SJH Projects was commissioned with very little time in hand to design a specialised race buggy for the Likeys 6633 Ultra-marathon taking place in the Canadian Arctic in March 2015.
Mike DeNoma, CEO of the GLH Hotel Group and experienced endurance racer had visited Portsmouth University’s Extreme Environmental Medicine and Science Laboratory to get the best possible advice on how to prepare and equip himself for the 350 mile self-sufficient race.
Mike had commented that some means that avoided having to put up a bivi at each stop would save a him a lot of time, especially as his regime is to use a series small 30-40 minute naps throughout.
With SJH Projects having worked closely with Portsmouth University on ‘The Coldest Journey’, the team there were aware of our previous work for Rosie Swale-Pope and Ranulph Fiennes and that we may be able to help.
A few phone calls later and we were designing a very lightweight carbon shelled tricycle buggy with integrated skis that met Mike’s requirements. The challenge was getting it finished in time to ship it all the way to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory in time for the start.
With the manufacturing carried out by Technique Composites and a lot of long hours and favours called in, this was achieved, indeed it arrived in Whitehorse just a few hours before Mike did. The race starts on the 20th March and the new buggy should provide Mike with the survival capsule he wanted, allowing him to cook, nap and look after himself in relative comfort and minimum time wasted.
