Tough Girl Podcast

We first spoke with Laura in December 2017 when she shared more about solo kayaking in Russia, cycling the Wild Atlantic Way and circumnavigating 3 of the Channel Islands in an extreme triathlon! Laura has gone on to complete, The North Sea Cycle route (Eurovelo 12) which is the world's longest signposted cycle route. Over two and a half months, Laura cycled through 8 countries and covered a distance of over 6,000km. She named this challenge the #GreatNorthRide. Laura is a full time adventurer and motivational speaker, she has now written and published her first book - Kairos -  “ Kairos: The right or opportune moment (the supreme moment); a time lapse, a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens. The perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement.” During this podcast, I’m super excited to catch up with Laura as she share more about, Kairos, the #GreatNorthRide, the challenges of getting over inju

Jen and her husband Sim have completed multiple marathons, ultra-marathons, Ironman triathlons and adventure races. In 2015 they decided they had had enough of the traditional way of living and spent a year living under canvas with their two young children (5 and 7 years old), they used this opportunity to explore more of  Britain’s National Parks.  Jen enjoys writing about nature, families, sport and adventures, she co-authors books with Sim, and their books include two of the Day Walks series from Vertebrate; The Adventurer’s Guide to Britain (2018); Amazing Family Adventures (2017); and Wild Running (2014).  Jen is an advocate of sustainable adventuring, and she works with organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission to highlight the importance of looking after our precious wild places. Show notes Growing up and loving the outdoors and playing sports Moving from London to the countryside Not really enjoying sports at school  - but loving running How she uses ru

Ali is a personal trainer and a passionate runner, she lives in Amersham with her partner and 2 children. We first spoke with Ali in 2015 where she shared more about how she got into running, doing the Marathon des Sables and the Druids Ultra. Since we last spoke Ali has joined the Great Britain 24hr racing team and has been pursuing her marathon goal of sub 3 hrs (Her current PB is 3hr 1 min!). Ali keeps strong by lifting weights, and doesn’t stick to a strict training program, she listens to her body and plans training around her goals. Ali provides lots of great advice and tips whether you are new to running, or are looking to enter longer distance races.  Show notes Who is Ali Her love for running What she has been doing since we last spoke Still trying to break the 3 hour barrier in the marathon Running a PB of 3hr 1min Running sub 7 minutes…. Being proud of her result Her emotions while crossing the finish line Knowing at the half way point she wasn’t going to break the 3hr mark Not believing she can

Krystle is an adventure sports photographer from Queensland, Australia, although she now lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle in her quest to capture and present unique moments from extreme sports, expeditions and adventures across the globe.  Driven by a passion to capture the most unique perspective not yet thought of, Krystle is willing to travel to get the shot. Whether that’s camping on a frozen fjord for a month in the extreme cold of the Arctic, or hanging out with 23 BASE jumpers paragliding in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan. Krystle consistently brings attention to the demanding adventures and landscapes that the public is rarely fortunate enough to be exposed to. During this podcast Krystle share more about her passion for travel and photography and how she gained the skills necessary to do this job. She share the challenges of being on the road for 11 months out of every year and how she maintains her physically and mental well being. Krystle also shares top tips and advice for you to ensure you are liv

We first spoke with Sally back at the very start of the Tough Girl Podcast, Sally was one of the first 4 guests. During the first episode we focused on her row across the Atlantic Ocean with her mum who she hadn’t spoken to in 10 years! Since 2015, I’ve heard her give motivational talks, and met Sally on multiple occasions, she’s become a good friend. Sally is also part of the Tough Girl Tribe (closed FB group for guests and patrons of the tough girl podcast). Earlier on this year, her book  “Sally's Odd at Sea” was selected for the monthly book club (run by Allison McArthur). So much came out from the discussion, such as the challenges of writing the book, feedback on the cover, working as a humanitarian aid worker, becoming a Personal Trainer and working with the athletes in the gym at the 2012 London Olympics, sailing the last leg of the Clipper Round the World, plus so much more! I decided it would be fab to get Sally back on the podcast to share more about her other adventures and challenges she’s been i

