Homeworker Matt Nixon, co-owner of 52 Degrees North Travel, which opened in June 2018, has undertaken his fair share of adventures – from running an ultra marathon in the Lake District to taking on a Man Versus Mountain challenge in the Brecon Beacons.
But Nixon admitted his latest task – ice-skating 100 miles across a frozen lake in outer Mongolia for Children with Cancer UK – is unlike anything he’s ever done before.
“I’ve done lots of different things, from running ‘coast to coast’ across Scotland to taking part in a 250km husky expedition in Norway and doing various triathlons. But this is a really different mentality,” he told TTG.
The challenge, beginning on March 3, involves skating from one end of Lake Khovsgol to the other across four days, with Nixon and his fellow skaters sleeping overnight in mobile gers (yurts).
His training, though, hasn’t exactly gone to plan. Having not skated since he was a child, Nixon managed three hours of training before he fell and broke his wrist in early December.
“The cast came off last Friday, but I’m not planning to do any more skating – I’m too scared I might fall over again and break something else”.
Instead, Nixon said he had been “doing lots of long walks” to boost his fitness. He added he was more concerned by the freezing temperatures of Mongolia.
“The difficult bit is what clothing to wear. We’ve been told to expect temperatures of -25°C, but it could go down to -40°C,” he said.
In addition to the challenge, Nixon is hosting an event in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon, with all proceeds going towards his fundraising target. The event is sponsored by Exodus Travels and Hurtigruten, as well as his own agency 52 Degrees, and will feature adventurer and explorer Sean Conway.
Nixon added he was most looking forward to raising funds for Children with Cancer UK. “I have children myself and I don’t even want to think about what these children and parents have gone through,” he said. “To be able to raise funds for them is really important.”
