On 7 April 2011, Andre, Nigel, Chris, Ben and David will be taking up the challenge to complete a marathon run on water – the frozen Arctic Ocean! They will be running the North Pole Marathon - 26.2 miles across snow and ice in sub-zero temperatures at the geographic North Pole. Just 25 people from around the world are entering one of the most extreme marathons on the planet to test their stamina and fitness in this truly amazing (and daunting) location.

The team will be pushing their endurance levels to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital's Kidney Centre in memory of Mari-Simon Cronje. Mari-Simon was only eleven years old when she was tragically killed in a boating accident last September, and she is remembered as a wonderful and beautiful girl. 

Mari-Simon’s family has set-up a memorial fund to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital's kidney centre and over £70,000 has already been raised. Andre, Mari-Simon’s father and the team has dedicated the marathon to Mari-Simon’s memory. 

The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity needs to raise £10 million to build a much needed new children's kidney centre. The new kidney centre will provide patients and their families with a modern, comfortable and practical environment, as well as enabling continued pioneering research into childhood kidney disease.  

Help us raise as much money as possible to support this very special cause. The funds will go towards building an Adolescent Recreation and Dining Room in the new kidney centre. The marathon team is covering all the race costs to ensure that every penny you donate goes to the charity.

Please take the time to visit our team website http://www.arcticchallengers.com/ where you can find out more about the rest of the team, the North Pole Marathon and the work of Great Ormond Street … and of course donate.

Thank you for your support.