The father-of-two raced 617 kilometres through the arctic to win the 2019 edition of the international event.

It was the second time Paul had attempted to tackle the marathon after he pulled out after four days in 2017.

On average, 80 per cent of competitors pull out of the eight-day race, which is regarded by many as the toughest, coldest, windiest ultra distance footrace in the world.

But as Paul finally crossed the finish line on Saturday, he had no idea if he was the winner.

Time adjustments were put in place after two competitors stopped to help keep another contender warm until support arrived.

Paul was in the lead but needed to finish four-hours-and-47 minutes ahead of the next contestant in order to win.

Wife Ilona Watkins said everyone at home was holding their breath, tracking Paul's movements through a GPS.

"We were trying to calculate where Paul was and where (second place) was along the GPS to figure out if Paul had actually won," she said.

"For a while there it was all speculation, so when we found out that he was first, I think it took a while to actually sink in."

The non-stop self-sufficient foot race saw competitors cross the line of the Arctic Circle.

Ilona said it was incredible to see Paul's hard work and determination had paid off.

"The aim of him going was just to finish the event, so the fact that he won has been quite a shock, probably to him included," she said.

"He didn't know he was in the lead until check point five or six, where he still had 43.2 miles (69 km) to go."

Ilona said Paul decided to take on the grueling event for the second time about 18 months ago.

"We didn't tell anyone until after we had told his mother," she said.

"A lot of his training included cross fit because we used to own (Warrnambool CrossFit), and a lot of tyre and sled pulling.

"But this time, compared to last time, he did a lot of overnight practice sleeping in his bivvy in the front yard and a lot of breathing training as well. He worked on the rower or the bike with only nasal breathing, as a way to build that lung capacity."

Ilona said Paul was an adventure seeker well before they met, meaning she wasn't overly worried about him trekking hundreds of kilometres through freezing cold and windy conditions.

"He used to do a lot of mountain climbing, including all of the big ones apart from Mt Everest. That involves cold temperatures and high altitude, so to go into this without that high altitude and with several support crews following him, I felt fine," she said.

"As long as I've known Paul he's been an adventurer. He sets his sights on something and works hard to reach that goal. Although this is a shock, he's put in the time and training and that has clearly paid off."

Related: Amazing race across the Arctic Circle

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