Diabetics train for Pole challenge

Mike and Will Cross are raising diabetes awareness

A diabetic former RAF officer is in the final phase of training to become one of the oldest people to walk to the South Pole.

Group Captain Mike Cross, 60, from Lincolnshire, will begin the 120-mile trek to the pole in December.

He is joining the last leg of the 700-mile expedition that will be led by his 35-year-old son Will, also an insulin-dependent diabetic.

On Wednesday, as part of their training regime the pair hauled car tyres attached to a harness around the East Midlands countryside.

The pair have trained by hauling tyres

In 2001 Will became the first diabetic to complete a trek to the North Pole.

Mr Cross, who continues to be chief of staff for the Air Cadets based at RAF Cranwell, has been preparing for the challenge for two years.

The pair's challenge, "The Ultimate Trek to Cure Diabetes", is a joint British and US venture, and Mr Cross will be joining his son for the final leg of the trip.

"I have always had an adventurous, exploring nature and Will seems to have inherited some of that," said Mr Cross

"We have done expeditions together before. He is the ice expert and I am the desert expert."

Extreme conditions

"I have always been more of a mountaineer," said Will. "I have successfully climbed as a diabetic and that prompted me to explore the effects of extreme conditions on diabetics."

He wanted to show others, especially children, that there is no reason diabetes should keep them on the sidelines

The full South Pole expedition, over 730 miles, is expected to last 60 days.

During the journey a doctor will assess how his metabolism and muscle functions are affected by extreme physical and environmental conditions.