INTREPID mums Sally Barr, Arabella Burwood and Seraphina Berry – aka ‘The Arctic Monkeys’ – are gearing up for the ultimate charity challenge later this month.

The three full-time working mums, from Haslemere, are doing an Arctic cross-country ski marathon ‘Walk the Walk’, to raise money for breast cancer research. Walk the Walk has made grants for research to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Campaign for its ground-breaking Breast Cancer Tissue Bank.

The two charities recently merged to form Breast Cancer Now and funding from Walk the Walk has made possible Breast Cancer Now’s legacy study for secondary breast cancer.

Walk the Walk is also committed to providing funding to hospitals across the UK to purchase scalp cooling systems to help patients undergoing chemotherapy retain their hair.

The trio have raised almost £5,000 so far, but are hoping to double that before they get under way in their endurance test at Abisko National Park in north Sweden, battling temperatures of minus 30 degrees Centigrade.

To ensure they will be up to speed, they have undergone intensive training to build up their upper body strength and aim to complete the challenge between Friday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 28, in around 16 hours.

Sally said: “While we are very excited, we are also a tad nervous about the enormity of this extreme challenge.

“The terrain is extremely hilly and we have been Nordic walking with poles to get fit, pounding the streets of Haslemere after work and at weekends, and have discovered our lovely town is not called the Switzerland of Surrey for nothing.

“We have also been following a strict weekly training plan to ensure we can complete this marathon, which includes Nordic walking up to 35 miles, four cross training sessions in the gym, plus swimming and pilates – all we need now is heaps of good luck and kind and generous sponsorship.”

•To make a donation go to www.arcticchallenge2018.everydayhero.com/uk/ theteam