Tough Girl Podcast

Elise in her own words:   “To me, Alexandra David-Néel’s book My Journey to Lhasa was one of those books I just couldn’t get over. You know when you read a book or see a film and you keep thinking about it for weeks afterwards, it was like that. Except that with this book, I never stopped thinking about it. The book recounts the final six months of Alexandra's epic 14 year journey through Asia, her quest to reach the forbidden city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Against all odds, dressed as a poor pilgrim, she reached Lhasa in 1924.   12 years after reading this book for the first time, I was still wondering just how she managed to achieve what she did. 14 years of dealing with the cold, the wet, illness and of course the constant pressure and difficulty that came with being a female traveller in the early 1900s.   So, I decided to act on that idea that had always been in the back of my mind - to recreate Alexandra’s journey in some way, and to experience life travelling as a woman as closely as she would h

Clare Rutter grew up in rural, coastal west Wales with childhood days often spent with her brother playing and exploring in nature, climbing trees, jumping hay bales, cycling the green and lush country lanes and time spent on the beaches exploring rockpools, playing in the sand and swimming in the sea. Everyday was a mini-adventure in Clare’s eyes which was only added to by joining the Brownies, the Guides and later the Scouts when girls were (finally!) permitted to join across all age sections. At age 6 and continuing through her participation in these youth organisations, Clare began her journey in paddlesport thoroughly enjoying kayaking and canoeing.    Now, after more than 25 years spent in the Scouts, Clare has many ‘on the water’ hours paddling and has been on many Scouting adventures including working at a large, commercial Scout summer camp and activity centre, expeditioning in Africa, multi-day tall ship sailing, led the Welsh Contingent at a Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree and volunteered a

Kwesia grew up in Deptford, an inner city area of South-East London. Along with many of her friends, neighbours and peers, she experienced a great deal of challenges that come with living in an area, and with people, who have been neglected, excluded and marginalized.   At 17, Kwesia found herself homeless, moving from sofa to sofa. Her life was chaotic, often harsh, without any meaning and lacking a clear sense of direction or purpose.   At her lowest point, Kwesia received an opportunity to become apart of a British Exploring Society’s expedition to the Peruvian Amazon Rain-forest. Grabbing the opportunity, Kwesia spent 3 weeks in a remote part of the jungle, with no phone, and no contact with the outside world, with a group of individuals she barely knew.   It was a life-changing experience for her.  She experienced the beauty of nature, there was no judgement, just new friendships, new energy, a chance to be herself, to experience new energy and to think about new opportunities.   On her return to the UK,

Jessie in her own words:   “It would be a lie to say that I have always been aware of the climate crisis, because I haven’t. Frankly, that is the problem.   Whilst always enjoying spending time in nature whether that be up at our allotment or walking on the wilds of Dartmoor right on my doorstep, it was only a few years ago that I became aware of the dire straights our climate is in.   It was at this moment that like many youth activists, I began to realise that I really had no choice but to fight for it. This didn’t mean that it necessarily was something I wanted to do, because most young people just want a care free experience as they grow and develop, and activism is certainly not these things. However, I felt a duty to do this, because the vast majority of adults around me and in society were choosing not to.   It was then that I decided to create People Pedal Power and cycle to COP26 both as a personal challenge and as a way to bring the many individuals concerned about the Climate Crisis together. As a

Kirsty in her own words:   “I’m a mixed-race freelance mountaineering and climbing instructor from the west coast of Scotland. I love being able to introduce and share so many of the incredible Scottish environments, whether it’s the mountains in full winter conditions or a beautifully still sea with views out to the Hebrides.    Climbing in all forms is pretty much my life but earlier this year I also started mountain biking and roller skating, which are both great fun and very different!    Outside of work and play, I’ve been a member of Oban Mountain Rescue Team since 2013. I’m a callout manager and the Training Officer on the team, and love being able to give something back to the mountaineering community.    I’m the founder of Our Shared Outdoors, an organisation set up to tackle and change the lack of diversity in the outdoors and promote underrepresented groups. I’m really passionate about making outdoor communities as accessible as possible to everyone, because it should be!   I’m also a panellist on