Shona left inverness when she was 17 years old looking for something, over the years she tried a variety of different careers; a nurse, a counsellor, an aid worker, a charity project manager, a support worker at a women’s refuge and as a personal trainer all while trying to discover what she loved and what she was passionate about.  Shona has gone on to explore more of her passions and interests which includes the mountains and spending time in nature. Four years ago, as she was approaching her 40th birthday, she realised she wasn’t living the life she dreamed of or going on the adventures that she wanted to. Shona had been waiting for her circumstances to change but they weren’t so she decided it was time to stop putting her life on hold and time to start living. Every year since she has gotten, a little bit bolder and a little bit braver! In 2016 it was the Outer Hebrides cycle followed by the North Coast 500 cycle in 2017 and the Cape Wrath Trail in 2018.  This year, Shona is heading off to America to hike

Pippa moved to Manly, just outside Sydney in Australia from the UK in 2012 with her husband Joe. She has always loved sport but only got involved in endurance events since moving. After completing 3 Peaks in Victoria (a 235km ride with 4000m of climbing) she realised that you can do anything that you put your mind to and decided to sign up for North Face 50km run! Since then she has continued to get involved with more endurance based challenges.  In 2017, Pippa joined the Veloroos (a non professional endurance cycle team who won Race Around America in 2015) to take on the non stop 3000k Race Around Ireland (RAI) which ended up smashed the female record and coming 4th overall. Pippa gave birth to her son Mawson in August 2018. She continued to ride throughout her pregnancy and was keen to find a come back event but nothing was inspiring her, until hearing about the opportunity to ride the Tour De France.  Currently there is no Tour De France for women so a women’s team ‘InternationElles’ cycle the whole course

Alex first came on the Tough Girl Podcast in October 2017 to share more about her life, from going from a 9 - 5 office job working as a graphic designer to leaving it all behind to go travelling and go on adventures. On the first episode, Alex shared more about her transition back in 2015, her north and south bound hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, plus other adventures.  During this podcast we catch up with Alex who in 2018 completed the Appalachian Trail! Alex shares more about the journey, the high points and the challenges, as well as the mental and physical aspects. Alex shares more about how she recovered from the adventure blues, and what her next challenge is going to be, we talk in detail about the money and what’s going to be happening over the next 12 months to make it happen.  It’s been fantastic to catch up with Alex and to share more about what she’s been achieving in the world of adventure and challenge! Show notes Being on the road for 18 months and wanting to come home Heading back home and c

For the past two years Lucy and her dog Wombat have been walking in South America. Starting in Ushuaia (the southern most point) . They started on the 19th February 2017, and have walked the entire length of Chile through Tierra del Fuago, Patagonia, the coastal wine region, and most recently the Atacama Desert. Since then, they have continue forward with the plan to pass through the Andean Mountains of Peru, and heading towards Panama.  By the end Lucy will have travelled through 15 countries and she expects the journey to take around 5 years…. Lucy travels only by foot, or when the terrain is impassable she will kayak or swim.  Lucy is self supported, sleeps in a tent, and is responsible for navigation and logistics, all without an on-road support team. We catch up with Lucy - 2 years into her challenge! *Just FYI - there are a few roosters making an appearance during this podcast! Show notes Going to university and doing what was expected of her Being inspired to live a different life at 33 What we need t

Liz Thomas is among the most experienced female hikers in the US and is known for backpacking light, fast, and solo.  In 2011, she broke the women’s unsupported speed record on the 2,181-mile long Appalachian Trail, besting the previous record by almost a week. She has completed the Triple Crown of Hiking–the Appalachian Trail, the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, and the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail–and has backpacked over 20,000 miles across the United States on 20 long distance hikes, including the pioneering traverse of the Chinook Trail across the Columbia River Gorge and the pioneering traverse of the Wasatch Range, which she did solo.  Liz is affectionately known as the “Queen of Urban Hiking,” having pioneered and completed routes in 5 cities across the U.S. Show notes How Liz would explain what she does Being passionate about getting people outdoors Growing up and being inspired by her teacher Starting to go on bigger and bigger hikes! The first thru-hike! Hiking the Appalachian Trail Back pac

