A bodily schooling trainer from Essex, U.Ok., was in search of a problem to proceed her lifelong fundraising efforts for Most cancers Analysis UK (CRUK) and stumbled upon the PolarNight Marathon in one in every of Norway’s northernmost cities. Gill Punt, 54, took on the polar problem earlier this month, raised two million {dollars} for charity and set a new Guinness World File.
#Bromsgrove‘s Gill Punt endured freezing circumstances and solely two hours of daylight, working for Most cancers Analysis UK, in what was a Guinness World File try.
Hear extra https://t.co/rQzUfUuXsW pic.twitter.com/8kxYn7HZSJ
— BBC Hereford & Worcester (@bbchw) January 10, 2025
Punt advised BBC Hereford & Worcester that her motivation for taking over the Arctic marathon was to strive one thing she had by no means carried out earlier than. She shared that she has accomplished 26 marathons and 70 half marathons, however the race can be a “first” for her, as she had by no means run a marathon carrying ice spikes or a polar bear costume.
Because the identify suggests, the PolarNight Marathon is a difficult race in one of many northernmost cities on the earth, Tromsø, Norway. The race is run totally in darkness and traverses mountain passes, with runners having to take care of temperatures from -10 to -15 C. The polar bear costume represents the official mascot of CRUK.
Punt completed the 42.2km race in 4 hours, 58 minutes, and 29 seconds, breaking the Guinness World File for the quickest marathon dressed as a mammal (feminine). That is the second world report Punt has set in her marathon profession. In 2016, on the London Marathon, she set a Guinness World File for the quickest marathon in a full-body animal costume (feminine) with a time of 4:21:08; nonetheless, this report was later damaged by one other runner.
On Saturday 4th January 2025, Mrs Gill Punt conquered the Polar Night time Marathon within the Norwegian Arctic Circle and raised over £20k for @CR_UK.
The run befell in darkness, on ice and wearing a polar bear costume – and he or she nonetheless achieved a Guinness World File. pic.twitter.com/lEPcPY9hCD
— Bromsgrove Faculty (@BromsSchool) January 9, 2025
Punt started working in 1999 after dropping her dad, who was 56, to bile duct most cancers. The following yr, Punt began her fundraising efforts for CRUK and has since raised greater than two million {dollars} for the charity. “There’s in all probability not a household within the UK or your complete world that has not been affected by this dreadful illness,” Punt advised the BBC. “So I’ll proceed doing all I can to assist CRUK of their very important work.”