Lindsay is a coach, author, speaker, and lifelong athlete. She is an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion, five-time World Cup medalist, and a National Rowing Hall of Fame inductee. Lindsay lives in Florida, where she daily seeks to mentor, inspire, and improve the lives of others by sharing her knowledge of health and wellness along with her journey of self-discovery from ultimate defeat, to Olympic gold. Think of any sport, and Lindsay played it growing up. She was a driven athlete, good student, and happy teenager. But when she went to college, everything changed. She quit basketball, gained weight, and skipped classes. Her drive was gone.  After a sleepless night and fateful turn of events, Lindsay made the decision to become her best self. She discovered rowing, and the sport became her outlet for transformation.  In just one year she became an NCAA Division-I All-American; in four, she broke a world record and won her first World Championship.  Within six years, Lindsay won Olympic gold. 

Jenny Valentish has been devoted to dancing around the void for many decades, first in the pub and then the boxing ring as a kickboxer. Jenny is the author of the acclaimed Woman of Substance: A Journey into Addiction and Treatment and her new book, Everything Harder Than Everyone Else: Why Some of Us Push Our Bodies to Extremes.   About the book: There is a part of human nature compelled to test our own limits. But what happens when this part comes to define us?    When journalist Jenny Valentish wrote Woman of Substances, a book about addiction, she noticed that people who treated drug-taking like an Olympic sport would often hurl themselves into a pursuit like marathon running upon giving up.    What stayed constant was the need to push their boundaries. Everything Harder Than Everyone Else follows people doing the things that most couldn’t, wouldn’t or shouldn’t. By delving into their extreme behaviour, theres a lot that us mere mortals can learn about the human condition.    The athlete using childhood a

Verna is the founder of Native Women Running, a Hoka Global Ambassador, she serves on the Running Diversity Board, and represents several organizations: Red Earth Running Co, UltraRunning Magazine, and Native Women's Wilderness.   Verna in her own words:    “My name is Verna Volker and I am from the Navajo Nation.    My clans are Tódích'íi'nii (Bitterwater) nishlíi, Hashtl'ishnii (Mud People) bashishchiin,  Ta'neeszahnii (Tangle) dashicheii, and Tó' áheedlíinii (Water Flows Together) dashinalí.    I grew up in the Dzilnaoodilii area of New Mexico, but currently live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my husband and four children. I work as a second grade teacher.   In 2009, I started my running journey to lose weight, but it has turned into a quest to find out who I am internally.    This journey has taken me from a newbie runner to a marathoner and recently to an ultra-marathoner when I finished my first Ultra 50-mile race.    My desire is to use my running to inspire others.”     New episodes of the Tough Girl

In the spring of 2018, at the age of 57, Kathy Elkind walked the Grande Randonnée Cinq (GR5) with her husband of 27 years. The 2,286K (1,400-mile) journey starts at the North Sea in The Netherlands and goes through Belgium, Luxembourg, and the whole length of France through the Alps to end at the warm Mediterranean in Nice.   Kathy always longed for an epic adventure, but the time was never right.    Finally, her children had flown the nest, and she had shifted from a fertile body to a not fertile body – What could this new body do?    It was the perfect time for a quest: to pause, reflect and explore. Could her marriage sustain and thrive on a long walk?   After two months on the GR5, they entered the mighty Alps—five weeks of alpine views, mountain refuges, and exertion. Her walking became more than meditative; she fell into an ethereal pace where she became the air and the landscape. In her own words: “Life was not about me. It was about the beauty of the world. This truth was what I had longed for but did

Houda grew up in the Netherlands and she first came into contact with kickboxing at the age of 11.    She soon found out that kickboxing was her passion, Houda trained hard and spend all her time in the gym, training 6 days a week. Due to her passion and perseverance, in 2005, Houda became the Dutch Youth Champion.   At university Houda choose to study Sports Management and Movement.    Houda was inspired as a young girl by her coach – and she wanted to be the inspiration for other young children.   With her knowledge and experience in top-class sports and her social-pedagogical background, Houda knows how to reach girls and get them moving – literally. By sharing her story, Houda makes young people feel relevant and that they are capable of more than they think.   Her mission is to give coaches the tools to make sports more accessible for girls. She believes it is important that every individual can play sports according to their own needs.    Houda is passionate about equality and diversity in sports and ha

