Tough Girl Podcast

Kate has cycled a distance greater than twice around the world at the Equator. On August 16th 2010 she became the first person to cycle an unbroken line from Africa’s most westerly to its most easterly points; from Pointe des Almadies, Senegal to Cape Hafun, Puntland, Somalia. Cycling 22,040 km over ten months, Kate’s Breaking the Cycle in Africa Expedition was not only a physical quest but an odyssey to highlight the development needs and activities of war-torn and poverty-stricken nations. Cycling through twenty countries, Kate aimed to find out what is being done to give a ‘leg up’ rather than a ‘hand out’ – to shine a positive light on the issues, cultures and geography of Africa. Kate has two earlier world firsts under her belt – the Trans-Siberian Cycle Expedition (1993) when she became the first woman to cycle across the new Russia unsupported (aiding the children of Chernobyl), and the 25,000km Great Australian Cycle Expedition (2004/05) which included the first bicycle crossing of the Canning Stoc

In 2016 Sophie Rooney set off with the bold intention of becoming the first woman to run the length of Scandinavia. From Nordkapp (the northernmost point of mainland Europe) to the German border with Denmark (3000 km south) carrying everything she needed on her back. Initially accompanied by a fellow trail runner, Sophie finds herself thrown into a solo adventure running through some of the most rugged scenery Europe has to offer. Heading out to Norway, bears are top of Sophie’s worries. However, she is soon to find that these big grizzly creatures would be the least of her concerns.  In the first month alone having to battle extreme fatigue, dehydration, relentless bog, hunger and eventually illness, the odds are quickly stacked against her.  However, not willing to give in Sophie pushes on, often against the advice she has received from people back home. In doing so she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery which creates memories that will last a lifetime.  Listen to Sophie on the Tough Girl Podcast

Jacki Hill-Murphy MA, FRGS is an explorer, teacher, film maker and speaker and has spent the past few years exploring and filming some of the most inhospitable and remote places on earth. There are many reasons why she loves  being an explorer including gathering memorable experiences that last forever recorded on film and in writing, pushing herself to the limit and being loosed from her cultural moorings. Recreating the Journeys of the Early Women Explorers Project  Jacki has recreated the journeys of: Isabella Godin, the first women down the Amazon in 1769. This was done by travelling down the River Bobonaza in Ecuador and onto the River Pastaza in Peru in a dugout canoe and investigating the real truth behind her story at each landmark. Mary Kingsley, who climbed Mount Cameroon in Africa in 1894 by a new route and nearly perished from the shear enormity of the the undertaking. Isabela Brookes, who died in the Llanganates in Ecuador in 1912. This was part of the ‘Search for Gold’ expedition that she organi

Sonya is a 42 year old Canadian who is currently hiking across Canada on the longest multi-use recreational trail in the world with her partner Sean.  The 24,000 km long Great Trail stretches from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, and from Edmonton, Alberta to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.  They began their journey in Cape Spear, Newfoundland on 1 June 2019 and hiked just over 3,000 km to Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec before the winter arrived.  They will head back to the trail in spring, and estimate they will complete their journey in fall of 2022. Sonya's love of hiking, camping, and the outdoors began as child during multiple school trips into the wilderness.  She built on these experiences in university, where she studied Conservation Biology and Forestry, and spent as much time as possible outside, doing field research on forest songbirds.  Her love of long-distance hiking began with Ontario's 900 km long Bruce Trail, and grew when she hiked the 800 km Camino Frances in Spain with

Sunshine People was set up to highlight the changes in our society and the need to stay connected through kindness.  It has never been as important in our education and leadership with the shift towards technology to keep human connection at the forefront of our conversations.  Set up after her partner died on a charity cycle challenge the founder, Nahla Summers completes a challenge each year and asks people to show their support not by donating money to a charity but by doing an act of kindness for a stranger instead.  She had started by doing smaller challenges just asking her friends and family to do the acts of kindness. What started to emerge was a wave of kindness stories that was changing hearts and minds.  Ultimately, changing the way people saw the world and it inspired her to keep going and make her challenges even bigger.  In 2018 Nahla cycled 3,000 miles across America after purchasing her bike just six weeks prior.  She is a woman who understand the power of the mind and a ‘can do’ attitude.  20

