A KENNINGTON newbie will bring far more than artistic and sporting talents to the city.

Adventurer Leila Javadi-Babreh, 32, has spent more than six winters dog-sled racing in Alaska but is now ready to trade Arctic wilderness for the 'hustle and bustle' of Oxford life.

She had to deal with a grizzly bear ruining the back of a truck, her dogs chasing after a lynx and temperatures of below -50.

But one particular incident sticks out.

She explains: "I had to charge at this moose. They can be really aggressive, he had his shoulders out, fur up, ready to charge.

"The dogs were still pulling, so I had to make a decision.

"We went as fast as we could at him and he charged. I ducked down but just before he got to us he turned off into the trees."

She sees the turning point in her own life as coming in 2010, when - while working for a district council - she went on secondment for six months to reach the 'Gates of the Arctic'. She had to give up six miles short, but returned triumphant in 2015 with a dog-sled - a pursuit she first tried while on holiday in Iceland just a few years before.

Originally from Leamington Spa, Ms Javadi-Babreh has also been a fitness instructor, carer, cleaner, barmaid and a national champion at Taekwondo - for five years.

Now a physical activity and health manager for Active Oxfordshire, she is an ambassador for This Girl Can, which encourages women to do physical activity. She is a firm believer in the organisation, which boasts of helping nearly three million women get active.

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Ms Javadi-Babreh herself has countless inspiring anecdotes; from solo navigating hundreds of miles in blizzards, to running with 'wolves' beneath the northern lights, scuba diving between tectonic plates and swimming with bull sharks.

Art has also played a part in her life, though in electricity-deprived huts she had to use insulated tubs to stop her paint freezing. Her work, which she sold to help fund the trips, 'reflects the emotions and experiences I had'.

Ms Javadi-Babreh also stresses how 'ordinary' she is and that 'any average Joe' can live similarly, explaining: "The only barriers are the ones we set ourselves. The common saying runs true: if you don't sacrifice to achieve your dreams, then your dreams become the sacrifice."

She now has plans to go to Lapland in February, for a 150km run, after she was disqualified 120km into a previous event, which she was attempting despite an ongoing chest infection.

And earlier this summer, she went to France for a more relaxing trip - merely wild camping and kayaking 100km through white water on the River Allier.

Now, though, she wants to focus on her career and perhaps have children. But, she adds: "That doesn't mean my adventures have stopped - it might just take two weeks, not six months."