INUVIK - While most athletes' careers begin to wind down in their late 30s, Martin Like's is just beginning.

Like's story is one of those improbable mid-life turnarounds, where a near 40-year-old man suddenly starts training and runs a marathon.

Martin Like, 42, has organized and participated in some fantastically long marathons around the world, including runs in Whitehorse and Alaska. He said he hopes a 350-mile "ultramarathon" in the Beaufort Delta will become an annual event. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

Or in this case, a supermarathon.

The Welsh property surveyor said he wasn't too interested in fitness before reaching middle age.

But then - for some reason he can't explain, but has brought him joy ever since - he decided to push the limits of his endurance.

He now pits himself against the most rigorous of races, ultra-marathons.

Last month, from March 17 to 24, Like and 20 other Europeans staged their own ultra-marathon here in the Arctic.

On foot or bicycle, carrying their own supplies and braving the cold, the 11 contestants and nine support crew travelled from the rim of the Arctic Circle near Eagle Plains to the Beaufort Sea in Tuktoyaktuk.

The race covered 350 miles in eight days, and finished with a drum dance and celebration in Tuktoyaktuk.

When asked his reasons for racing, Like said he enjoyed the challenge.

He has run several ultra-marathons in the past including some in Whitehorse and Alaska.

Like added the world of super-marathons is very competitive, and there are always athletes looking to outdo each other.

"Running is a very popular sport throughout the world," he said, over a casual lunch in Inuvik.

This Welsh ultra-marathoner drinks coffee and eats quesadillas, no special foods here.

"Of course, most people first strive to do a 10km run, then a half-marathon, then a full marathon. In many cases, that's the pinnacle," he said.

But of course, he added, there are always athletes who crave bigger challenges, which can lead to supermarathons - defined as anything over 26 miles - and "extreme ultra marathons," where the environment is intentionally difficult.

"I think this race is as tough as it gets," Like said.

"This is a longer race, it's a tougher race, it's a windier race. I think it's another step up."

Of course, as some cynical sideliners might expect, some runners had trouble during the race and even suffered from freezing.

One contestant, 44-year-old Welsh mother of two, Sue Kersley, had to be treated for frostbite at Fort McPherson's health centre.

"It's quite hard to regulate body temperature, and stop yourself from sweating," Kersley said, adding in her case, perspiration in her socks started to freeze and her toes soon followed.

"In my particular case, I just got too cold."

Support crew member Gareth Davis, who is from England, said he found it tough riding alongside the runners, even in a heated car.

"It's colder than most people expected, especially the wind," he said.

As they travelled the Dempster Highway and Tuktoyaktuk ice road, Like said the runners were welcomed in communities.

When they stopped in Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, for instance, he said the hamlets donated the use of their recreation buildings.

When the race ended in Tuktoyaktuk on March 24, Hamlet recreation coordinator Janna Wolki said the runners were welcomed with a feast and drum dance, performed by the Tuktoyaktuk Drummers and Dancers.

"Coming from England, where everyone is so negative, it was overwhelming to see the response," Like said.

But he added the extreme conditions of the North were also surprising, in a bad way.

"I think anything beyond what we're doing here would be entering the realm of foolhardy," he said.

"I might be wrong, but I personally wouldn't want to be in charge of anything worse than this."

While this year's runners are probably still recuperating, Like said he'd like to see the race happen every year.

He has called the project 6633 Ultra, after its longitude/latitude starting point, and said he wants Canadians to try.

"The race itself is my creation, and there's no profit in this for me. And, however long this race continues there won't be a profit," Like said.

He said he hoped it might become internationally famous, and join the ranks of the many adventure expeditions, which perennially visit the North.

"I just can't think of anything dafter to do, to be honest," he said with a laugh.