Run Antarctica is a world first, Guinness World Record attempt to complete the longest ultramarathon in a polar region in history. My name is Donna Urquhart and I am an ultra-marathon runner and pain scientist, and together with my Run Antarctica team, I’m about to embark on the greatest challenge of my life. The attempt will take place at Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica, the coldest, windiest and driest desert on earth, on 14th December 2023.

I will be pushing through sub-zero temperatures, winds of up to 100km/h winds, isolation and loneliness, and using all my mental and physical strength to discover what humans (and me) are capable of. But I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for my life passion: showing other females what is possible for them, and empowering them with a holistic approach of integrating mental and physical skills to explore their own possibilities.

In particular, I know that sport has the power to change lives. That’s why I am on a mission to empower young girls and women to love sport, discover what’s possible for them in sport, and to break down the barriers that prevent them from participating.

Research shows that girls can find sport “stressful” and that 50% stop participating during adolescence (aged 15-19 years).

The reasons teenage girls withdraw from sport are multifactorial. However, one of the major contributors to girls’ withdrawing is them being self-conscious and having a lack of confidence in themselves, and their competence/skills and appearance.

The steps we will take through Run Antarctica include; raising awareness about females’ experience of sport, providing education on a holistic approach to sport, and raising funds for our charity partners:

Danny Frawley Centre, Stars Foundation, GAME, & Sports Excellence Scholarship Fund

Together with my team, the Run Antarctica Project aims to achieve these steps through

• delivering community talks in schools and sporting clubs that create awareness
• developing an online community to educate girls and the wider community
• providing inspirational role models for girls in sport
• delivering workshops on the importance of a holistic approach to sport integrating mental skills into the physical domain of sport.

The funds raised through this site will go to a combination of our charity partners, to the development of educational workshops that provide a holistic approach to sport, and to help fund the Antarctic trip expenses. Together we can make a difference, create opportunities, and educate young girls to have the mental skills, resilience, social connectedness and friendships that keeps girls in sport, and empower them to be happy in sport and life!

Every single donation has impact and every dollar raised through this platform will help my team and I to empower female athletes and keep them involved in sport! Thank you for your donation and please let me know if you prefer your donation is used towards our charity partners/educational workshops, or towards helping fund the trip costs.