Hip Hip Hooray!
Corin helps athlete into record books
A big big thank you from the North Pole
Marathon Team
Many of you will already know that we all
finished the race safe and sound with all our fingers, toes
and noses intact, had an amazing time, and raised
a substantial amount for the charities.
There were 44 entrants to the race, The official race
results, which you can also look up on
www.npmarathon.com, are:
Rob came in 8th place, running like
the wind blows
Sean in his tracer came in 10th
Me with my bionic hip can in 22nd
place in just under 6 hours
The great news is that we came in
first in the team event, each one of us beating all the
other team competitor's times and positions!
The most amazing news to report is that we
have raised an enormous amount of money for our chosen
charities. It is difficult to give a full and final figure,
as there are things like gift aid, appeals, and some appeal
publicity is still going on. However, currently we know we
have raised in the region of £42,000.
I want to say a personal thank you to you
all for your generosity and fantastic support - it has meant
a tremendous amount to me. I know that The Royal Star and
Garter, and the Stroke Association survive on the kindness
of us all and I am sure that the sponsorship money will help
so many people who are less fortunate than me.
Thank you
Army instructor Steve Boswell is
celebrating a double success today after he became the first man
in the world with two hip replacements to complete the North
Pole Marathon – and took the coveted gold medal in the team
event.
His achievement crowns a remarkable recovery. Just 12 months ago
he underwent major surgery to have his right hip resurfaced. A
year earlier he had similar surgery to his left hip.
Steve, 39, from Lichfield, had to run ten laps of an amazingly
scenic and challenging circuit through spectacular ice hillocks
and vast expanses of white ice floes to complete the 26.2 mile
distance. In -250C conditions he completed the full distance in
just under six hours. Team mates and brothers Rob and Sean
Greaves finished 8th and 10th respectively for a combined team
gold medal in a time of 15 hours, 33 minutes and 26 seconds –
almost an hour ahead of the next team.
The North Pole Marathon, first completed in 2002, is run on
four-metre thick drifting ice floes between 89N and 90N in the
high Artic Ocean. The circuit is carefully marked out by expert
organisers, with the finishing line lying on the ceremonial Pole
where all the lines of longitude symbolically meet.
This year 41 competitors from 22 nations competed. They were
flown from Oslo, Norway to Spritbergen, the most northerly
inhabited island in the world, before being flown to the ice cap
where the event took place on April 6th.
Irishman Thomas Maguire took first place in the annual race in
which more than 40 competitors from 22 countries took part,
finishing the race in a new record time of 3 hours 36 minutes.
Great Britain’s Susan Holliday won the women’s race in a time of
6 hours 17 minutes.
“We arrived at the North Pole at 01.00 am, to blazing sunshine
and blue skies, but -250C degrees. The terrain was out of this
world. I was bowled over because from horizon to horizon there
were frozen waves of ice and snow. It was truly spectacular.
“The race started at 03:30. The sound of running on the ice was
spectacular as the sounds changed continually from creaks, to
groans, squeaks, cracking, and echoes through the ice floor. It
would have been very easy to have kept your head down to watch
your footing, but I made a conscious effort to look around and
soak in the surroundings. The sun doesn't set, it moves in a
circle around the pole, and so I could watch the time by seeing
the sun move from landmarks around the course. Watching the
colours changing moment by moment on the ice and wind sculptures
was truly amazing.
“On each lap we passed the Base camp where the Russians fed us
warm salty water, pancakes and cold porridge, not necessarily in
that order. We had taken energy rations with us which were a
massive help and I couldn't have done it without them. In fact
the cold was not such an issue as we had prepared well for it,
but anything exposed froze, and anything that got wet, such as
with perspiration, froze as well. We ended up looking like Scott
of the Antarctic, with frozen eye lashes and beards! I never
once felt that the temperature was an issue though, as I had it
well controlled.
“After the race, as soon as you stop running, everything freezes
instantly.
