Find out about our daring superstars

Tom Hennessy, United Kingdom

It was a community event in August 2018 that first inspired Tom to think about running for charity. Run-for-Inclusion was and remains a group of able-bodied runners in Singapore who simply help less able-bodied people run five or 10 kilometers every month. The members of the group buddy-up with someone who may be visually impaired, have hearing difficulties, or other body or mind challenges.

When DHL’s 50th Anniversary came around in 2019, Tom wanted to do something to mark the occasion – but simply running 10k, albeit in Singapore’s hot and humid climate, didn’t seem enough to mark the auspicious event.

Inspiration came by way of colleague Roland Thomas, who in 2019 was on a quest to reach the highest point on earth – the summit of Mount Everest. Tom decided that if Roland could prove there ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ for DHL, he should try something a bit more challenging than just a run in the sun!

The idea gathered momentum and culminated in Tom and a local colleague, Andrea Bonanomi, deciding to not only run a full marathon, but to swap the plus 30-degree heat of Singapore for the rather chillier minus 30-degree cold of the Arctic – a temperature drop of some 60 degrees! In the gruelling North Pole Marathon, Tom and Andrea would be running 42 km on the North Pole ice shelf, facing bitterly cold winds and potentially hungry polar bears, just a few feet above the freezing Arctic Ocean! Their success would add to Roland’s accolade proving there ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ – and there ‘ain’t no location north enough’ for DHL!

Tom and Andrea began training in earnest and also launched a fundraising campaign in the run-up to the race. In April 2019 they made their way to the base location in Norway and took part in the race briefings. But then it was announced that due to political issues and bad weather the race would be delayed. Sadly, the delays continued and eventually the event was cancelled completely.

Disappointed, but undeterred, the two runners returned to Singapore and began preparations for the 2020 race, continuing their training program and fundraising activities. But then another obstacle arose: the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerts, sporting events, parties – everything was on hold – including the North Pole Marathon.

Yet again, the intrepid runners were not to be deterred, and carried on training for a second year, with the hope of being third time lucky.

Then, in early 2021, Roland Thomas once again proved a source of inspiration. Tom and Roland were on a call sharing experiences and discussing plans for 2022. During the call Tom conceded that he and Andrea had probably been underprepared for the marathon in 2019, but they’d learned a lot since. Tom mentioned that he’d heard that companies could enter as a team if they had at least three runners and Roland suggested they make the marathon part of a much larger adventure.

Tom and Andrea would make their fourth attempt to run the world’s coolest marathon – but this time as part of a DHL team. In the spirit of DHL4HER – a DHL initiative that aims to help female colleagues reach their full potential – the pair would invite a female colleague to join them.

Hundreds of women entered the Pole Position challenge, but only one could win a place, and that was Erika Nordblad, an employee from Sweden with a taste for adventure and a proven track record of long-distance running. Since then, two more places in the DHL marathon team have been secured for the two reserves: Caroline Cunningham, based in the US, and Tara Ricketts, based in the UK.

At DHL they say they do things Right First Time – in Tom’s case its now the fourth time – but the Can Do spirit and Passion are as strong as ever (we’ll see about Speed) and Team DHL is fit and ready to run the world’s coolest marathon AS ONE!

Andrea Bonanomi, Italy

Andrea’s experience shows that some events in life can be triggered by fate and opportunity.

This happened when, at the end of 2016, the ‘wind of change’ took him from Bergamo in northern Italy to the city-state of Singapore. He was thrust into a new culture and started breathing in the freshness of the diversity around him: living with people of similar and different beliefs, ethnicities, religions and languages. He realized that, despite some differences, people are mostly very similar, with a few simple basic needs. One of these is breathing…

Breath and breathing are very much required when we want to focus on achieving our goals, as well as meeting the expectations placed upon ourselves with a view to setting our own pace of life.

Andrea has played soccer since he was a kid, but has never liked running. He took part in sports competitions and ran a few marathons in the past, though not for the love of running itself but for other reasons – such as the scenery offered by the Great Wall in China or simply for the thrill of overcoming obstacles.

He joined in two DHL EuroCups before his transfer to the Global/Regional Office team (GRO) and its sister competition, AsiaCup, and this is where a unique opportunity suddenly appeared. His colleague and soccer mate Tom Hennessy inspired him to take on the unthinkable: run a marathon for charity on a layer of thick ice at the North Pole, while possibly being chased by polar bears (!). “How cool is that!” thought Andrea. It was just the beginning of a mentoring journey.

