Mike Stroud qualified as a doctor in 1979 but his next 10 years of hospital practice were interspersed with prolonged periods travelling around the world on expeditions. He then left mainstream medicine for 6 years to perform research on human performance at extremes, a period culminating in his appointment as Chief Scientist at the Defence Research Agency ‘Centre for Human Sciences’. During this research, Mike continued to undertake expeditions including in 1992/93, the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica on foot with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. This raised more than £2 million for good causes and led to the award of both the OBE for “Human Endeavour & Services to Charity’ and the Polar Medal for ‘Services to Polar exploration”.
In late 1995 Mike returned to working in hospitals and later became a Senior Lecturer in Medicine & Nutrition, and a Consultant Gastroenterologist in Southampton. Nevertheless he continued to travel extensively taking part in multi-sport, ultra-distance endurance events including the Marathon of the Sands, 2 Eco-Challenge Adventure Races and an unsupported 200 km run across the Qatar desert. Most recently, he and Sir Ranulph ran 7 marathons, on 7 Continents in 7 days, raising money for charity.
Mike has also become well-known for his TV commenetaries on others putting themselves in stressful situations. He featured in all three BBC series of ‘SAS – Are you tough enough ?’ set in Scotland, Borneo and the Namib Desert, and most recently presented the 8 part BBC series ‘The Challenge’. He has written two books ‘Shadows on the Wasteland – Crossing Antarctica with Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ and ‘Survival of the Fittest - understanding health and optimal human performance’.
Interested in booking this speaker? Call 01329 834373.
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