Adelaide father Aaron Crook is preparing for the biggest physical and mental challenge of his life - an ultra-marathon in one of the coldest places on earth.

In February, Crook will attempt to complete the 6633 Arctic Ultra, a gruelling 660km race in northwest Canada, to raise funds for the Adelaide Crows Foundation.

Mental toughness is an attribute Crook will need plenty of, as he dedicates his efforts to raising funds for the foundation’s Open Parachute program, which helps equip children with the skills they need to overcome mental health challenges.

"It's far more a mental challenge than a physical one, within less than 24 hours of the race starting your body is already shot and you're aching in pain,” Crook said.

“Sleep deprivation also poses very real challenges for your state of mind.

"The only thing that can get you through is a willingness to put one foot in front of the next and to keep running, and that's all in your mind.

"I think it's going to be really, really hard, even now I have trouble imagining how I will get to the end of it, but I've been in situations like that before and I've always found a way, I'm confident that'll be the case this time as well.”

The Adelaide Crows Foundation, in partnership with the Crows Number One Ticket Holder Guy Sebastian’s Foundation - The Sebastian Foundation, supports more than 18,000 children across South Australia through Open Parachute.

Every $15 raised will provide a primary or secondary student access to the program for an entire school year.

Crook’s six-year-old son James is a huge Crows fan and will be participating in the Open Parachute program at his primary school later this year.

"My son James has really found a personality through the Crows… as soon as he saw the Crows and how the game worked, he was absolutely hooked,” Crook said.

"Seeing the Club's willingness to bring in kids to the Club, James has been to a number of training sessions and always comes out glowing.

"The Crows Foundation has been doing great work, and it seemed to me like the obvious thing to support (with the run) given the work is so valuable and how much of a Crows fan James is.”

Crook has run more than 10 ultra-marathons before but admits tackling 660km in such extreme conditions will be his toughest challenge yet.

“Back in 2018, I went searching for the toughest physical challenge I could find, and I landed on the Marathon des Sables and crossed the finish line in 2019.

“Since then, I’ve taken on a mix of ultras—long and short—but it’s clear to me now that the 660km 6633 Arctic Ultra is in a league of its own and may just be the hardest race out there.

“I’ve never found any challenge as hard as this one and I just want to get to the very edge and see if I’m capable of something like this.

"I've tried to prepare my body and my mind as best as I can, I've been doing a lot of all night long efforts to replicate what it will be like over there - dragging tyres, running ultra distances and frequenting Mt Lofty have also been prominent on the schedule.”

The father of two said it was important to teach kids the resilience to overcome the challenges life throws at them.

"The Open Parachute program is so important to give kids tools they can use early on,” Crook said.

"I think how difficult it is now for children navigating those years heading into high school, with social media too which was never around when I was a kid, I can't even imagine how difficult it would be navigating those emotions, given the emergence of these new challenges.

"So, if we can give them the skills and resources to prepare them and tackle these issues they come across, that can really help them get through school and also help them become great young adults."

For more information on the Open Parachute program, click here or to donate to Crook's run, click here.