Breathing once again became a guiding theme for Andrea, using various techniques to put his anxieties about the race to rest. Meanwhile, running practice led him to contribute to charitable causes focused on children and people with disabilities. The journey also made him appreciate the beauty of the natural environment around us and the importance of doing something to help it survive – to keep it breathing, so to speak.

Andrea with Tom started what soon became their regular running routine in 2018. They knew they had a tough challenge ahead of them: going from the tropical +30 degrees of Singapore to the freezing -30 degrees of the high Arctic. However, it was not the natural challenges that thwarted their first North Pole Marathon attempt but human intervention: a political dispute caused the 2019 North Pole Marathon to be called off.

Despite this disappointment, the time spent in the Arctic was an opportunity for Andrea and Tom to truly grasp the extremity, ferocity and beauty of this remote part of the world. It was a moment to learn from experience in order to keep the motivation flowing for the following year. Unfortunately, at the start of 2020 the world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the North Pole Marathon was called off once again. But Andrea and Tom kept running and training, not giving up on their dream.

Now, after four years of training for this marathon event, Andrea feels like he’s put in an Olympic-grade effort and is more than ready to take on the challenge! He is also thrilled at this opportunity to raise awareness about environmental conservation. Andrea and the Pole Position team are supporting Conservation International to protect nature, preserve our oceans and sustain our land and water resources. Will you join them?

Erika Nordblad, Sweden

Erika Nordblad is a Swedish national with a diverse and international background. Despite her nationality, Erika has never actually lived in Sweden: she was born in Luxembourg and has lived in the US, Thailand and Kenya. Currently based in the UK, she loves adventure and physical challenges and strives to push herself to reach her full potential.

Erika loves sports. She used to be a keen handball player and is also a skilled golfer. She even represented Luxembourg in both sports – the advantage of living in such a small country with so few people! Her keen interest in sports continues to shape her life today. She’s still a keen golfer, but has also developed a passion for running that has led her to take part in multiple endurance races, including an ultra-marathon around the Isle of Wight, which she highly recommends!

While she greatly enjoys “normal” road races, Erika’s love for adventure is what motivated her to apply for the North Pole Marathon. She first read about Tom and Andrea’s attempt to run the world’s coolest marathon in 2019, and thought it was something she’d love to experience herself… never thinking she’d have the chance. Erika is now in full training and while it is going to be the toughest challenge she has ever taken on, she knows DHL’s support and her determined mind-set will get her to the finish line.

Erika is also passionate about charity work and fundraising for good causes. She previously worked at a humanitarian charity in London and was also involved in a volunteer program with local entrepreneurs in Kenya, both of which she successfully raised funds for. While still passionate about humanitarian work, climate change has become an ever more pressing issue and a priority she feels she needs to focus on and address. This is another reason Erika was so eager to be part of this expedition: She believes it’s a great cause to raise awareness about global warming and what people and companies can do to reduce their carbon footprint.

Becoming a DHL4HER champion is an honor and a task Erika takes very seriously. She’s excited to represent the initiative and give a voice and empower other women in the company. It is about all women in the company feeling heard and appreciated, no matter their job title or background. Physical challenges like the North Pole Marathon are a great way for women to push themselves, but DHL4HER is about more than just physical challenges: it’s about inspiring and empowering women to strive for goals and reach their full potential.

Tara Ricketts, United Kingdom

Tara Ricketts has never been afraid of stepping out of her comfort zone. She’s always been curious to see what she’s capable of, even if it scares her. Her taste for adventure began when she was just nine years-old. On a family holiday in the French Alps she trekked along a glacier with her mother and grandparents, an experience that opened her mind to adventure and inspired her to undertake more challenges as she grew older.

Tara has been running recreationally since her early 20s, but during a tough patch in her life, running started to take on even more importance. In 2015 she joined the Holme Pierrepont running club in Nottingham, England and began channeling her energy into the sport. During her first year with the club she set herself a target to run three half-marathons despite never having undertaken one before. She started with the Derby Ramathon, the second was the Robin Hood Half, followed a month later by the Worksop Halloween Half.

She was over the moon with her achievements and ready for the next challenge. So she signed up for her very first full marathon – the UK Boston Marathon in 2016. Since then she’s completed three off-road marathons and took part in her first ultra-marathon in 2018 – completing 30 miles of trail running.