We first spoke with Mimi in December 2015, where she shared more about her early life, how she got into endurance running. During the first episode we go into more depth about some of the bigger challenges she has done, for example breaking the world record for fastest women running JOGLE (John O’Groats to Lands End - 840 miles) in the UK in 2008. (This record has since been broken in 2019 by Sharon Gayter - You can listen to Sharon share more about this on the Tough Girl Podcast.) “The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible” During this episode we catch up with Mimi and find out what’s she’s been up to since. We talk in detail about her dream of running across America, we talk about fears and failure and having to let go of running and try new sports.  Mimi talks really openly and honestly during this episode, I had a tear in my eye when I was recording it and a tear in my eye when I edited it. You have been warned it does get emotional! Show notes -  Quick

Bruna is a dedicated adventure sport explorer.  Bruna has solo-climbed the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere (Aconcagua, 23,000 ft), whitewater rafted the entirety of the Grand Canyon (226 river miles), and sailed across half of the Pacific Ocean, 6,100 nautical miles! During this podcast Bruna shares more about her early years, how she got into hiking and how her love of adventure has evolved. Bruna shares stories from hiking in the mountains and kayaking down rivers.   We also learn more about Conquer a new website to connect adventurers to new challenges!  Show notes Getting into the outdoors at the age of 20 How going to college changed her life and discovering the world of hiking Visiting the White Mountains in America How she added hiking into her life  Heading off to climb Aconcagua in South America Her reasons for wanting to climb Aconcagua  Ranked as number 4 for difficulty out of the 7 summits Deciding to do it as a solo trip Planning for 18 months Dealing with the logistics of weight and

Beth in her own words…. I’ve traveled a lot and have had what many would consider some pretty adventurous trips. I’ve completed (twice) the 25-day, 220-mile Snowman Trek in Bhutan (one of the most difficult treks in the world), climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and reached the top at 19,341 feet, finished marathons in Hawaii, Tokyo, Portland and Seattle. I ran my first marathon at 50, ran five marathons that year (including two back-to-back marathons where one was an ultra at 31 miles), ran the Seattle Quadzilla (four marathons in four days) and have qualified for the Boston Marathon twice. I’m currently working on my next book, Be Bold: Discover Your Best Self Through Travel and Adventure. I’ve also written a guide For Women Traveling to India. In 2019, I ran the Epic5 Ultra (5 ultras in 5 days on 5 Hawaiian islands).  In 2020, I am running the 4 Deserts which consists of running 155 miles over six days in four deserts–the Gobi, the Namib, the Atacama and Antarctica.  Show notes Where her love of travel came from Bei

Helen shares more about her journey into cycling as well as the different challenge she’s undertaken.  In September 2015, Helen took her first foray into multi-day, solo bike touring by cycling the classic route from Lands End to John O’Groats (LEJOG). Helen cycled a distance of 1,000 miles in 13 days! In January 2016, Helen met Mike on Tinder! Through a mutual love of cycling and wanting to travel the world. They started planning a cycle trip around the world! After moving in together, working multiple jobs to save money. They started their adventure on the 4th April 2017. They returned in August 2018, married, completely in love with the world and one another! They rode over 30,000 km, through 30 countries. Helen shares more about the planning and preparation as well as the challenges of being on the road and what she learned from the experience. Helen also shares more about her next big challenge in 2020! It’s a BIG challenge!!!!! Please note during this podcast episode we do talk about mental health, and

Chris is a wife, mother, and business owner who loves to get her hands dirty and feet wet. Her adventurous spirit shines through in her work as a writer, speaker, trainer, and consultant. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, teenage son, and two labs, Winston and Kiya. Chris and her husband Marty became the first American married couple to ski without guide, resupply or other assistance to the South Pole and became Guinness World Record holders. When not outdoors playing in the wild, you’ll find Chris leading creative discussions in corporate conference rooms and at off-site locations around the country. Show notes Chris introduces herself Working full time and doing adventures Not coming from an adventurous family Growing up with 4 siblings Enjoying spending time outside Not having access to the mountains Leaving college and taking her first professional job Starting to feel as though she didn’t below Taking a 4 month leave of absence  Deciding to travel solo  Going back to work…. Wanting to

