Ben Saunders

'Winter air temperatures over Antarctica have risen by more than 2C in the last 30 years, a new study shows.' Worryingly, current climate models failed to predict this huge rise in temperature.

— Filed under Aside

As if in reply to my addled post late last night, Mindjet have released a Beta version of their first ever mind-mapping software for Mac.

— Filed under Aside

194 days to go

SOUTH is looming large on the horizon. A year from now, if all goes to plan, I'll have been home from Antarctica for just over a month, and while it's difficult to predict exactly how this stupendous journey will affect me, I suspect I'll be slightly more relaxed in 12 months' time. You see, this project has generated the mother of all to-do lists, and while the original plan was that we'd have most of the details sewn up by now, leaving us free to concentrate on roller-skiing, poring over maps and filing down our toothbrush handles, the truth is that we have a mind-boggling amount of things to organise between now and October.

Frustratingly, I can't (yet) blog about a lot of the really cool stuff that's going on, but there's one thing I can let you in on (unless you've spotted Tony's brand new blog, where he beat me to announcing this by several days)…

Yahoo! have come on board as SOUTH's online media partner. This means that they'll be running the expedition website, much like they do already with Kevin Sites' Hot Zone. And much like they have with Kevin, they'll be plugging us into a huge audience (he often racks up several thousand comments per post). The implications of this partnership are still sinking in – not only does it give us something tangible (and indeed enormously valuable) to talk to potential sponsors about, it also means we'll have rather a lot of people following our every move for the four months we're on the ice.

Yahoo's traffic numbers in the hundreds of millions per month, which could mean a sizeable audience. A brobdingnagian virtual auditorium. It won't be long before the seats start filling up, and right now I'm pacing around the wings with the dawning realisation that I've bitten off something rather big here. Stay tuned; it's going to be a crazy few months…

— Filed under SOUTH

Noteworthy

Firstly, I'm a couple of days late with this, but Børge Ousland and Mike Horn made it to the North Pole unsupported and on foot from the coast of Russia after the first winter North Pole expedition in history. Part of this incredible achievement has me shaking my head in disbelief at the toughness of these two pros, part has me stroking my chin, squinting at maps and wondering about my diary for the next few years… (More photos from the expedition.)

Next up, for all the Britishers reading this, the clocks go forward tonight, and you may want one of these for tomorrow morning.

Lastly, some weekend entertainment. I bring you Max Milligan's photos from Peru, and a free Kleptones album for download and subsequent delectation.

— Filed under Other expeditions

Normal

Overheard at a speaking gig this evening: 'He doesn't look very inspirational to me. He looks quite normal, actually.'

Speaking of normal, recent busyness (and a full-blown but shortlived bout of illness) have meant a lack of recent updates. Bear with me; I'm back on the blogging wagon now…

— Filed under Rumination

'Surgery option for obese children.' Something about this strikes me as being deeply wrong.

— Filed under Aside

Half-marathon

I grimaced and panted my way round the Nike Milton Keynes half-marathon this morning in 1:21:57 (6:15/mile pace) – I was hoping to get close to 1:20, so I'm quite chuffed, but I started a little too fast (first three miles in 17:10) and conked out a bit towards the end. The course was tougher than I'd expected – there were some nasty headwinds at times and it wasn't as flat as I'd thought it would be…

I've read somewhere that you can work out a predicted marathon time by doubling your HM time and adding ten minutes (which makes it 2:54). I'll be throwing a few speed/hill sessions between now and the London Marathon, with the aim of going as close to 2:50 as I can.

Inspiration for this morning's run came from somewhere unexpected; I had dinner with my mum last night and she told my brother and I about a period, after she divorced my dad, (I was seven, my brother was four) where she rented a house in the middle of nowhere for £15 a week. She was living on social security at the time, and she was offered cheap rent on the condition that she redecorated the house, so while my brother and I were asleep, she would stay up late and paint into the night. For 20 years she'd never told us about this.

Aren't mums amazing?

— Filed under Training

So, if you throw boiling water into the air at -40°c., does it freeze?

— Filed under Aside