Ann Bancroft

I'm sort of a strange bird.

I give a tremendous amount of weight to the mental aspect of physical activity and what it does for me.

Running is my bedrock activity.

Everyone in my family is a risk taker in his or her own way.

Growing up in a rural setting in Minnesota, I was raised with the outdoors and a sense of adventure.

I have an opportunity now with some of the projects I've done, i.e. the North Pole and the South Pole, to speak to a larger audience and talk about things that have nothing to do with physical education or special ed.

To push behind the dog sled and run in front of the dog sled. That was always an interesting job.

Film critics said I gave a voice to the fear we all have: that we'll reach a certain point in our lives, look around and realize that all the things we said we'd do and become will never come to be - and that we're ordinary.

I get stubborn and dig in when people tell me I can't do something and I think I can. It goes back to my childhood when I had problems in school because I have a learning disability.

I love that place where you get in running where you're just never out of breath and you just feel like you could go forever. I love that. I love feeling strong.

This journey is not over. Our education initiatives have so much momentum, and we're committed to sharing even more stories from the Arctic when we return.

For me, the greatest obstacles are never on the ice itself. That's the area I excel in. That's where my passion is. I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better.

I think that women on expeditions often get sucked into giving 150 percent of themselves because they feel they have to prove themselves physically equal to men. We get ourselves into trouble and burn out.

My brother Bill, who is a year older, is a climber, and when I was in the seventh grade, he taught me how to rappel off the frozen waterfall in our backyard.

Water links us all as human beings. Everyone needs water, and we all have challenges about it, no matter where we live. Yet even in the U.S., people aren't aware of problems facing water.

And then there's also this element of - some people would describe it as spirits or a presence that appears when things are very difficult, physically and emotionally. You know, when you're really putting out. So the third man aura is sort of an appearance. It's the yeti.

I had no doubts I could go to the pole. I may not be as strong, but I make up for physical strength in other areas, like steadiness and not panicking under stress.

For me, exploration is about that journey to the interior, into your own heart. I'm always wondering, how will I act at my moment of truth? Will I rise up and do what's right, even if every fiber of my being is telling me otherwise?

I love weights, but it's too far to get to the gym. So I make the farm my gym: I split wood and haul tires and do work on the farm, and that's sort of my weight training portion.

I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better.