Six South African athletes took on an incredible challenge: racing 230km around the Arctic Circle in just five days!
South Africa (02 April 2024) — Earlier this year, six South African athletes participated in The Beyond Ultimate Ice Ultra in Sweden. They faced days of freezing temperatures and pushed their limits. We spoke to each of the athletes to find out how they embraced this epic challenge.
Andre Erasmus, Cordi van Niekerk, Nick Denoon-Stevens, Paul Venter, Robin Kelly and Tarryn Gordon-Bennett each flew the South African flag high at the event. They worked as a team to prepare for the event and continued to support each other through the gruelling five-day trek across the Arctic.
The Beyond Ultimate series includes the Desert Ultra, Ice Ultra, Jungle Ultra and Mountain Ultra. Being South Africans, the group had never experienced cold and snow like they encountered. No matter how much they prepared, whether wearing snow shoes on thick beach sand or wading through the tall grass at Delta Park, encountering an environment of these cold extremes was totally out of the norm for a South African. Despite the challenges, each of the athletes finished the race!
The five day race was broken down into day one – 50km, day two – 43km, day three – 42km, day four – 64km and day five – 15km. Day 4 was the most brutal, with the group each having faced a blizzard on day three and then preparing for the longest distance on day four while facing a time cut-off at 50km. Thankfully they all made it!
Preparing for Ice Ultra
Preparation was key to their success. Nick shared that the team’s preparations started about a year before the actual event so they could make sure they were at peak fitness. While they prepped and planned together, they each competed as individuals. Much of their training was done as individuals too, but they took a few trips together to run and race when they could. The group was split between Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Robin includes that they split their focus into four key areas, namely 1. Gear, 2. Training, 3. Nutrition and 4. Logistics.
Nick went on to share that they did kit testing in a -20 degree celsius fridge, wanting to check that each of their gloves would be sufficient for the arctic cold, however, because the freezer was so small, they couldn’t walk or run. That test happened just days before they started the Ice Ultra.
“It really helped as a team, we prepared as a team. So the whole way through, the team of six of us, shared our different knowledge” – Nick Denoon-Stevens
Paul also chimed in, that being South Africans, most of their prep was theoretical. They researched and studied as much as they could. Even going so far as to interview and have Zoom calls with previous winners and contestants.
“Living in South Africa much of the preparation for the cold weather was a theoretical exercise – lots of homework about best clothing to wear – reading and discussions with previous participants in the event (the organisers are very supportive in this regard and will assist new participants to get in touch with participants from prior years).” – Paul Venter
While fitness is vital for an event like this, the group’s biggest prep focus was food and nutrition. Having energy to stay warm and keep moving comes from nutrition-dense foods, and they pretty much got this done by getting scientific. With the help of challenge-ready nutritionists, they began testing all the options.
Each athlete tested various combinations of carb and fat-dense foods and reported back. They had spreadsheets detailing everything needed and which local foods would be the best fuel. Each athlete is responsible for their own food, which is carried with them in their pack. To test their foods, they left them in the freezer for 24 hours, and then that would show if they were still edible in that state. Some foods were not edible when frozen, too tough or brittle to be efficient.
Even with all the food planning, challenges arose. For Andre, it turned out to be a packing issue. He couldn’t fit all his food in his pack but thankfully, as he had nutrient-dense foods, he managed with what could fit in his pack.
“In the end, I could not get all the food I planned to take in my pack, so I needed to reduce it, in the end it worked out to be perfect.” – Andre Erasmus
Tarryn on the other hand, ran out of food on day four, a day which proved to be a challenge for each competitor. She made it through to the end of the day but it was her toughest!
“Since you burn calories at a fast rate no matter what you do (it’s that cold) we worked on 4000 calories per day split by pre-start, during event, and recovery” – Robin Kelly
Getting Kit for Sweden
Logistics is where Robin really got stuck into helping the group. He was the group’s ultimate kit guy, helping get things from Sweden to South Africa, namely a kit that could withstand -40 degrees Celsius weather. Weather-appropriate clothing for those temperatures is not readily available in South Africa, so the group got creative!
Thanks to speaking with previous participants, the group were able to purchase all their snow shoes from the competitors.
“The race organisers gave some guidelines and minimum requirements, but it was not specific to nail it down to this pair of running trousers, that type of 2nd layer etc., so many hours went into researching this online and sharing ideas between us and then ordering.
