Ashburton local Greg Roadley was one of 18 people who competed in the 6633 Arctic Ultra Footrace, which ran from the 10th to the 18th of March.
The race was 566km and crossed the Arctic Circle before finishing at the Arctic Ocean.
It took place over eight days and temperatures got as cold as -36 degrees.
The race required competitors to be self-sufficient and carry food, bedding and shelter on a sled.
Greg Roadley said to finish the race in eight days you had to walk 70-80 kilometres a day which was a grueling task.
He got 3 hours of sleep a night which were spent sleeping in ice on the side of the road.
"The hardest part of the race was dealing with the extreme cold when you're sleep deprived. You had to be careful that you didn't expose anything or become hurt."
Roadley trained by attaching a tyre to a harness and dragging it around his farm and the Mount Hutt Ski Field road.
When he finished the race, Roadley felt shattered and exhausted but also happy he was the first Kiwi to ever finish the race.
