Bromsgrove teacher to run Arctic Circle marathon for charity

The physical education teacher, who is running the 42.2km race in a polar bear costume, said she won’t have to contend with just the weather conditions.

“The visibility in the polar bear’s head is not great… but in the dark, on the ice, what could go wrong.”

Ms Punt has raised £1.94 million over the past 26 years and said taking part in running challenges allowed her to spend “special time alone with my dad”.

“There is probably not a single family in the entire country, or even in the entire world, that has not been touched tangibly by this truly brutal disease.”

She added that in recent weeks she had lost “a very, very dear family friend” to cancer.

“Yes, it’s going to be hard, I’m going to have to dig deep, but it’s temporary and I’ll do it for people like her.”