Polar explorer Ann Bancroft might be winter’s biggest champion. But Bancroft, who’s set records traveling to the North and South Poles, and crossing Antarctica, says the key to surviving our coldest months is to tap your inner child. MPR News reporter Catharine Richert joins her.

The Arrowhead 135 winter ultra race tests athletes like no other competition. Some run it to test their survival savvy. Others come to test their spirit in the frozen, lonely North Woods. Every competitor has a story. MPR News visual journalist Ben Hovland was there to capture it all.