Dave Sprinks, from Holcombe, is a man on a mission. After being diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, he has spent the last ten years trying to do what he can for the charity, Diabetes UK, including running marathons, cycling through Vietnam, driving a pink pig across Europe and now, journeying to the top of the world.

In February next year, Dave, who is ex-Royal Navy, is due to join a team as they trek from 148 miles inside the Arctic circle, facing temperatures of -45ºc, moving ice packs and polar bears. He will need to sledge for around eight hours per day, alongside huskies, manoeuvring open water leads and pressure ridges and working as a team to set up camp at the end of the day. Due to the movement of the ice, he may find on waking that he has a several hour walk back to where he began the day before, such is the nature of the hostile environment he will be living in.

Not long after his diabetes diagnosis, Dave had signed up to run the London Marathon, having never run seriously before. He was due to run the race in 2006, but just three weeks before had pneumonia in both of his lungs. His place was carried over into 2007, where he injured his knee at mile twenty, after slipping on a placard that had been dropped by the crowd. It took him six hours, but he completed it, raising over £3,500.

Well and truly bitten by the challenge bug, he found himself mountain biking through Vietnam in 2008, facing some severely steep climbs and monsoon rains, again raising around £3,000. The following year, he was running in the Great North Run and in 2010, set off with two friends to take part in the Ramshackle Rally. This involved him buying a car for £150 and travelling through ten countries in six days.

His choice of vehicle was a bright pink Volvo 740, complete with a snout and a curly tail, named the ‘pink pig’. It was bought on ebay, with Dave flying to Newcastle and driving the car back home under the cover of darkness. The journey back was mainly uneventful, however, a police car did pull alongside him to take a good look and Dave reports his ‘long-suffering’ wife wasn’t too pleased when she saw it parked on the drive the following morning!

The pink pig managed 2,600 miles and cost the friends £600 in fuel. They meticulously planned their route and budget hotel stops along the way, helping other teams when their cars ran into difficulty. Each day they would also have a challenge to complete. Their car was so reliable, that when the time came to scrap it, they didn’t have the heart to – and so the pink pig was resold on ebay and went for the princely sum of £134.

Dave took a year off in 2011, but ran the London Marathon again in 2012,

encountering a serious knee injury by mile nine. The St John’s Ambulance had told him he wouldn’t be able to finish, but Dave insisted this was not an option. Reluctantly, they allowed him to walk the rest of the course. He says: “I did walk, until I got to the next corner. Once out of sight, I began running again. I was determined to finish and did so in six-and-a-half-hours.”

He did pay for this grit, having to undergo a knee operation in December 2013, which saw further complications and intensive physio. Ever since, he has had to try and get back to fitness, with this latest, self-funded challenge being the ‘big one’.

“I turn sixty in December this year, so this will probably be my last major overseas challenge – probably,” Dave says with a grin. “I will need to hire specialist equipment for the conditions in the Arctic Circle and undertake special cardio fitness and training. I have three brothers, including a twin brother, who have all been to the South Pole, as they worked for the British Antarctic Survey – so, doing the typical brotherly thing, I decided to do the opposite and go to the North Pole instead!”

Back at home, Dave’s fundraising has seen him organise many events locally, including a Thai meal at the Conygre Hall, Timsbury, with a champagne reception, which saw him catering for 150 people. He is no stranger to organisation, having been involved with Glastonbury Festival running a campsite crew and working for F.M.S. providing on site ambulance cover, and also organising two local music festivals himself.

Last weekend saw a fundraising quiz which raised £100, with a Bavarian Night planned on 21st May 2016 at Holcombe Village Hall, with music from the ‘Men in Shorts’ oompah band. The event will include a Bavarian supper, with tickets available from: 01761 239221. A further quiz night is going to be held on Friday, 8th January, 2016 at Holcombe Village Hall, 7 p.m. for 7.30 p.m. start, teams of 4–6, book early!

To find out more about his challenge or to donate, visit: www.virginmoneygiving.co.uk/dave-sprinks We will let you know how this intrepid explorer gets on!