Katie is an endurance athlete, charitable ambassador, author and world-record holder.   Katie has completed five Ironman triathlons, cycling across the country, completed a 325-mile river swim, run 100 miles nonstop in under 20 hours, and also spent 70 days at seas while rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean.    In 2010, Katie set a World Record for being the youngest person to row solo across ocean rower. Katie is also the only American to row solo from Africa to Guyana, in South America.    In 2020, Katie became the 1st person to run nonstop 138-miles nonstop across Maine in 33 hours, raising $26,000 for a clean water project in Tanzania.    In preparations, Katie became the 1st woman to run nonstop across Vermont and New Hampshire.    Katie has been awarded the Elite Female Athlete of the Year for 2020 by the U.S. Coast Guard.   On June 21, Katie announced her latest challenge, Run4Water. Which involved running 11 ultra-marathons for 11 consecutive days. Katie started her 341-miles journey in Ohio and ran

Jcy is a trail runner, bike traveller, fixed gear rider, bike polo player and Most importantly... An Outdoor lover!   Jcy was born in Hong Kong, she then moved over to the UK where she lived for 22 years. When she was young, Jcy was not into sports or being active, but that all changed when she started getting into cycling and began commuting to and from work.    Jcy moved back to HK in 2016 and continued commuting via bike, she also joined lots of sports clubs to make new friends.    Running was something she’d always hated and tried to avoid. However, after hurting her arm, her only option was to run!   During this episode Jcy shares more about her journey into trail running, how she progressed from running 2.4k to the metro station, to her first 24km trail race, then a 50k race and onto running 100 milers all within 4 years.    Jcy loves the uphill, hates the flats and hates going downhill.    Learn more about her training, her tips for dealing with tough times while out on the trail and why she never give

Nahla is a social change maker, a transformative coach, a podcaster, an accidental adventurer and a speaker.    As the founder of the CIC Sunshine People, every year she takes on a new challenge and every year she discovers something new about the power that kindness has on people.   We first spoke with Nahla in February 2020 where she shared more about how she started off doing challenges and how it evolved over the years. During that episode Nahla shares more about her 2018 challenge of cycling  3,000 miles across America, as well as her 2019 walk from Swanage, Dorset to Gretna Green in Scotland. A 500 mile journey visiting schools and promoting kindness on the way, through speaking, workshops and sunshine people events.    In 2020 Nahla took on her biggest challenge to date riding 5,000 miles on an ElliptiGO Bike across the UK while writing “KINDNESS” in massive Strava Art! This challenge would also see Nahla gain a World Record for the furthest distance travelled in a single journey on an Elliptical cycle

Prerna has gained climbing experience from around the world, but her focus is the Himalayas. As an aspiring alpinist, she has delved into all aspects of climbing, from high mountains and frozen waterfalls to hard sport grades and bouldering.    She is actively working to foster a strong climbing culture and community in India with an emphasis on introducing more women to the sport and the outdoors through the organization Climb Like A Woman (CLAW). She also plays a key role in the community-led initiative Piti Dharr Ice Climbing Festival.    Climbing gives her the courage to chase after all things that seem hard, whether they are scary routes or stereotypes, which is a lesson she loves sharing with others along the way.    New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.    The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting

I was delighted to be interviewed by Zoe for her new podcast HeadRightOut.    Here is our conversation which we recorded on the 8th September 2021 (2 days before my 40th Birthday)!   I hope you enjoy!   Words by Zoe:   “A powerful conversation with Tough Girl Challenges founder and Tough Girl Podcast host, Sarah Williams.    As friends, we easily cover multiple topics across our conversations. These include how to meet fear head-on and deal with it; why Sarah is inspired by two specific female role models/mentors and the moments in her life that nearly broke her.    Interestingly, she elaborates on how those darkest times taught her the most and benefitted her in ways she could never have imagined.    There are references to many long-distance trails, in the UK and overseas, with the Appalachian Trail being lauded by Sarah as the most life-changing for her, personally.    A female adventure epic.”   More info about the HeadRightOut Podcast:   In the HeadRightOut Podcast, Zoe Langley-Wathen talks to midlife w

