Route to the North Pole

Well the race is getting close! I leave for Ottawa in just a few days. From there I will meet the rest of my team where we will set out and fly up to Resolute Bay where we will start the race. With only a few days left my chances of raising the last few thousand I need are running out. I have had such amazing support and I am very appreciative of it. If you can still find some help I would greatly appreciate it!

Back to the race … I will start in Resolute Bay on the south side of Cornwallis Island in the northern province of Nunavut, Canada. The race continues along the west coast of the island before crossing to the Polaris Mine on Little Cornwallis Island. This is the first checkpoint.

From here there are a number of different routes depending on ice conditions. I am likely to encounter bitter winds, may have to overcome possible problems of open water and be aware of the very real problem of Polar bears.

The second checkpoint is to the north of Bathurst Island near the mid-point of the long crossing to King Christian Island situated in the Maclean Strait. From here there is another choice of route into the vicinity of the North Magnetic Pole. The route is either around or over the Noice Peninsula on Ellef Ringnes Island.

Race Stages

Stage 1 – 65 miles
Resolute Bay to near the site of the old Polaris Mine on Little Cornwallis Island

(Start Line – 74°42′N 94°50′W, Checkpoint 1 – 75°25′N 96°58′W)

Stage 2 – 130 miles
Polaris Mine to a waypoint north of Bathurst Island, Cator Harbour

(Checkpoint 2 – 76°44′N 99°36′W)

Stage 3 – 95 miles
Bathurst Island to a waypoint near King Christian Island

(Checkpoint 3 – 78°0′N 102°50′W)

Stage 4 – 60 miles
King Christian Island to Magnetic Pole Position

(Finish Line – 78°35.7′N 104°11.9′W)

Take a look!

Take a look at this great article recently published on my fiance’s website, www.fullynourished.ca

P.S. I leave next week, if you can make a donation, please do!

My Camera

I’ve finally decided on my camera! It’s been a tough decision but GoPro it is!

GoPro has this little and I mean little camera that records full 1080p video! Amazing! You have to see the video’s this little camera produces. I’ll be able to get up to 9 hours of video on a single 32GB SD card (I’m bringing 3 with me!). The video I’ll bring back will be amazing! My only hesitation was that video camera’s usually take lousy still photo’s. Not this one! It’ll take 5MP still photo’s!

I bought both a head harness and a chest harness so that I’ll be able to take video’s even in the toughest conditions. One of my team mates, Rob, will also be using a GoPro. Between us both we’ll get some amazing video footage!

Check them out here!

I’m looking forward to sharing with you all the amazing footage I get when I get home. In the meantime come join me on Wednesday March 16th, 2011 for a pre-race celebration. Tickets are $20.

Single Ticket for March 16th at Spacco

As always … if you can’t make it, but you’d like to still make a donation, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Your Invited …

I leave in just over 2 weeks. Can you believe it? I have been training and fund raising for 2 years now. I’ve almost made it, I’m almost at my fundraising goal and Im almost on the plane heading up to Resolute Bay to start the race. It’s so exciting.

So where am I inviting you? I’m inviting you to join me on Wednesday, March 16th at 7:30pm at Spacco’s Restaurant and Bar on Yonge Street.  I’d love to see you and celebrate with you! One last great fun night before I spend a month in the freezing cold high arctic.

I have reserved the lounge, some pool tables and will have some food there for you. Come help me celebrate and have a great night!

Tickets are available here online or at the door. Your ticket will go towards the food, the pool tables and helping me get to the North Pole.

I look forward to seeing you!

Single Ticket for March 16th at Spacco

As always … if you can’t make it, but you’d like to still make a donation, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Training in Wales

My Training

I’ve mentioned it before, but this race is so important to me that I left my job at GoodLife Fitness in order to be able to completely devote my time to the North Pole. Since I left GoodLife back in October, my training has been going great! The fundraising, I wish I could say the same, so I’ll just save that for another post. Let’s just say please hit the donate button to the right and contribute if you can! Thanks!

Now back to the training, at first leaving Goodlife Fitness made it tough to get back into a routine. I left a simple routine of getting up everyday and going to work and sometimes workout at a gym. In order to help myself get going I sought out the best to help me. Because of this I am now well on my way and feeling great and I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for this help!

Who is the best you might ask? There are many great trainers in the city of Toronto, let me tell you why mine is so amazing. Personal trainers are amazing and can definitely help you reach your goal. Personal trainers are much like any other profession, there are a very wide range of trainers, ranging from those who have simply taken a weekend crash course, right up to Doctors training their clients as a value added service. There are benefits to all types of trainers depending on what your goal is. If your goal is simply to work out and you need someone there to make sure you show up to the gym and show you what to do, then a weekend crash course trainer is perfect for you. If your goal is to run a 10km race, lose a significant amount of weight, get in better shape, race to the North Pole, ect. you need someone with a bit more experience. My trainer, is one of those ones with a bit more experience, his name is Dr. Chris Michailidis. Yes, a doctor. I am headed to the North Pole and for this challenge I needed the best!