In 2021, she was inspired by her mum’s crazy idea to compete in her second ultra-marathon instead: 55 km in the Peak District. During the race, with 16 km still to run, Tara came across a fellow runner in distress. He was struggling to finish, so Tara suggested they walk the rest of the race together. They crossed the finish line in last place!

Her next ultra-marathon will be the Hardmoors 55 in March 2022, an endurance race over the North Yorkshire Moors with a 16-hour cutoff. It’s a tough course made even more challenging by the weather. But if she makes it, she’ll have gained some invaluable experience for her next challenge two weeks later: the North Pole Marathon. Taking part as Team DHL, working As One and putting the Can Do attitude into practice will be super exciting for Tara.

She can’t wait to take DHL to the North Pole! It’s an honor for her to be running under the banner of DHL4HER. She’s also looking forward to the opportunity to raise awareness about the devastating impact of climate change by supporting Conservation International and raising funds for this worthy cause. Let’s go, Team DHL!

Caroline Cunningham, USA

Caroline started her running journey in 2013. Prompted by a DHL training questionnaire, she realized her fitness level could be improved. Since then, she has taken part in more than fifty long-distance races of at least 42 km (26 miles), six of them 160 km (100 miles) or more.

Growing up, sports wasn’t considered to be that important, having tried various fitness fads over the years, from ‘mastering the grapevine’, to step aerobics, but none of them stuck. That all changed in 2013 when she joined a marathon training group with the goal of running her first marathon in Miami in January 2014. She never looked back, going on to complete her first 80 km (50 mile) event in 2015 and then her first 160 km (100 mile) run in 2016.

In 2017 she undertook an even tougher challenge, completing the Grand to Grand - a self-supported 275 km (170 miles) footrace where runners carry everything they need to survive on their backs. Her most recent adventure was in September 2021, due to wildfires and COVID, many races were cancelled but Caroline and four other runners did not let this stop them! They planned their own race through the Black Hills of South Dakota, making it the longest distance Caroline has covered, clocking up 298 km (185 miles) in under 100 hours. Running solo for the majority of the time Caroline had to depend on her own orientation skills to navigate the trails and to know when to stop on the mountainside to take dirt naps in her emergency foil sleeping bag when sleep deprivation induced hallucinations hit.

These tests of endurance have given Caroline an amazing feeling of empowerment and left her in awe of the nature and landscapes she’s encountered. The key to her success is the encouragement and support she receives from friends, colleagues, fellow competitors, and race organizers. It’s important for Caroline to return that encouragement, so she often volunteers to be a pacer in marathons. Her favourite pace position is at the back of the pack, encouraging new marathon runners and walkers to the finish line.

In 2018, Caroline was approached by her Operations colleagues to help raise money for Cancer Free Kids by running the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. To raise even more funds, she decided to run in every event that was held on the same weekend. In the run-up to the marathon, she spent a sweltering hot day running 80 km (50 miles) around the DHL corporate HQ and encouraged anyone crazy enough to join her.

Caroline had already set herself the challenge of running the Marathon Des Sables in 2022 – a 254 km (157 mile) footrace across the Sahara Desert. But when the opportunity arose to run the North Pole Marathon, supporting the DHL4HER program, Caroline had to enter. She was over the moon when she heard she’d won a place. She’ll be running in temperatures of over 32°C in the Sahara, and just a few weeks later in temperatures of minus 30°C in the Arctic!

She is definitely up for the challenge and will be looking for support to raise money for an important cause. For Caroline, an essential part of running is being able to disconnect and experience nature first-hand. So raising funds to conserve nature and ecosystems is one that’s close to her heart and she looks forward to supporting Conservation International as the team’s chosen charity.

Roland Thomas, United Kingdom

No stranger to outdoor adventures, Roland has been climbing mountains for decades and has visited Alaska, Peru, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tibet, Kenya and countless more, in his quest for altitude. His greatest challenge came in 2019 when he led the successful DHL Everest Quest in our 50th Anniversary year.

While that was a physical endeavour of an extreme kind, Roland points to an equal satisfaction in the Everest Quest team raising €100,000 for the disaster relief charity DIRECT RELIEF. The largest part of those donations came from DHL colleagues around the world and it is that generosity and how they had a lasting impact on the lives of others that he remembers the most.