Nienke in her own words… I am an equine veterinarian and have travelled the world pursuing my career.  Although I have always been an active person I found the love for sports later in life and ended up reasonably good at it! I dreamt of becoming a professional athlete on the mountain bike and as an adventure/multi-sport racer and with the belief of my coaches I starting racing elite in 2013. I was however still working full time as a veterinarian and I ended up overtrained with a serious back injury which put a halt to my sporting aspirations in 2016.  I couldn’t really let go of what I was so passionate about and although running was not an option with the persistent pain I was feeling in my legs, I started to focus on mountain bike adventures.  This led to the dream of traversing the Great Himalaya Trail by mountain bike through Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan.  The first leg was Nepal which I completed in December 2019 achieving a world first by mountain biking the Great Himalaya trail from Hilsa in the

Fenella shares more about her journey to becoming a professional triathlete. We learn more about her childhood and growing up, her loves of sports and competition. Fenella, also shares more about what day to day life is like, we go into training, recovery, nutrition, dealing with injury and the pressure to perform.  “Triathlon is achieving the unbelievable and pushing yourself beyond limits, to find inner power in the drive for success” Show notes Who Fenella is  Where she grew up  Falling in love with sport an physical education  Wanting sports to be a part of her future  Making money from triathlon  Life as a professional triathlete  The pressure to perform  Meeting her coach & partner The decision to go professional  The start of her triathlon journey  Making the leap to longer triathlons  Why the training is the most challenging part  Wanting to be World Champion  Mental Preparation - PPPPPP (Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance) Dealing with injury and staying positive  What off season i

Kathryn Bertine is an author, athlete, activist and documentary filmmaker. During her pro career in cycling, she was a three-time Caribbean Champion, six-time national champion of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) and raced five years on pro circuit  with four UCI domestic and World Tour teams Colavita, Wiggle-Honda, BMW and Cylance Pro Cycling. Now retired from professional racing, Bertine serves as Trek’s Ambassador for Equality in Cycling. Off the bike, she is a filmmaker, activist, journalist and author of three nonfiction books, All the Sundays Yet to Come, As Good As Gold, and The Road Less Taken. From 2006 through 2012, Bertine was a columnist, author and senior editor for ESPN. When she pitched a documentary film on women’s pro cycling to ESPN in 2012, they rejected the proposal. So Bertine decided she would make it herself. After a two-year labor of love and crowdsourcing adventures, in 2014, HALF THE ROAD: The passion, pitfalls and power of women’s professional cycling was released. It won five film festiva

Kristina shares more about her journey into running and how she ended up becoming the World Record holder for  - 48 hour treadmill running! Kristina is an introvert by nature, but she asked herself the question; “What can I do with this ability to run?”.   In 2015, Kristina took it upon herself to challenge her own  personal fears and prejudices. Kristina made the decision to run alone across Iran, a distance of 1,840 kilometres.  In the process, Kristina, became the first women to have run across Iran. She was running an average of 37 kilometres per day. She started in Bazargan by the Turkish border and finished in Bajgiran on the north-eastern border, the run took her 59 days to complete.  Kristina filmed the journey and created a film called:  Alone Through Iran - 1144 Miles of Trust. During this podcast, we will learn more about Kristina, her life, the challenges she has faced, how she has overcome failure, how she set a world record for treadmill running, as well as life on the road while running across

Emily is an ocean advocate, skipper, international public speaker and advisor on issues relating to our ocean, her goals are around shifting mindsets and making changes for our future society.  Emily is on a mission to inspire and facilitate a community of change makers through her organisation eXXpedition. This will be done by training athletes and celebrities to be impactful advocates on ocean issues.  Emily believes in developing upstream solutions to the ocean plastic issue by working with corporate partners, scientists and government bodies. During this podcast we talk more about eXXpedition, its formation, plans and goals.  Emily has previously been on the Tough Girl Podcast (July 12th 2016), where she shared more about her early life and career.  https://www.toughgirlchallenges.com/single-post/Emily-Penn   Show notes Working on projects to combat plastic pollution Brief overview of her career The idea behind eXXpedition and how it came about Micro plastics in her blood The power of bringing women toge

