Peter Bell at the Antarctic Ice Marathon
Greg Clarke / 03.01.2008
I spoke to Peter Bell in the comfort his living room in Portrush on the North East coast of Ireland just a few days after he arrived home from competing in the event and finishing in third place just behind a fellow Irish runner Mark Scanlon. Despite having completed the Arctic marathon the year before Peter hadn’t quite decided if he was doing just the marathon or the 100 km race even as he crossed the start line close to the Patriot Hills. The conditions under foot and the elements would be the deciding factors as to how far he would actually go. In the Arctic Marathon competitors started out with snow shoes but Peter finally ditched these and finished on foot. The course on this occasion was different in that it had been prepared previously to form a trail in the snow and the top layer of snow had frozen to form a light crust that could almost support your weight but broke under foot making the running stile quite awkward.
It is worth knowing that Peter is 53 and although he has been a runner since his school days he has had a few operations on his tendons in his legs. He was once told by a surgeon that the only running he would do after his operation was going to be to the post office to collect his pension. This would have been enough for most but Peter decided to take up physiotherapy in order to work on his ailments and now has a modest treatment room in his house with some impressive equipment and occasionally helps others with their aches and pains. He still has to work very hard on his tendons before any run and this event was no exception.
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