There was also quite a bit of last minute shopping in Sweden when we got to Lulea and Gallivare for some items that we still needed.” – Andre Erusmas
Robin shared that there were lots of things needed and it wasn’t so simple getting these things. He even tried a ski-resort while in France and came up empty.
“Essentially, we have to wear 3 layers and have an emergency 4th should we encounter a blizzard or conditions drop below -20. We also needed to have Medical kit, and since the race is self-sustained, you have to carry what you take, and this includes a compass, surgical equipment, bivvy and blizzard bags, glow sticks, torches, etc – in the event of an emergency, you have a GPS tracker, but it takes time for the medical unit to get to you, and in extremely bad conditions, extreme things can happen in minutes.
In the end, I took a trip to Sweden in Dec and managed to get a lot of the things we needed as a team – yes, I was the gear mule :-)” – Robin Kelly
Highlights of the event?
Everyone had one common highlight from the trip; seeing the Northern Lights! They got lucky, before setting off on the 5 day trek, they were woken up at 11pm and got to watch as the lights danced across the sky. Another common comment was having total silence; the snow absorbs all sound… well, almost all sound. Paul recalls how the lake they were on, on day three, cracked in the distance and it sounded like a gunshot.
“As a South African, seeing snow fall is always special to me. I recall one evening, walking along (legs were too tired to run in the soft snow), while these big snow flakes were fluttering through the air into the beam of my headlamp.” – Paul Venter
With such an accomplishment, how can one be expected to pick one thing? The feelings of pride and joy were common amongst the group as was the feeling of strength having been able to push through.
“I felt completely cleansed. The self-accomplishemt after an event that big, the feeling is amazing. Being able to understand what your body is capable of, what your mind is capable of. Considering I had a really tough day four, it’s unbelievable what the body and mind can do. I finished feeling very strong, very positive, I had a sense of calmness and I really feel content. It is the most amazing event but extremely brutal and undoubtedly the biggest challenge I have ever taken on” – Tarryn Gordon-Bennett
For Nick it was having the time alone in the arctic – the silence and the beauty of the snow covered landscape. He explained that gratitude played a powerful role in his experience, knowing he was strong enough and able to take on the challenge, brought him great personal joy.
For Cordi, making the 50km cut-off on day 4 was a highlight. Day 4 was a challenge for every athlete as it was the longest, with each needing to complete 64km.
“Making the 50km cutoff point on day 4 (had to be there by 8pm after starting at 6:30) the day took 17 hours and 7 min to complete” – Cordi van Niekerk
Advice for South Africans Wanting to Join The Beyond Ultimate
As an event like this cannot be undertaken alone, we asked the group what advice they have for people wanting to take on the Ice Ultra (or any of the events under The Beyond Ultimate umbrella and beyond).
“Enter! (Any event that will make you stop and think this is a little crazy – this means different things to different people) it will shape your frame of reference
80% of success is in your mind. Both MDS and this event is about making a decision not to give up, not that the small things must derail you. It’s a lot more of a slog than a run if you are at the rear if the event – its doable!” – Cordi van Niekerk
Fitness is vitally important and it can be worked on long before entering any kind of race or sporting event.
“Focus on what you can control. Do your homework for the rest, but don’t stress about things you can’t control (i.e. training in the cold in SA).
The one thing you can control, regardless of where in the world you’re based is your fitness. Make sure you are fit enough going into the run as the route and environment will throw enough challenges at you without having to worry about fitness.” – Paul Venter
If you get your fitness and your gear sorted, you are practically there. The next step is to get the mental strength built up.
“Mentally you have to train yourself to endure long hours of hard work, and all the things your mind will wander with.” – Robin Kelly
Robin goes on to encourage future participants to connect with as many people as possible to work through all the potential hiccups.
“Connect with the organisers and get in touch with previous participants to develop a relationship with the event long in advance. This will save you a lot of stress, give you succinct insight, save you money, and prepare you for the circumstances when you encounter them.” – Robin Kelly
Another thing the group all agreed on, is doing the event with friends makes it all so much better!
One of the takeaways was that the Sami people, who call Lapland home, are really proud of their heritage. They are passionate about their part of the world and their way of living. To make sure the event runs well, they provide the logistical support on the route, without which the event would not be possible.
The best part was that all the South Africans that entered, finished the race. Tarryn went on to win the female title, being the first woman to cross the finish line!
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