On January 1, 2020, walking therapist Carmen Rendell will leave her childhood home in Weston-super-Mare, and head south to follow the coastal path around the entire British Isles. Her goal is to raise awareness of the huge mental health benefits of walking in nature. Local communities and individuals across the nation will have the chance to join her along the way. Throughout her journey, Carmen will be hosting regular ‘Soulwalks’ – simple, short, group walks in nature for anyone to join. Her message is simple: families, individuals, schools, businesses can come together to walk for three kilometres. For no other reason than to be in nature and talk to each other.  People can also pledge to support an individual ‘Sole2Soul Walk’ with Carmen – where they, someone they nominate, or a stranger, can join her to walk and talk. As a trained integrative therapist, with experience as a private practitioner, Carmen will use this time to give individuals the opportunity for therapy, whilst walking in nature.  A Loughbo

Yolanda Holder is a professional Ultra Marathon Walker. In 2019 at the Six Days in the Dome in Milwaukee she set a World & American Age Group Record 413 Miles (60-64).  Also, in 2019, Yolanda is the first African American Woman and second African American to earn a US Race Walk Centurion #94 and the oldest person (61 years young) to race walk 100 miles in under 24 hours (23:52:17).   Yolanda’s a 2-time Guinness World Record holder for “Most Marathons Completed in a Calendar Year”, finishing a staggering 106 marathons/ultras in 2010 and breaking her own record in 2012 finishing 120 marathons/ultras.  Yolanda is the first American Woman and African American to Run or Walk over 100 marathons in a calendar year and the first woman in the world to ever do it twice. Yolanda’s accomplishments are amazing, at the 2017 Sri Chinmony Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race she set a World Record first Pedestrian (walker) finishing in 51 Days, 17 hours and 13 seconds and at the 2014 Ultra Marathon USA & World Champions

On 1st July 2019 Shona left the comfort and safety of her life in the UK to fly to Seattle. After a busy couple of days sorting out food supplies, Shona started her Pacific Crest Trail hike on the 4th of July. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650 mile long distance walking trail in the U.S.A. Shona hiked south bound, starting at the Canadian Border – walking through the States of Washington, Oregon and California – until she reached the Mexican Border. Shona carried all of her kit and camping gear, she passed through towns about once a week to pick up a food resupply, shower, charge her phone etc. It took Shona just under 5 months to completed and she finished in late November 2019. Why this challenge?  Four years ago, Shona approached her 40th birthday, and admitted to herself that she wasn’t living the life she wanted and she wasn’t doing the adventures she’d dreamed off. She’d been waiting for her circumstances to change but changing they were not. Shona decided it was time to stop putting her life on

London-based management consultant who likes to ride her bike far and fast. Previously mostly focused on speed and results, now in search of more adventurous challenges. Flatlander who loves a good headwind battle, not afraid of a bit of rain, but struggles in the heat, scared of gravel and goes backwards on hills. But… what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so embarked on a number of very hilly cycling challenges in summer 2019, clocking up more elevation in a month than she previously did in a year. Winner of various TT titles, including Best British All-Rounder (2014), National 12hr TT champion (2015) and both National and World 24hr TT champion (2017). Multiple 24 hour solo circuit wins: Le Mans (2013), Revolve (2017) and Zandvoort (2017) where she also placed in the top 3 overall.  Zwift distance record breaker (2017). Two failed LEJOG record attempts.  Audax UK member since 2015 with Super Randonneur awards (200km, 300km, 400km and 600km) 4 years in a row. First female finisher and top 10 overall Lon

Melissa has completed the Epic 5 in Hawaii, 3 Ultraman triathlons, and is now the 1st female to have ever completed the UberMan, which she did in October - she also broke the swim record and smashed the previous course record by approximately 31 hours! During this episode we learn more about the details from the challenge, the high points, the low points, the support of crew members, what the finish was like and how she is getting back to ‘normal life’.  We have been following Melissa’s journey since February 2019, when Melissa did a Facebook Live for the Tough Girl Tribe - this was then turned into a Tough Girl Podcast EXTRA episode.  More about UberMan…. UberMan is the world's most challenging Ultra Triathlon.  The 556 mile course goes from the Mists of Avalon to the Snows of Mount Whitney.  Starting on Catalina Island, participants swim 21 miles in the open Pacific Ocean to the shores of Palos Verdes. The 400 mile bike route leaves the city of Angels and climbs 20,000 vertical feet before descending to Bad