Paul Watkins races in marathons, but not just any old marathons. He battles it out for over a week, across 600kms of the frozen terrain in the Arctic Circle. This gruelling race is self supported in conditions that reach below -40 degrees celsius, with lack of sleep and little food, we had to find out what keeps driving Paul to go back and do it all over again. 

 In this chat we cover:  

• Why do an Arctic ultra marathon? 
• The 6633 Race
• 1st attempt in 2017 
• Advice from a mate
• Learning from failure 
• 2nd Attempt in 2019
• Training 
• Food
• Sleep
• Hallucinations 
• Pace 
• Open the door to Adventure 
• What’s next 

You can keep up to date with what wild adventure Paul is up to next on his website and his Instagram @the.rogue.scholar. Paul also wrote a book about his journey called Lost & Found, it's a great winter read, tucked in by a raging fire while you marvel over the gruelling experience. 

Ready for an adventure of your own? Check out the We Are Explorer's Adventure Map to discover trails, wild swimming, campsites, National Parks and more.  Follow @we_are_explorers on Instagram for your daily dose of travel inspiration. 

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Thanks to We Are Explorer's Founder Henry Brydon for hosting this week.

Produced by Sian Brain.