Tracy knows how to overcome adversity. At age 17 she was diagnosed with a disease that every medical expert said would kill her within 20 years. Tracy was diagnosed with childhood diabetes, which is now known as Type 1 diabetes. She uses the knowledge gained from living with Type 1 diabetes for almost 40 years to help encourage others to prevent, reverse, or control their own diabetes, Tracey wrote her first best selling book - "Diabetes Tragedy to Triumph". Tracy recently rode her bicycle 3,527 miles from San Francisco to New York City to spread awareness about diabetes while providing hope for others who are suffering. She has also written about this challenge, “Ride for Hope: One Woman's Solo 3,527 Mile Bicycle Ride that Inspired the Nation”. *Please note this is not medical advice, neither myself nor Tracey are medical doctors!!   Show notes The worst day of her life Being diagnosed at 17 years old Learning all about Type 1 Diabetes  “You can be bitter or you can be better” Doing something crazy every de

We first spoke with Stephanie back in 2016, where she shared more about her early years growing up, how she got into sports and running, she also discusses what it’s been like living and working in active conflict zones, including working in Afghanistan with the UN. Stephanie also shares more about her charity Free to Run, which supports women and girls in areas of conflict through running and outdoor adventure. On 1 January 2017 Stephanie was in a life-threatening accident in the mountains, which is where we pick up with Stephanie for this podcast. Stephanie takes us back to the beginning of 2017 and shares more about what happened, the impact on her physically and mentally, as well as sharing more about her recovery and attitude to getting back to running and competing in ultra races.  Since March 2018, Stephanie has been based back in Afghanistan (which is where she was for this interview) working for the UN. Stephanie shares more about her life and how she trains for ultra marathons while living in an arm

Hollie has ticked off NZ's iconic Coast to Coast (both the 1-Day race and 2-Day race). Hollie has run 260km through the Sahara Desert in Morocco doing the Marathon des Sables and completed 240km in the Amazon Jungle in Peru! Her latest challenge involved crossing the Greenland Ice Cap which involved walking 560km, over 29 days while pulling a 60kg sledge! Hollie grew up in rural Mid-Canterbury, New Zealand and spent her childhood outside exploring the mountains and rivers. An Outward Bound experience at the age of 27 led her to set 4 goals; the main one was to complete one BIG challenge each year that would take her outside of her comfort zone.  Listen to the podcast to learn more about Hollie, the adventurers and challenges she’s been on and what she’s learnt along the way. Hollie shares the high points the low points, the lessons and provides advice and top tips to help you to achieve your dreams. Show notes Growing up on a farm in New Zealand Doing outward bound at 27  Writing a letter to herself with 4 g

Melissa was first on the Tough Girl Podcast back in 2017 where she shares more about her life, how she got into fitness and doing ultra challenges, such as EPIC 5 (the what, the how, the learnings & the challenges faced and overcome). This audio was taken from a Facebook Live I did with Mel in Melbourne from February 2019. This episode is broken down into 2 parts, with the first part focusing on ultra man and the second half focusing on her training for ultraman, we talk a lot about food, nutrition, and the mental and physical aspects of training.  Melissa also provided lots of top tips and advice for you to help you train for your next challenge.  Show notes PART 1 ULTRA-MAN - Hawaii Melissa living in Melbourne, working as a mental health nurse, 34 years old How she started doing endurance racing Deciding to focus more on herself and making sure she was looking after herself  Being inspired by her friend who did a triathlon  How she fell in love with the sport How she progressed in her running and cycli

Sydney resident Sarah Davis became the first woman to lead an expedition down the Nile River, one of the world’s longest and most dangerous rivers.  Sarah’s expedition involved over 1,000km of rafting and 3,000km of kayaking through Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and Egypt.  Along the way, Davis, faced immense personal dangers, including a hippo attack, being arrested and detained by military police in Burundi and unexpected, life threatening river rapids in Tanzania.  During the podcast Sarah shares more about the biggest challenge of the adventure which was getting to the start line, this involved almost 2 years of preparation while working a full time job and doing other small challenges.  Sarah goes into detail about planning and preparation, and how she broke down the different areas of risk, she shares more about overcoming  her own personal fears and self-doubt to achieve this incredible human powered adventure! Show notes Growing up in the UK and being big into sport Moving out to Melbourne, Austral

