Jamie Wood, 28, of Whittingham, has recently returned from Norway where he has endured freezing temperatures as part of a military-style training schedule for the gruelling event in April.

Jamie, Angus King, 52, from Plymouth, and Paul Moxam, 32, from Dorset, make up the team Cold Beef.

The Polar Challenge is a 350-mile team race in the Arctic to the magnetic North Pole and beyond.

Competitors take part in a four-day 65-mile training expedition in which they ski from Resolute to Polaris Mine.

The race itself runs from Polaris to Issachen Mine.

Their journey will take them through Polar Bear Pass, which holds 80 per cent of the world's polar bears.

In temperatures as low as -50 degrees, they will race through the snow and ice on skis, towing supplies in 120lb pulks, or sledges.

The route runs through three checkpoints. The first two are resupply points where cometitiors rest for 12-24 hours and take on new food and fuel supplies. The third is the 1996 position of the magnetic North Pole.

It is difficult for planes to land here so the finish line is 25 miles after this point, near a dissused airstrip.

Jamie, who is raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance, said: "Ever since I was a boy I have always had a great interest and passion for the great outdoors, especially the Arctic.

"I have always been fascinated by explorers and never thought I would one day be there too.

"There are more people climbing Mount Everest than have been to the Poles. The animals that inhabit these regions are so unique and unspoilt by man, I suppose it's a dream come true to be out there.

"There is nothing that really scares me, not even to come across a polar bear in the open as they are very shy animals and are rarely seen out in the open, but what would scare me is if one decided that we would make a good dinner asleep in our tents as we have to keep our weapon outside so it does not freeze with the condensation.

"The whole expedition will be a life-changing experience and I can't wait to be out in this wild and unspoilt vanishing world."

While training in Norway, the lads spent two days of intense lectures and drills in preparation for a five-day expedition with the Norwegian army, covering 15km a day and living exactly as they would in the Arctic.

They lived off packet food and boiled snow for water.

Jamie said: "As part of our training drills we had to do polar bear drills in case we come upon one and what they call the ice breaking drill.

"The ice breaking drill is when you cut a pool in a frozen lake with a chainsaw, with staff around you.

"Then you have to jump in with only your thermals and skis and swim across to the ice and get yourself out.

"The temperature was about minus 20 and blowing a gale. By the time I got to the tent to get my dry clothes on my thermals had frozen to cardboard!"