUTE BAY

We fly from Ottawa to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut which is the new Territory of Canada. Then we fly onward to Resolute Bay. For the next week, the Race Organizers watch us to ensure we are ready. They test our knowledge of our equipment. We get a chance to use the different layers of our supplied clothing in the extreme cold. We get to customize all our equipment; for example, all exposed metal needs to be wrapped in duct tape to prevent injury to us in case we touch exposed metal at extremely low temperatures with our bare skin.

… April 9 … RACE STARTS

The Starter’s Gun blasts and all teams race northbound from Resolute Bay at 74 42′N 94 50′W to Checkpoint One at 75 23′.024N 96 56′.016W. This first stage is by far the shortest at only 65 miles. However, fascinatingly, it always has the greatest disparity in time between the first and last teams to finish it. Teams will finish this Stage in two to five days, but hopefully by April 13. The clock for each team begins when the gun sounds and ends when the last team member arrives at the next Checkpoint or Finish Line. All further dates shown below are contingent on the actual arrival times of the last team at each Checkpoint.

… April 14 … SECOND STAGE STARTS

This is by far the longest Stage at a whopping 130 miles. Teams leave together and will complete this Stage in five to nine days. I am particularly excited by this long Stage. Being totally isolated, with only my amazing partner Roddy, for a week of exertion and wilderness. I am so excited. So grateful. So inspired.

… April 23 … THIRD STAGE STARTS

We all race off together from Checkpoint Two towards King Christian Island, to an exact point not yet determined. It depends on where the Race Organizers can find a place to land. This Stage is 80 miles. This Stage will take three to six days.

… April 29 … RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

The final stage is relatively short at only 75 miles. It may be run as a “pursuit” meaning that teams are released with the slowest team leaving first and at intervals based on their cumulative Stage times for Stages One, Two and Three combined. The thrilling advantage of this procedure is that the first team to arrive at the North Pole is actually the winning team. The Geomagnetic North Pole is at 78 35.7′N 104 11.9′W. This Stage should take three days.

… May 2 … CELEBRATION AT THE FINISH LINE

Roddy and I will be celebrating at the North Pole on or about May 2. Depending on weather and which other teams have arrived, we stay at the North Pole until the plane wisks us back to Resolute Bay. We will not know until we arrive at the North Pole exactly how long we get to stay there.

TEAM NAME … “II MAGNETIC”

You may remember that our original team name was POLE DANCERS. As it sounded too flippant, we changed it to “II MAGNETIC”. The Roman Numeral Two is a pun meaning both TWO racers and TO the north pole. So, look for our team results under the name II MAGNETIC.

OUR PROGRESS DURING THE RACE …

In previous runnings of the race, there was an option on the official race website www.PolarRace.com to subscribe to an email service telling you each day how each team is doing. That will soon be posted so that you can subscribe to it to follow our progress.

Love,

Raymond

“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.

Dear Friend …

This is the 11th posting of my Polar Race Blog to inform you of my preparations for the upcoming Polar Race, a 350-mile foot-race to the Magnetic North Pole, hauling a 150-pound sled with all my provisions in temperatures expected to be in the range of -20º to -40º. The race is to be held in April 2007 — just a few weeks away.

And, I am prepared in TEN ways. And, the tenth one will seem weird to you. Let’s begin with the sanest ones.

ATHLETICALLY READY

I have been in training, both on my own and with a fitness coach, for two years now. I have exercised three to five times per week for all this time. My briefest exercising is a half-hour, and my longest was a 10-hour exercise when I climbed up ONE THOUSAND flights of stairs and ran all the way back down. Most usually, though, my trainings are one hour long. My fitness coach says I am ready. I’ve hauled a tire to simulate hauling the 150-pound sled with all my provisions. I have strengthened my core and my legs and my arms. I feel strong and equal to the demands about to be placed upon me and my partner Roddy next month. I’m ATHLETICALLY ready.

MEDICALLY READY

I have overcome a long list of illnesses and injuries and breakdowns and they are now all healed. Totally healed. In addition, I am soon seeing my doctor for my pre-race medical and blood work just to ensure that everything is perfect. I will also be asking my doctor for some special medication like painkillers or whatever else he recommends so that I can handle whatever hits me en route. I am MEDICALLY ready.

EMOTIONALLY READY

There are two mantras that I say over and over again inside my head. I have written one of them in a previous blog, but not the new one. Here they are. “My partner Roddy and I arrive in health and excitement at the North Pole with the Northern Lights dancing in celebration of our success !!” I have since learned that there are no Northern Lights in April; but my reply is that when Roddy and I arrive at the North Pole there will be the most spectacular display of Northern Lights in colours never before seen !!! My new mantra involves imagining that Roddy and I are a few hundred yards south of the North Pole, and we spot the Race Organizer’s tent which is the finish line and we both point to it and yell — “There it is !!”. We are EMOTIONALLY ready.