Anna, is a British born adventurer, motivational speaker, influencer and author. She was recently named by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the 50 most influential travellers of our time, and by the the Guardian as one of the top modern female adventurers. She is also proud to be the UK Ambassador for Girl Guiding, and the co-founder of Adventure Queens. During this podcast we learn more about the Kathmandu Coast to Coast challenge in New Zealand, how it came about, the challenge she had to face and what she learnt form the experience. Anna shares more about her life as an adventurer, her ‘survival’ work and her ‘soul’ work. She also shares more about her next challenge and why she has decided to take this on! We have spoken to Anna in 2016 (running the length of New Zealand) and 2018 (cycling the Andes) you can catch up and listen to these episodes on the tough girl podcast! Show notes Where is Anna and what is she up to? Why the past year has been ridiculous!  Having Jamie running for 1 year in America! Spe

After being diagnosed with epilepsy in 2015, Fran set out to walk the Camino de Santiago two years later, solo. Since then, she has worked more adventure into her life.  In 2017, Fran founded Seize Your Adventure  to advocate for epilepsy awareness in the adventure community, and for the benefits of adventure for those with epilepsy and to demystify the condition and encourage others to try new things and challenge themselves.  May 20th is the start of National Epilepsy Awareness week, and it is also the start of Fran’s next challenge: the '30 at 30 Challenge'  In her 30th year Fran plan to do 30 new adventures. Some of these will be small, micro adventures (such as foraging for dinner or SUP in London) whilst others are quite daunting - one of the biggest being the Race to the Stones in July. For each of the 30, Fran is hoping to work closely with the activity providers to spread epilepsy awareness. Fran also wants to invite 87 people to join in the adventures (because every day, 87 people in the UK are diag

In need of a break from her career as a dentist and needing to go on an adventure, Memnia signed up to take part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Memnia only had limited sailing knowledge prior to the race and had never been out at sea for more than a few hours. For that reason she had originally only signed up for the first leg of the race, crossing the Atlantic, travelling from London to Rio de Janeiro (28 day at sea).  During the crossing, she fell in love with the sport and the sea, so she carried on signing up for more legs. She continued sailing through some of the most treacherous weather systems and isolated areas of the planet, facing not only the extremes of weather, from boiling to freezing temperatures, but also life threatening situations. She sailed to Cape Town, Albany, Sydney, Hobart, till she reached her final destination, Airlie Beach, Australia - 5 months later. She has covered more than 18,000 Nautical Miles in total, becoming the first and only Cypriot to have sailed from the UK

We first spoken with Katie in March 2018, where she shared more about her transition from a model to adventurer, she goes into detail about the challenges she faced and overcame while doing the longest crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap, and being the first woman to walk the entire length of the wall of China!  Since then Katie has continued to fill her life with many more adventures. Despite her accolades, Katie would still not class her self as the 'typical adventurer type', as she admits she is frightened of everything and is inherently lazy by nature! Her default setting (that she has to constantly override) is to lay on the sofa with a cup of tea, dunking biscuits, watching the likes of Strictly and X Factor on the telly. Getting started is always the hardest bit. During this podcast we discuss in more detail how the idea came about for completing the 1911 version of the Tour de France as well as the planning, logistics and go into detail about nutrition and having to consume 9,000 calories per

Anna was a 30-something accountant who dreamed of cycling, hiking and paddling her way around the world, she decided to start with her own country, Australia. But weighing in at 130kgs (285lbs), she’s would say herself that she’s not exactly the poster child for human-powered travel. During the podcast we talk to Anna about her 3 different challenges, a 1,100-kilometre (700-mile) solo, self-supported cycle tour of the south west of Western Australia, a 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) solo thru-hike of the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, and a 3,100-kilometre (1,000 -mile) solo, self-supported cycle tour through the Northern Territory. After these practice run throughs, Anna end up in Melbourne, which is where she has been ever since.  Due to a series of mistakes and bad decisions her life takes a turn and not in the direction she wants to go. Anna ends up being a 40 something single women, who is now living below the poverty line, with no family to rely on and no way out, she end up being homeless and going