Walk on With Hope in Your Heart

It was a tough trek across the Arctic for Martin Brown, but the Celtic fan was delighted to wear the Hoops at the end of the journey

- Paul Cuddihy

WHEN Martin Brown got to the end of his 90km Arctic trek, the over-riding feeling he had was of relief that it was finally over. After three days’ walking across the frozen landscape, and with about six hours’ sleep throughout that time, he was just glad to finish.

However, before he could think about a proper rest or even a cold beer, he and the fellow Celts in the party had to retrieve their Hoops tops from the bottom of their rucksack and pose for a picture.

They say the camera never lies, but the picture doesn’t quite capture the cold and exhaustion of its subjects.

However, while it was a tough experience, the fact that the group of 16 have raised £170,000 for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity makes it all worthwhile … just!

Having recovered from his exertions and back in warmer climes – and it’s not often that Glasgow is described as such – Martin, the managing director of Celtic sponsor, Intelligent Car Leasing, was able to reflect on his Arctic trek.

“The experience was amazing, and it’s a part of the world I might not see again,” he explained. “I was glad I did it, but while I was doing it, it was tough and I’m not sure I could say that I enjoyed it.

“It was hard to know what to expect. The fear of the unknown beforehand was one of the main things, but then going there, it was a bit excitement and anticipation at first, but after that, enduring it, it was tough.

“It was much tougher than I’d anticipated. The physical part became, in my head, 10 times harder because of the conditions – things like the size of the tent. It was really small, and there were two people in it, so there wasn’t much space to move, so you didn’t actually sleep very well.