You could never accuse Neil Rhodes of being short of tenacity or enthusiasm. Commonsense, now that's a different matter. As well as rowing a million metres in a week, Neil's also rowed all over the shop, in river deep and mountain high. Now he's set for possibly his most hard-core event yet. Here's what he's up to: I leave for Norway on the 10th of April, first stop, the town of Longyearbyen on the island of Spitzbergen. I will carry out my first row here. It will be interesting to see just how cold it is, can I carry out the row, in a normal 'all-in-one', outdoors? We'll see.On the 13th we fly up to the Pole, for the race I am taking part in, the Red Moon North Pole Marathon. It's the classic Marathon distance of 26.2 miles, but on ice. The temperature will be around -30C, but wind-chill can take this down to -100. The entry form makes interesting reading: I understand that I will be on an active ice floe that is six to 12 feet thick on top of the Arctic Ocean, and that sudden cracks, pressure ridges and ocean currents can expose the ocean at any time. Participating in physical activities in the North Pole area may put me at risk of death, falling or being blown into the frigid waters and other perils, frigid conditions, being lost in the Arctic due to poor weather conditions, loss of communication, accident or illness.On the danger front, one of the main risks is polar bears. One guide said, 'To the polar bear, you're nothing more than vertical Gore-Tex seals'. He also said, 'He has immense power and speed, coupled with 100% focus and determination', but, at that point, I thought he was talking about Graham Benton! I'll need a little something to warm me up, so I thought I'd take an erg, I mean, why not? Aren't they compulsory hand-baggage these days? The goal is to row a piece, thus setting a world record for the most Northerly row, ever carried out on an Indoor Rower, outdoors. Why? Because I'm never going to be fast, so I may as well pick the wacky challenges; at least I get to be first at something. I love the concern of my fellow rowers, Anna Bailey, who's been a great friend recently and has helped with my mental strength, immediately said, 'Mmm, I wonder what the drag factor range will be?' Not one utterance of, 'take care', 'stay warm', 'have a flask of soup'. No just the important stuff, test the drag. You can find out more about the Polar Marathon at http://www.npmarathon.com/For an interview with Neil, shortly after he survived a life-threatening aneurysm: http://www.therowingcompany.com/news/news.php?story=neil_rhodes