Julian Crabtree became the first South African, and the third person ever, to compete the Serum Run on foot - a 1100 mile run across the Alaskan wilderness. Dragging all his equipment on a sled, and suffering from frostbite, he battled temperatures of -40 degrees, 70 mph winds, total whiteouts, blizzards and wild animals - to compete the distance in 27 days.

Julian also became the third person to do the Enduroman Arch to Arc in a time of 87 hours and 36 minutes.

The Enduroman Arch To Arc is one of the world’s ultimate endurance challenges - a 289 mile triathlon from Marble Arch, London to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris that has only ever been completed six times as a solo event.

The challenge consists of running 87 miles from the centre of London to the Dover coast, swimming the English Channel (22 miles) and then cycling 180 miles from Calais to the centre of Paris.

In 2009 Julian became the first person to swim all the waves of the Great Swim series - a total of 43 miles. This incredible achievement was voted as the fourth World's Great Open Water Swim of 2009.

As a former member of the Navy Divers Unit, Julian is no stranger to physical challenges and has successfully competed in many ultra-marathons and Ironman-distance triathlons.

Julian lives in London where he has works a freelance writer and journalist. He has worked for Rugby World magazine and was the rugby editor for skysports.com. Occasionally he still runs out for London French Rugby Club.