Chesterfield runner set to brave freezing temperatures as he takes on Arctic Circle ultra marathon - for Ashgate Hospice

Next month Dave Benison, 49, from Chesterfield, is set to travel into the Arctic Circle to compete in Beyond the Ultimate’s Ice Ultra marathon.

He will brave a five-day 230-kilometre run across snowfields, Arctic tundra and frozen lakes in Swedish Lapland where day temperatures in February can drop to as low as -40°C to raise funds for Chesterfield’s Ashgate Hospice.

Dave will set off on February 14, with the journey to the Arctic Circle set to take four days. The race will start on Tuesday, February 18 with a 30-mile run, followed by two marathons on Wednesday and Thursday. He will take on a 45-mile long run on Friday, before completing the challenge with 15 kilometre ‘sprint’ on the final day.

Ice Ultra is the third ultra-marathon that Dave is set to take on to raise funds for Ashgate Hospice – after he completed five-day runs across the Sahara Desert and Amazon Rainforest.

Dave said: “Ashgate is an awesome charity and it’s superb what they do. You can talk to anybody in Chesterfield and they will know someone who has received help from Ashgate – whether it’s been the end-of-life care or just a bit of support for carers.”

During the 2023 jungle marathon, Dave was joined by his close friend Carl Bamford, whose mum received end-of-life care at Ashgate. The pair braved ‘unbearable’ heat and humidity as well as challenging terrain raising almost £5 000 for the hospice. But this time Dave is set to take on the ultra marathon solo – after a couple of injuries have prevented Carl from joining him.

To prepare for the difficult conditions, Dave has been taking regular trips to Mablethorpe to practice running on a sandy beach and try out special equipment – including shoes with rackets.

He added: “I’ve never tried running in conditions like this before, the coldest temperature I’ve ever run was around -10 so it’s hard to know what to expect.

"The British weather has been kind to me lately and I’ve been able to try some kits out in the snow, which I couldn’t do with the jungle because I couldn’t recreate the Amazon Forest humidity.

“While you can expect temperatures up to -40°C at this time of the year in the Arctic Circle, I did look at the weather forecast and it’s meant to be around -20°C so it doesn’t seem too bad.

"The weather will be definitely a challenge and I will be running with all food for the week and equipment in my backpack like in the previous ultra marathons – which will weigh about 10 to 12 kilograms at the start.

"It will be an achievement for me to finish this run after completing the jungle and desert marathons and I hope I can raise as much as possible for Ashgate.

"The Desert Ultra raised £2700, the Amazon Jungle Ultra raised £4900 and I am currently on £1360 for the Arctic Ultra. Fingers crossed that I’ll be able to break the £10,000 combined total with this one.”