The 27-year-old doctor from London walked herself into the record books this weekend by successfully trekking unsupported to the North Pole and raising heaps of cash for charity on the way.
Setting off from Resolute Bay in Canada two months ago, with her boyfriend Dan Darley by her side, Russell was determined to get to the North Pole unaided, reports London’s Evening Standard. No guides, no husky dogs, just them and two giant sledges of food and equipment weighing over 660 lbs. Battling temperatures of -100 degrees Fahrenheit and painful injuries they marched through 500 miles of open water encountering polar bears and ice rubble on the way. But they never gave up.
At one point, Russell dislocated her shoulder but managed to continue the journey after resetting it herself. A few weeks later, she fell through some ice and dislocated it again but she still kept going. “I was stuck in the water for about 10 minutes with snow shoes on, a rucksack filling with water and a dislocated shoulder and I just couldn’t find a way to get out but we got through it,” she wrote on their blog.
Not only did they reach the pole, triumphant, Russell becoming the first British woman to complete the trek unaided and the youngest woman ever to have returned victorious — they also raised over $10,000 for Help for Heroes, a charity that provides support to servicemen wounded in the line of duty.
After a journey of 57 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes, the couple finally reached their destination on Sunday. “We didn’t shout or whoop, we just collapsed into each others’ arms and cried. Tears of joy, tears of relief.” Then in true Brit fashion, they celebrated with a hot cup of tea.
Photo via Facebook.