Singaporean Wheelchair User Challenge North Pole
Dr William Tan first man to complete North Pole Marathon on wheelchair
Valarie Tan
April 11, 2007
Source: Channel NewsAsia
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SINGAPORE: Dr William Tan has become the first man to complete the North Pole marathon on wheelchair.
The Singaporean, who suffers from paraplegia, finished the 26.2-mile race in 21 hours and 10 minutes.
The race is part of his global challenge to finish 17 marathons in 7 continents, including the Arctic and the Antarctic.
By taking part in the races, Dr Tan also hopes to raise S$2 million for “Global Flying Hospitals”.
This is a humanitarian organisation that provides free medical services to developing countries, by turning aircraft into surgical hospitals.
Dr Tan is now recuperating in Norway.
“It’s a great feeling having survived the ordeal. It turned out to be tougher than expected – extremely cold over there, minus 25 degrees Celsius. The terrain was also very challenging,” Dr Tan told Channel NewsAsia via telephone.
“I constantly developed numbness on my toes and fingers. There was one occasion where I took off my goggles and my glasses….. and then icicles started to develop on my eyelashes and it was terribly painful. And there were many occasions during those 21 hours that I wanted to give up, especially in the initial period,” he added.
“But, even though I had those kind of emotions, I was very conscious that I was doing something beyond myself. I was doing something bigger than just a marathon, I was raising money for a very worthy cause. I was out there on a special mission to conquer to go beyond the limit. So it gave me that extra energy every time I think of the positive aspects of it.
“There were 43 other runners who were running along the course as well. And their kind of drive gave me a lot of energy too. It was very inspiring to see them overcoming the same kind of problems as I have. They were running on snow shoes and they had just as much challenges as myself too,” said Dr Tan.
Dr Tan will be taking part in the Boston Marathon next Monday, before participating in the London Marathon. – CNA/ir
