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Thursday 26 December 2013

South Pole cycle record within sight for Maria Leijerstam on low carb high fat fuel !

A woman from the Vale of Glamorgan is ahead of two male rivals in a 500-mile (800km) challenge to cycle from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole.
Maria Leijerstam, 35, set off from the Novo Russian air force base on 16 December.
She is now more than half way, having negotiated what she had believed would be the hardest part of her journey, although the weather was deteriorating.
The most recent updates show she had a healthy lead over her rivals.
On Thursday her team blogged: "Amazing! Maria has just conquered the most feared part of her expedition - the Leverett Glacier!

Her 45kg (100lbs) of food and equipment are stored over the extra wide rear driving wheels to add additional purchase in icy conditions, while the front wheels can be switched for skis to help negotiate snowdrifts.
But it is not just her bike which has had to undergo extensive adaptations.
Ms Leijerstam - who has previously taken part in the Marathon des Sables seven-day run across the Sahara - has also had to entirely retrain her metabolism for the Antarctic challenge.
Before setting out she explained: "I've had to get my body prepared for burning fat and not carbohydrates, so I've been training for two to three hours on an empty stomach which teaches my body to become more efficient.
More on this story here.
Eddie

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