A primary school teacher from Shaw who has climbed some of the world's tallest mountains, run ultra marathons in both the arctic and the Sahara Desert, and trekked through the jungles of Borneo to inspire his students has written a book about his adventures.
Steve Hill MBE, the deputy head at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, has been doing the incredibly difficult challenges for 13 years, raising over £100,000 for various charities along the way.
What started out as a way to show his pupils anything was possible as long as you worked hard enough has now become an annual adventure, with each one aiming to outdo the last.
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Now, after years of inspiring the students within his classroom, Mr Hill has written a book, outlining all of his adventures and his favourite memories from each one.
"It's very surreal, I find it very hard to believe," said Mr Hill.
"Hopefully people will enjoy reading it, I've been asked about writing a book many times and you just shrug it off, 'yeah whatever I haven't got the time'.
"Then when lockdown came someone contacted me and said they could help me write it and I thought I've got a little bit more time on my hands so why not.
"Now 18 months down the line there's a book."
The title, "What's Next Sir", came from one of the recipients of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award who was handed their accolade by Mr Hill, who suggested the title when they said they looked forward to reading a book about the adventures.
Mr Hill, who has been a teacher in Oldham for 25 years, was made an ambassador of the DofE awards scheme, and has given out the Gold achievements at Buckingham Palace and St James' Palace.
He was also made an MBE in the New Year's Honours list in 2015, being given the prestigious award by the Queen herself - a moment he remembers fondly after making the monarch laugh during the ceremony.
Over the years, Mr Hill has:
- Climbed Mount Kilamanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in 2009
- Climbed Mount Blanc, the second-highest mountain in Europe, in 2010
- Completed a 200km trek through the Sahara Desert in 2011
- Climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, in 2012
- Been on an arctic expedition led by huskies in the start of 2013
- Completed a two week trek through the jungles of Borneo in 2013
- Run the Everest marathon in 2014
- Run the North Pole marathon in 2015
- Run the Petrah Desert marathon in 2016
- Run the Amazon jungle ultra marathon - six marathons in six days - in 2017
- Run the Arctic Ice Ultra marathon in 2018
- Run the Uganda marathon and completed a project in one of the local villages in 2018
- Climber Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia, in 2019
- Built his own charity in 2019 and completed 2,000 shops for the elderly and vulnerable over the 2020 lockdowns
- Completed the Great Norse Run in Iceland - nine marathons in nine days around the coast - in 2021
As if his long list of accomplishments isn't enough, Mr Hill has taken part in these challenges alongside some of the best runners and athletes in the world, who train full-time for these colossus undertakings, and persevered to complete them whilst many others failed.
The full-time teacher refuses to let anything stand in his way - even completing the Amazon ultra marathon in a trainer held together by gaffer tape and zip ties after the shoe split in the first of six stages.
Nothing is more important to him than showing his students that no matter where they come from, or what people tell them they're capable of, they can do anything they set their minds to.
"Those boundaries, they don't exist, you're capable of so much more but you've got to push yourself.
"There's always going to be knockers telling you you can't do it, people have told me 'you're bonkers', 'you're ridiculous', 'you're daft' - just ignore them.
"I'm not suggesting everyone should go and run the North Pole marathon, that's just showing what's possible if you put your mind to it.
"You believe it, go out and achieve it, be the best you can be, and don't give up when things get difficult."
Throughout all these adventures, there are several stand-out moments for Mr Hill, including the time he made Queen Elizabeth II laugh as she gave him an MBE, and watching the Northern Lights dance across the sky as he was pushing towards the end of one leg in the Arctic Ice ultra marathon.
However, his favourite memory came from the Uganda marathon, when a young boy ran alongside him for more than half an hour and the pair shared earbuds to listen to Mr Hill's running playlist.
When they came to a junction, he gave the young boy, around 10 or 11-years-old, the equivalent of 50p and told him to get some sweets and head home, but the youngster soon came running back up behind Mr Hill carrying two ice creams - one for each of them - to share the moment and celebrate the experience.
Mr Hill will be taking part in the Highland ultra marathon - three marathons in three days - in April, and is looking for his next big adventure.
Despite turning 50, an age where many people decide to slow down their lifestyles, Mr Hill has no desire to stop yet, admitting that he already has his name down on the list of competitors for if there's ever a marathon on the moon in his lifetime.
What's Next Sir: How one teacher’s mission to inspire his pupils taught him so much more in return, will be published on June 28, and will be available from Mr Hill himself, Amazon, or Matador, the publishers of the book.
Visit Mr Hill's website for more information on the upcoming release, to learn about his charity, or to see more details about his adventures.
