Thornwewill Mike (Great Britain)

Thornwewill Mike

Mike Thornewill (born in December 1962) has become famous together with Fiona, his wife since that day when they caught the imagination of the world's press as the non privileged, working couple from Nottinghamshire, who raised £68,000 to fund their record-breaking expedition, raised £100,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Fund and realised their dreams of being the first married couple to walk to both the South and North Poles.

Mike Thornewill, from Nottingham, works as a policeman. His interests include: Mountaineering, running and cycling. Mike has been a keen mountaineer for 25 years, having climbed extensively around the world. More recently, Mike took an interest cold climate travel, having dog sledged in Spitzbergen and walked to the South and North Poles. He has guided two novice expeditions, one to Finnmark in 2002 and another to make the first ever foot crossing of the Canadian Great Slave Lake in 2003. Reason for going south again: "Someone needs to tell my wife when to stop walking! - Really, I'm passionate about the untainted beauty, the challenge - and showing others how much there is to life."

Mike Thornewill has been an active mountaineer for 20 years and is the holder of a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. He is a competitive runner and cyclist having completed triathlons at the Ironman' distance.

Over a curry one night, Fiona agreed to join Mike in his boyhood dream of crossing overland to the South Pole. Pushing themselves to the limits of endurance and their relationship! Despite a collapse of his knee Mike overcame terrible pain to reach his personal goal.