Working for a charity, clearing land mines, Chris survived kidnap by the Khmer Rouge guerrillas in Cambodia, negotiating his way, and that of two colleagues, out of execution from a remote jungle base, finally walking 50km overnight through patrolled and mined jungle.

Chris was subsequently blown up by a land mine walking in a 'cleared' area and lost both his lower right leg and right arm. He survived against all the odds because of his high level of fitness and because of his knowledge of first aid. He competed in the London Marathon less than one year after this appalling accident. He is the first amputee to complete the Great Sahara Run, he has run the length of Cambodia, some 700km, and has completed the Badwater Death Valley Ultra 135 Mile 'Fun' Run in air temperatures close to Delia Smith's recommendation for slow cooking chicken!

Mike Stroud is best known for his record-breaking undertakings with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. He first teamed up with Sir Ranulph between 1986 and 1990 with several attempts to make an unsupported journey on foot to the North Pole from Arctic Canada and Siberia. These included a record breaking journey in 1990 which raised more than £2 million for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Following this, they switched their attention to Antarctica and the South Pole where in 1992/93 they succeeded in breaking several world records including the first unaided walk across Antarctica from coast to coast and the longest unsupported walk in history.

During the Trans-Antarctic trek, the two men covered more than 1400 miles without help from other men, animals or machines, dragging their supplies and equipment. In temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees C with winds which could exceed 100 miles per hour, they crossed frozen ice-shelves, climbed to the Polar plateau and descended one of the largest glaciers in the world.