So we hurriedly got into the tents,
put on warm dry gear, ate as much as possible, and I even
got some decent sleep even though it was still light, and
haven't suffered fatigue since”
The 39-year-old attributed his success to running the majority
of the race without his specially designed snow shoes.
“Physically it was a tough race. I chose to take off my snow
shoes after 4.5 laps, which was a great move. Afterwards it felt
like I was running on air. I was in a little bit of pain
afterwards though.
“I’m thrilled at completing the marathon.
One of the main reasons for doing this was to prove to
people who have had similar surgery that it doesn’t
necessarily have to mean the end of your life. Just a year
ago I thought I wouldn’t ever be able to do something like
this.”
Steve’s hips were resurfaced at Frimley Park Hospital, near
London, using Corin Medical’s latest hip replacement
technology. The hip resurfacing procedure involved
resurfacing the head of the thigh bone with a metal cap and
placing a metal cup in the pelvis.
Because the joint is much longer lasting
and more stable, it allows younger patients to return to an
active lifestyle which simply wasn’t possible with
conventional hip replacement.
The technology, pioneered by British orthopaedic company
Corin, based in Cirencester, has allowed Steve to return to
a fully active life.
“This is a remarkable achievement and we congratulate Steve
and the team” said Iain Dunbar, Marketing Director at Corin.
“The whole purpose of the massive investment we have made in
pioneering hip resurfacing is to allow younger patients to
return to a normal, active lifestyle. Steve is absolute
proof of that, and I hope will be an inspiration to other young, active
patients with arthritis”.
Steve’s huge sporting background resulted in the gradual wear
and tear of his hips with cross country, rugby and martial arts
all playing their part in the deterioration of his joints.
Steve, who oversees physical training for new recruits to the
Royal Signals and Royal Engineers, at Lichfield’s Whittington
Barracks, together with his Army colleagues, raised thousands of
pounds for The Stroke Association and The Royal Star and Garter,
which looks after injured Service men and women.
“I want to thank everyone for all their support - so many people
will benefit from the money we have raised. It really has been
the experience of a life time”.
On 6th April 2007 Steve Boswell, an Army
PT Instructor who has had both his hips resurfaced, plans to
make history as the most unique of a new breed of Arctic
adventurer. By competing in the North Pole Marathon, he will
become one of a truly select few to race at the top of the
world - at the Geographic North Pole – and the first ever to
complete the event with two hip replacements. The North Pole
Marathon will also feature a team challenge, and Steve will
be one of three Army runners aiming to take the team title.
All will be taking part to raise money for good causes.
Steve is a 39-year-old Army Physical
Training Instructor based at the Army Training Regiment,
Lichfield, where he is the Warrant Officer Class II
overseeing physical training for new recruits to the Royal
Signals and Royal Engineers.
Steve has already completed the Marathon de
Sables - a 6-day, 151-mile endurance race across the Sahara
desert in Morocco which is known as the toughest footrace on
earth. It is roughly equivalent to running a marathon every
day for 6 days in temperatures of up to 1200F (490C)
on rocky, stony ground as well as sand dunes, whilst
carrying everything you need for the duration (apart from a
tent and water) in a rucksack on your back. Steve raised
almost £10,000 for charity in the process.
The first North Pole Marathon occurred in
2002 when the race director covered the distance alone. In
2003, the first exploratory competitive race was advertised
and attracted ten competitors. There were further races in
2004 and 2006, making three competitive events to date. The
race is now an annual fixture on the international marathon
calendar and seventy-eight people in all have successfully
completed the event.
The 2007 race is scheduled to take place on 15th April 2007.
Competitors will leave Russia on 14th April and return to
Russia on 16th April, therefore spending about 48 hours in
the polar region. The race will be run from a drifting North
Pole camp, which floats about the North Pole between 89N and
90N. There will be a circular route of at least one mile,
but possibly two miles or more distance. Leads (breaks in
the ice) and safety criteria will ultimately determine the
maximum length of the circuit. The finish will occur at the
ceremonial Pole where all the lines of longitude
symbolically meet.
We will be following Steve’s progress as he prepares for
this amazing project, with regular updates on his training.