Dr. Chris Michailidis and Strength in Motion are the best when your goal is bigger than someone just telling you what to do. Chris is a doctor of chiropractic, a skilled acupuncturist, a personal trainer, ect. He’s the guy that can tell you why your doing what he is telling you to do and how it’s best going to benefit YOU. Your body is different than mine and different than your friends and you’re average trainer tells you to do something because it worked for the last person, not because they know it’s going to work for you. Chris knows it’s going to work for you and he has years of University and College education, as well as hands on testing to prove it. In short, Chris is amazing and as a result my training has never been better and I truly have him to thank!

I will be sure to show you some pictures in the near future of what Chris is putting me through! In the meantime use the form below to contact Chris, he is a brilliant trainer and acupuncturist and I’m feeling amazing! I know he’ll be able to help you!

[si-contact-form form='2']

Staying healthy or getting healthy for that matter

I had no idea how amazing Chiropractors were until I met Dr. Scott Levine

I love being healthy, eating right, exercising, having lots of energy, pushing myself, you get the point. Part of all this means learning from and seeing those who know better than I do. At a young age my   dad always took me to see a Chiropractor and though I can’t say I went to him regularly (multiple times a week) I definitely saw him enough to know that he was making a difference. Chiropractors can treat acute problems, but they are also skilled enough to keep you healthy. As I grew older I continued to see Chiropractor.

After putting my life on hold and moving back to Toronto so that I could stay dedicated to training and raising money for the race, I knew I needed to find the best people to help keep me healthy. So, of course I looked for an amazing Chiropractor. In the process, I found the best! Dr. Scott Levine. Dr. Levine runs a clinic in Toronto at Yonge & St.Clair (Vita Integrative Health Clinic) in which I am now a regular patient. I can’t speak for all patients, but I noticed the difference in my very first appointment. It’s like my body came alive. I’m seeing him now 2-3 times a week and he is making a huge difference in my ability to perform and train for the race.

Let the serious training begin!

Last week, I left my great job working at GoodLife Fitness in order to fully prepare for this amazing race. As you might notice from the countdown timer on the side of my site, I only have just over 5 months left to get ready. There are two types of preparation involved here: physical and financial. Leaving GoodLife was a tough decision, but one I had been thinking about for a while. I had an amazing boss who supported me and my racing ambitions and thankfully worked with me over the last month or two while I was figuring out the best time to leave.

The first stage of my preparation, the physical one, leaves me with a lot of work to do. I understood from the day I signed up for this race that it would take a lot of effort to be ready. I mean, I’m going to be in -40 degree weather for a month while hauling a 100-pound sled and traveling 650km. I need to be ready and fit. To be honest, I really thought that I would exercise more than I did while working at GoodLife. It seemed like it would be a great place for me to work and have the time to fit my workouts in. Now, I don’t want to paint the wrong picture since I definitely was given the time to workout. Unfortunately, I generally put my job and the company first before my own fitness. Ironically, leaving the most amazing fitness company in Canada was the unfortunate move I needed to make in order to get fit. Seems funny, I know.

Next, I really need to be prepared financially. If I don’t reach my financial goals, I can’t do the race. This means that I need to raise a minimum of $50,000 just to do the race and $100,000 to reach my personal goal. Obviously, I have a purpose and cause to devote that extra $50,000. My plan is to use it to help support the great charities that encourage kids to be healthy and active. This goal is just as big as getting to the North Pole in my opinion. This money is going to change lives – many lives! The GLKF is going to help a lot of kids this year and I can’t wait to help them.

I’m also looking for another charity to support. Again, the charity needs to be focused on keeping kids healthy and active. This issue is more important than many people realize. For instance, did you know that almost 25% of kids in North America are obese or overweight? Crazy. I’d love to hear your suggestions on great charities out there. Who would you like me to support? Who would you like to support through me? Is there a charity that could use me to raise awareness about them? I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Let the next 5 months of hardcore training and major fundraising begin!

Let the fundraising begin!

26 years ago today I was born in Toronto, Ontario and this is going to be the most exciting year of my  life! This year I am going complete the polar race, a 600+km race to the North Pole in April of 2011.

This may sound extreme, but I am taking on this challenge in order to inspire kids to become more physically active. Did you know that more than twenty-five percent of all Canadian children are obese or overweight? And for the first time in history it is possible that our generation might outlive our children, as a result of them being over weight.This is a serious problem in North America.

I need help spreading the message that kids need to be more physically active. I have therefore paired myself up with a brilliant charity, The GoodLife Kids Foundation who are already helping kids get physically active. They do this by inspiring, supporting and creating opportunities for kids to benefit from an active life. They are an amazing charity and I am happy to be supporting them. I know that through them, I will be able to affect the lives of so many more children. Children that are on their way to becoming obese, and who may not see their next birthday.

So for my birthday, I am asking for your financial support in order to complete this race and get my message out there. I am looking to raise $100,000 in the next 10 months and spread the word.That’s $10,000 a month for the next 10 months, a goal that is going to require a lot of support and a lot of hard work. I am up for the challenge and I know that I can count on you to help me get to the finish line.

You can help me get there! You can help me get this powerful message out to kids, you can help me raise this money and create amazing programs that will help kids stay active. You can be apart of this amazing change that I am going to cause.

Help me create change and make a donation. I need your help to get to the North Pole!

Thank you!

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