Roland’s most recent climbing challenge in Ecuador over the New Year gave him the kick start to his year-long training program for Antarctica. The training continues to Norway in March where he joins Liv Marit for a week-long crossing of the Hardangervidda by skis. It moves to Greenland in July for a two-week training in polar mountain conditions, and from that point, Roland will be pulling tyres on mixed terrain as often as he can.

His perspective on training is simple: It’s not important how fast you run. Or how quickly you pedal the kilometers. Or for how often your friends & colleagues are working out. What’s important is that YOU make the decision to make a change. The boundaries between work and home are harder to define, so the exercise you take holds more meaning than it did before: it brings focus, more energy, less stress and, amongst all the Zoom calls you are invited to, it’s the one thing YOU get to control.

Roland is inspired by the North Pole Marathon runners. The months of commitment needed to prepare for a marathon are tough enough he says, but to Go the Extra Mile and run that distance in brutal conditions deserves the collective response from DHL that he knows will come. Collectively, the team champions the ideals of DHL4Her, Fit for Work and an outstanding environmental charity, and when these are combined it’s a compelling reason to get involved.

Liv Marit Stern, Norway

Norwegian Liv Marit Stern goes through an important analysis every year around her upcoming birthdays. She has to ask the following question (and lying is deemed to be acceptable – and necessary – since she makes the rules): “Am I old?” And each year the answer keeps coming back: “Absolutely not. Maybe next year, but clearly not this year!” Denial can be a powerful tool.

Onwards to new adventures and experiences have been her mantra since she was much younger. Prior to becoming a mother of twins, boy & girl, at age 31- she loved travelling and the outdoors. Motherhood is always like a fine balancing act - that's part of its beauty and fun. For Liv Marit, the biggest challenge of it all was learning to live by a strict schedule. She tried to split her time between her work and her twins each day, but that became really difficult since she found herself completely drained of energy. That’s when she decided to make space for regular workouts to boost her energy levels.

That decision forever changed Liv Marit’s life. Along with indoor cycling classes followed the need for getting outdoors. In 1999 she participated in her first classic MTB race, Birkerbeinerrittet. The track is 86 km long and passes through impressive mountains, forests and valley settings from the village of Rena to Haakons hall at the Olympic city of Lillehammer. Both elite and recreational bikers enjoy this journey. More mountain bike races followed and in 2000 she completed her first cross-country ski race, the legendary ski race Birkebeinerrennet. For her 40th. Birthday she gave herself a start number in “The Great Trial of Strength” (Styrkeproeven) which is a 540 km long bicycle road race which starts in Trondheim and finishes in Oslo, Norway. The feeling of mastery was huge and sparked the desire to do more. Energy levels climbed up making the balancing act of a career in DHL in combination with motherhood, a beautiful experience.

The whole purpose of participating in races was having goals for her training to focus on. What gets FOCUS gets attention, what gets attention gets done! It is much easier to compete with yourself when you train towards a goal. The goals got bigger and higher altitude was involved. After having experienced the epic Inka trail, Machu Picchu and Salkantay trek in the Peruvian Andes mountain range, she aimed at one of the Seven Summits: Aconcagua in Argentina. Liv Marit absolutely loved the experience and raised a DHL flyer on the top of Aconcagua, 6962 m.a.s.l on January 15. 2014. A nice birthday present to herself in time for her 50th. Birthday.

The summit ignited the desire for more adventures that would ensure getting her out of the comfort zone. Mountains, and being one with nature, are what make her tick. Mountains just have that alluring quality, and climbing to the top can teach you a lot about life. Whilst you dream of the summit and focus on the success of getting to the top, you realise afterwards that the most important part was the journey and the effort needed to get you there. Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, mountains in Nepal and an attempt on Denali in 2018 followed - while climbing and skiing mountains in Norway as often as possible. Sailing has also become one of her favourite summer pastime over the past years. She claims that yoga is her ultimate fountain of youth.

In her job as Head of HR she is the main driver of Norway’s DHL Adventure Club where colleagues go on a weekend trip twice a year to push their limits in beautiful nature. She is also very engaged in Tuesday Trekking which is a Fit for Work – Fit for Life activity that is offered every Tuesday for the past couple of years.

Liv Marit views her participation in The DHL POLE 2to POLE as an incredible honour. Bringing the DHL flag to the South Pole while focusing on fund raising for the environment – will add a tremendous purpose to all the training and the efforts needed in preparation for the event. Always remember: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” -C.S. Lewis