Emma Kingston is an outdoor adventurer, author, teacher and self-confessed map geek who lives in Bristol - the UK’s first designated Cycling City. She has ridden, walked, swam and camped in the South West for over 20 years and her knowledge of the area is enviable. Specialising in mountain biking, she has travelled extensively around the rest of UK, Europe and further afield in search of ever more flowing singletrack.    Emma took up bikepacking when she realised it meant that she could stay out and ride her bike for longer, take the time to explore interesting places off route, and eat an outrageous amount of ice cream.    In the summer of 2021, she released her first book 'Bikepacking England' which contains 20 great multi-day off-road routes around the country and proves that you don’t have to go far to have a memorable adventure.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.    The Tough Girl Podca

Vera in her own words:    "My cycling journey really began four years ago when I was lured into riding a tandem for a charity ride under the false promise that as the stoker, I didn’t need to pedal and could just drink prosecco and enjoy the views. This turned out to be a lie, as I had to work very hard, but I caught the cycling bug! A year later I bought my first road bike and joined my local cycling club as a way to build my solo cycling skills and meet new people.    During the first lockdown in 2020 when we could no longer cycle in groups, I was forced to plan and follow my own routes and become a more independent cyclist. I also longed for a cycling community, which led me to starting my Instagram page @pedalling.to.and.fro  where I wanted to share my love of cycling with others and also to find a more diverse community of cyclists, something I had been missing in real life.   I was awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance racing. This i

This One Wild Life: A Mother-Daughter Memoir launched in April 2021.    “Includes research on the shy child, parent-child bonding, social media issues, and the benefits of outdoor activity and nature immersion.   Disillusioned with overly competitive organized sports and concerned about her lively daughter's growing shyness, author Angie Abdou sets herself a challenge: to hike a peak a week over the summer holidays with Katie. They will bond in nature and discover the glories of outdoor activity. What could go wrong? Well, among other things, it turns out that Angie loves hiking but Katie doesn't.   This One Wild Life explores parenting and marriage in a summer of unexpected outcomes and growth for both mother and daughter.”   A view in Elle Magazine says "Anyone who has ever been pushed to do something outdoorsy because it was good for them - or who has been the parent doing the pushing - will find this sweet tale about a growing and changing parent-child relationship all too familiar.”   A life long athlete

Dr. Hajjah Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknology MARA (UiTM).    She successfully ski-sailed across the Antarctic, from the South Pole to the Hercules Inlet from Dec 9 to 30, 2004.   The 1,100km-long journey took her 22 days to complete.   She reached the North Pole in 2007 and Greenland in 2011.   In 2019 she was back at this South Pole, this time as the leader of the All Women Expedition to Antarctica (AWETA) team. Which involved completing the “last degree” 60 nautical miles (69 mi/111 km) from 89 degrees to 90 degrees.    Dr. Hajjah Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir created her very own psychological concept called M.E.P.S.    M = Mental (power and strength of mind), E = Emotion (including spiritual aspects as well), P = Physical (ability and endurance of the body), S = Social (ability and intellectual). A concept that focuses on mental strength, getting out of your comfort zone and maximising your own potential. The MEPS Conc

Jessica in her own words:    I am a British non-fiction writer living on a hillside in North Wales, where I write with candour (and, hopefully, a dash of humour) about improbable things; UFOs, the United Nations’ use of clowns to resolve conflict, and, most recently, the rigours of childbearing.   I grew up in Shropshire and, at first, dabbled with sports and adventure writing — I played international lacrosse, was one of the fastest unaffiliated runners in the 2011 London Marathon, and once cycled 5,000 miles across sub-Saharan Africa.    My career in journalism began as a reporter for the London Evening Standard’s gossip column, although I was not good at it, rarely knowing who anyone was. I moved to foreign affairs in East Africa. There, I notched up datelines (often in a flak jacket, this time) from across the continent, Bissau to Burundi, Congo to Madagascar, and met my future husband, a photojournalist, whilst covering the civil war in Somalia.   Within five years, I'd won a number of prestigious awards