CHARITIES
THE ICE ULTRA FOR HORATIO’S GARDEN Jack Folkestone (2012, E) Upon finishing the Marathon des Sables in 2021, I thought that it may be wise to hang the running trainers up for a little while and potentially take up a less arduous hobby. However, such is the running ‘bug’ that having taken on the heat of the desert, I set my sights this time on the cold of the Arctic Circle. The Ice Ultra in its 9th iteration is a 230km footrace across the Northern arena of Lapland, Sweden, taking on the golden abyss of arctic temperatures as low as -50 degrees. The Beyond the Ultimate race challenges all competitors to run across snowfields, arctic tundra, frozen lakes and much more in the race for the finish. Below, I will try my best to recount the days as it happened throughout the race and most importantly explain the amazing cause I was running for, Horatio’s Garden. The first, and logistically most challenging, task was managing to get to the start of the race. The runners made the long journey up to northern Sweden to the small town of Gallivare, a town where a snow shovel was a must, and my pronunciation of the town’s name certainly gave the locals something to laugh about. From here, we set off in pursuit of the start line at the Mountain Centre at Stora Sjöfallets, where we had a rigorous kit check of all the essentials, from blizzard bags to thermal insoles; it was not the best place to forget to pack warm things. Our first night was undoubtedly a wake up for all the senses, sleeping atop reindeer skins which had a hearty smell, and
Competitors at the finish line.
out on the snow in teepees. Needless to say, I have had better nights’ sleep, and hoped that the rest of the camps were not quite as cold.
Day One
The team set out with a flat section of easy running to lure the runners into a false sense of security, until we got to the UNESCO world heritage area of Laponia. Before long, we were climbing up to a high plateau with our snow shoes, where we started to be exposed to the elements. Crossing the first frozen lake of the race I stood, for the first of many times, with nothing but a layer of ice between me and the deep, bone-chilling water. The first day was 60km long excluding the elevation gain and it was certainly a relief descending through the thick pine forest to the hunters’ cabins at Aktse: our camping spot for the night.
Day Two
After the gentle conditions of day one, we set off on day two with a certain sense of optimism. This stage, known as ‘The Climb’ or ‘Kabla’, required us to make a steep climb up Mount Kabla. However, our optimism was short lived as we summitted and found ourselves at the mercy of the wind and snow. These battered us during our climb, with temperatures plummeting to -50 degrees and winds flailing. The Sami tribesmen and race directors even struggled in the comfort of their teepees. Fortunately, with the help of some of the fellow runners’ supportive group mentality, I found myself two stages down after the 44km ‘Kabla’ stage, and needed to 72
the old radleian 2023
