An adventurer’s feat of running marathons in all seven continents had an ice cool ending when he crossed the final finish line first.
Paul Webb, of St Andrews, endured extreme temperatures as low as minus 20C to win the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
He completed the 26.2-mile race near the South Pole in just over three hours and 35 minutes, just seconds short of the record.
His victory also made him one of just 134 people to run marathons on every continent.
Since April 2014 the scientist has also run the world’s toughest race, the Marathon des Sables, in the Sahara, and in London, New York, Australia, New Zealand, China and Rio.
Back home in Fife, Paul said: “It was a whiteout for much of the event and the low contrast made it difficult to see the running surface.
“It was a constant battle to find firmer ground to run on.”
He ran his first marathon in Marrakech in 2011 and said: “I was so poorly after the race from physical exhaustion I swore I would never run a marathon again.
“So to finish this race in first place in a time of 3:35:25, less than one minute outside the existing race record set by Petr Vabrousek, is incredible.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in.”
Paul, originally from Newcastle and a scientist at Sasol Technology based at St Andrews University, has raised more than £25,000 for Worldwide Cancer Research. He said: “It has been a remarkable journey.
“I’ve been fortunate to visit some amazing places and have met incredible people along the way.”
He modestly added: “I’m just a normal guy with no particular sporting talent. I now believe it is possible for anyone to achieve almost anything if you put your mind to it.
“All that is required is dedication and determination.”