IT IS the coldest marathon in the world.

New Forest mum Alice Burch is taking on the North Pole Marathon, in which the world’s bravest men and women battle extreme weather and sub-zero temperatures as they race across the top of the world.

The 33-year-old from Woodlands flew to Svalbard in Norway this weekend, from where she will take a helicopter to the geographic North Pole and run 26.2 miles on ice in temperatures as low as -50°C (-58°F).

It is something Alice says she has always wanted to do. But it’s not been easy, as the single mum has had to plan her daily training around looking after her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lois and running her marine recruitment firm, Seamariner, at Hythe Marine Park.

She said: “I have wanted to do it for years but now was the time.

“It’s something really unusual. It’s going to be a big challenge.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like.

The coldest I’ve experienced is about -15°C at Mount Kilimanjaro. I think my parents think I’m a bit mad.”

In a complete contrast, this week Dorset businessman Andrew Findley is taking on six days of running in extreme heat, across the barren Sahara desert landscape in the Marathon des Sables. 

Alice is no stranger to running events. She regularly takes part in marathons and came second in Southampton’s 2014 10km Race for Life.

Alice, who is a member of Totton Running Club, has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. The North Pole Marathon is just the first of a calendar of sporting challenges Alice has set herself this year.

She also plans to take part in the Barcelona Ironman 70.3 triathlon on May 17, Ironman Copenhagen on August 23, and she will be attempting to smash a world record when she runs 60 marathons in 60 days from October 1.

Alice is looking for people to join her record-breaking attempt support team.

For more information or to volunteer or donate, visit spana.org/60:60.