Instead of choosing to spend the holidays relaxing at home, British adventurist Maria Leijerstam, a 35 year-old former management consultant, just broke two world records by becoming the first person to cycle to the South Pole in record time.

Leijerstam, who battled freezing Antarctic temperatures and whiteouts, beat out two male rivals on the grueling 500 mile, which took just 10 days.

(READ the full story with photos, at Inhabitat)