POUNDING surf, howling winds and two baffled Magellanic penguins gave Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud a taste yesterday of what lies in store when their attempt to run seven marathons in seven days starts in Antarctica on Sunday.

The explorers, who are raising money for the British Heart Foundation, had their first training run since leaving Heathrow on Tuesday night on a 26-hour flight to the extreme southern tip of Chile.

Bad weather ruled out continuing yesterday to King George Island in northern Antarctica, and it was little better by Otway Sound near the port of Punta Arenas: bitter winds gusting to 70 mph sent squalls racing across the sound from the glaciers of Patagonia, visible to the north.

The runners struggled to maintain their footing as they tested lightweight clothing that they hope will keep them warm in even harsher conditions in the South Shetland Islands, of which King George Island is the largest.

Sir Ranulph suffered a major heart attack four months ago, but has run two marathons since and is taking Dr Stroud’s word for it that the strain of seven marathons on consecutive days should be bearable given his exceptional endurance. “My chest feels fine and I have the additional comfort of being able to blame it on Mike if anything goes wrong,” he said.

For Dr Stroud, the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge is the realisation of an idea first suggested to him by an American team seven years ago, when it was thought that the only way to run each marathon on separate continents, as the challenge demands, was to use executive jets between them.

This is the first time any team has attempted the feat, however, and it will be tried with scheduled commercial flights except for those to and from Antarctica. “This feels great,” Dr Stroud said, sheltering from the wind after dodging the penguins. “It makes the whole thing seem real at last.”

He and Sir Ranulph are hoping for the weather to break this morning long enough for them to make the four-hour flight by chartered Twin Otter to Chile’s Frei research base, the biggest of several on King George Island. There, after a day’s acclimatisation, they intend to run a 26.2-mile course on a circuit of snow, rock and ice before racing back to Chile for the second marathon in Santiago. Sir Ranulph is on a controlled low-cholesterol diet after his heart attack and subsequent double bypass surgery. Dr Stroud is not. He was hoping to sample the exotic menus of Punta Arenas’s better restaurants last night, looking forward particularly to beaver bourgignonne.

• You can donate to the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge fund and support the British Heart Foundation on line at www.bhf.org.uk/7x7x7 Or you can donate by post to the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge, BHF, FREEPOST WD513, 14 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1E 1JZ.

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