Off to the Arctic

Rob / 24.09.2003

Gary Bullen and Gill Watson came through a gruelling final selection weekend in the Italian Alps, to be chosen for the GB team for the Fulda Tyres Challenge, to be held in the Yukon Territory of Canada and Alaska over 10 days next February.

The selection weekend was based at Sulden and was used by all the participating countries to whittle down their candidates to a final pair. It was non-stop action with a mountainous running route, some technical mountain biking and 4x4 driving, climbing, a car pull and even karting and tree climbing! For the GB team places Gary Bullen finished ahead of Paul Morton, Chris Brown and Alex Lowe, while Gill Watson beat Katy Starke and Erika Henson.

Gary is a Physical Training Instructor for the Royal Marines Commando at Lympstone, near Exmouth in Devon and Gill is the champion of the BBC programme SAS Are you Tough Enough? They’ll be up against teams from Germany, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, but after looking at the other competitors last weekend think they are in with a chance of winning the Gold bar which is the prize for the best team.

To win they’ll have to beat them at various winter activities including ice climbing, dog sledding, downhill and cross-country skiing, plus mountain biking, 4x4 driving and even car pulling!

Gary Bullen was delighted with his selection to the Great Britain team: “I applied for the challenge because I was attracted to the arctic elements of the events and see this as a fantastic opportunity,” he said. “The event I am looking forward to the most is the dog sledding because I have never done anything like that before. I also have a lot of experience in cross-country skiing and can’t wait for this event.”

With 20 years in the Royal Marines Commando, Gary has a strong fitness background. He was also a member of the highest placed rookie team in the 2002 Eco Challenge in Fiji and a member of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines expedition to Everest in 2003, which reached 5,583 metres.

Having already proved she’s ‘Tough Enough’ in the jungle Gill said: “I’m looking forward to travelling to somewhere as remote and beautiful as the Yukon Territory. I can’t wait to tackle the strength events and will increase my fitness training, biking and power work. I have always wanted to go somewhere like this and am grateful to Fulda Tyres for giving me the opportunity.”