TEAMWORK READY

It is not Raymond racing to the North Pole. It is the team called “II Magnetic” which is racing. That team is comprised of Roddy and myself. Roddy is totally dedicated to teamwork and so am I. We will both do whatever is necessary, no matter what, to support each other and get safely to the finish line. We have had the least amount of time together (as compared with the other teams http://polarrace.com/2007/teams/) because we did not know each other before we registered for this race (the Race Organizers put us together as a team) and we live an ocean apart. So, we have seen each other for only two weekends. But, we chat occasionally and we are very similar in many ways. Also, we plan to really work together well in Resolute Bay for the few days after we arrive there and before the starter’s gun actually fires. We are TEAMWORK ready.

EMERGENCY READY

I have taken a first aid course just last week and Roddy was in the British Army and has therefore been extremely well trained in first aid and other emergency measures. If something comes up, that may stop another team, we are ready to elegantly handle the situation and keep going in safety and health. We are EMERGENCY ready.

COLD READY

I am ready for the extreme cold. I am not diminishing the severity of the extreme cold; I am simply stating that I am ready. For example, I never wear a coat, no matter how cold the weather. This has been my routine for my entire adult life. I just do not get cold. Also, we have been issued really high quality clothing to protect us. I recall one day I cross-country skied bare-chested because I was so hot. Further, any woman who has slept with me knows that my body is warm all the time. My feet are warm. I’m a veritable little furnace. This is a great feature to have in the extreme cold. In addition, I have reserved an industrial freezer for a few hours to acclimatize and I will be doing that later this month. My partner Roddy is able to handle the cold — I know it because he recently raced across the Himalayan Mountains and weirdly he has also raced across the full length of the Sahara Desert so I know he can handle the extremes. We are COLD ready.

DENTALLY READY

I know this sounds weird, but the Race Organizers have instructed us to have a pre-race dental check-up to ensure that we do not have a painful dental emergency that may knock us out of competition. My appointment is coming up later this month. Whatever needs doing, my dentist will do it so that I am DENTALLY ready.

ENDURANCE READY

I have always tended towards the long-distance endurance sports. I completed a 100-km foot-race (250 circuits around a 400-meter track) in 12.5 hours. I climbed up 1,000 flights of stairs and ran back down in under 10 hours, just a few months ago. I taught hundreds of marathon one-day 12-hour real estate courses and felt energized at the end. Indeed, on one occasion, where sales were too high for the room size we had for the course, I taught the entire 12-hour course all day Saturday and then re-taught the entire 12-hour course to the rest of the participants all day Sunday. I have never attempted a super-ultra-extreme adventure of this size (350 miles), but my track record seems to indicate that I will thrive in the long term nature of this challenge. Basically, my intent and my nature and my training and my commitment to my partner Roddy is that I will continue no matter what no matter what no matter what until we hug Sir Jock in extreme exuberance and celebration, at the Magnetic North Pole. Roddy has recently done extreme adventures like Ironman Triathlon, the race across the Himalayas, the race across the Sahara, etc. He is an endurance machine. We are ENDURANCE ready.

MENTALLY READY

Roddy and I have decided that we will plot our course on the map according to our strategy and will plod through that course. We will handle the weather, as it confronts us with its challenges, in the ways that we have pre-decided. We will handle how we feel by adjusting our length of travel each day. We will support each other in any way no matter what. We are confident in our equipment, in our layers of clothing, in our knowledge of GPS, first aid, etc. Basically, we are confident in ourselves whilst still respectful of the awesome powers of the wind, storms, cold, etc. We are MENTALLY ready.

PSYCHICALLY READY

OK, here is the weird one. I know a man with the most intriguing skill to “concentrate” in some way only he knows in order to identify any “blocks” which may be in the way of his clients achieving the goals they desire. He then “moves” the energy out of the way so that his clients get the goals they desire. His name is David Farkas and if you wish some energy moved, contact him at realty@farkas.com . Also, I have just hired a woman in my hometown of Toronto who spots negative thought patterns and dissolves them away so that her clients have total access to their full potential. It is a four-hour session which we will be doing on March 21. I’ll do anything to prepare for this race. I am PSYCHICALLY ready.

In summary, I am athletically ready, medically ready, emotionally ready, teamwork ready, emergency ready, cold ready, dentally ready, endurance ready, mentally ready and psychically ready. I’m ready. I’m eager. Bring it on !!

Love,

Raymond

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