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She's trained in a giant fridge. Now, this Aussie mum hopes to beat the odds in an Arctic race
After months of training inside a giant fridge, Sia Kindberg is ready to run an Arctic race only a third of competitors complete.
Published 18 February 2024 6:43am
By Ewa Staszewska
Source: SBS News
Image: Sia Kindberg (SBS News / Ewa Staszewska)
At -20C, exposed skin inside the giant fridge feels so cold it burns.
Yet, the Arctic terrain Sia Kindberg is about to spend five days running across will grow even colder. Most winter days in Swedish Lapland, the temperature drops to -40C.
On 20 February, the 42-year-old will be the first Australian woman to compete in the Arctic Ice Ultramarathon. It’s a race so gruelling that only 33 per cent of competitors complete it.
Kindberg is one of 40 people racing 230km over five days — the equivalent of just over one marathon a day — against wind, across snowfields, and over a frozen lake that will be slippery and blanketed in fog from suspended ice drops.
"There's a term called frozen fog where fog just lies there and waits for someone or something to come through to freeze you," Kindberg told SBS News.
Sia Kindberg has been training inside a fridge at the University of Melbourne's Carlton campus to acclimatise her to arctic conditions. Source: SBS News / Ewa Staszewska
How Sia Kindberg is preparing to race in the Arctic
It's a delicate balancing act that a mechanical engineering team including student Patrick-Bradfield Smith at Melbourne University has done their best to prepare her for by using nine fans to create Arctic-like conditions … inside a giant fridge.
While the single mother of two runs on a treadmill inside the fridge, Bradfield-Smith uses thermal imaging to detect hotspots in her clothing, eliminating equipment that will lose too much heat.
"We've had sessions where we've had her lie in a sleeping bag for a while just to make sure that she's comfortable … and lots of taking gear on and off, on and off," he said.
One of the biggest challenges has been finding gloves that will keep frostbite at bay, while maintaining dexterity in her fingers for a task like putting on her snowshoes.
"All the material properties change once they get that cold," Bradfield-Smith said, explaining that gloves stiffen in the cold.
Sia Kindberg (centre) has been working with the Melbourne University engineering team including student Patrick Bradfield Smith (left) and Professor in Ocean Engineering Alessandro Toffoli (right). Source: SBS News / Ewa Staszewska
Each lesson inside the fridge is invaluable at informing what will go into the 16kg backpack strapped to Kindberg’s back, as well as psychologically preparing her for the endurance test ahead.
Running 12 to 15 hours each day
The self-sufficient nature of the race means she will run 12 to 15 hours each day, a lot of which will be in the dark, carrying all of her gear.
This includes clothes, a medical bag, five days’ worth of food, 1.5 litres of hot water which she can refill at pit stops, and tampons, which are used like kindling to help make fire.
"I don't think I really understood what it required to go out in the Arctic before I signed up," Kindberg said.
Kindberg lists at least 14 items of clothes she'll be wearing, from a merino wool bra to polytech base layers and a black mask hood that will cover the back of her neck underneath her beanie.
"I've been running up and down in the fridge trying different gear and what kind of food I can eat in there. Little things that shouldn't become a thing, become a big thing in that environment," she adds.
They're conditions almost impossible to imagine as Kindberg recalls being dumped by a big wave at the beach while training on the sand in her snowshoes in January, as Australia sweltered through summer.
I don't think I really understood what it required to go out in the Arctic before I signed upSia Kindberg
Sia Kindberg has been training for 12 months. It has included waking up at 4am to run in Victoria's alpine region or across sand, which is similar to running in snow. Source: SBS News / Supplied/Sia Kindberg
"I saw videos years ago. I thought this was my calling but I was scared to sign up. And then a friend of mine got sick," she said.
"She's one of the strongest women I've come across. Seeing her fight so hard just to get a day or a few hours extra with her children, made me realise I have a healthy, workable body.
"The last day I saw my friend, she was trying to walk and was shaking. I thought to myself, she would have done this race completely naked eight times if it meant she could go home to her children.
"Not signing up for a race I'd always wanted to do was just weak."
That night Kindberg signed up for the ultramarathon. She then flew to northeast Thailand, where she grew up, to say goodbye to another friend battling cancer.
Not signing up for a race I'd always wanted to do, was just weak.Sia Kindberg
Hoping to change lives
Being back in Thailand, which she left for Sweden with her mother when she was eight, inspired her to fundraise $20,000 to rebuild her childhood school in a small village outside Ubon Ratchathani.
"I'm hoping we can get enough money to fix the roof and add another toilet, because at the moment there's two toilets for 200 children," she said.
Sia hopes to inspire her daughters Olivia and Stella. Source: SBS News / Supplied/Sia Kindberg
"I think it's really important. Sometimes you just need to put that loose seed in someone's mind and they can do quite amazing things," she said.
It includes inspiring her daughters, Olivia, 10 and Stella, 12, to be active and courageous to live out their dreams. Ironically, neither of their dreams include running.
Kindberg acknowledges she wouldn't be embarking on her next adventure without the sacrifices of her kids and learning to ask for help.
She moved to Australia in 2003 and despite not having any family here, she feels “blessed by an entourage" of friends, school mums, colleagues and sponsors that have helped her juggle training and motherhood.
"It has taught me so much that I need my entourage. These people want me to succeed and want to support me. I have to accept help and that is okay," she said.
Running towards what scares her
As 12 months of preparation come to an end and she practices packing her backpack again, Kindberg’s lack of fear for the challenge ahead is inspiring.
Sia Kinberg preparing for her race. Source: SBS News / Ewa Staszewska
"There's no point of me thinking about the cold and suffering already. I know it's going to be painful and I will deal with it when I get there.
"Someone told me that when a storm comes in, buffaloes stand still and run towards the storm to deal with it head on. But cows, they run away and tire themselves out.
"I just want to do what I always wanted to do, which is run. Run towards what scares me. I want to be the buffalo."
