Tough Girl Podcast

Brigitte, is a Belgian-born Australian mountain climber. Her climbing career spanned over thirty years. In 1997, she became the first Australian woman to summit Mount Everest and the first Australian, male or female, to climb the Seven Summits (the highest summit on each of the continents). Her nine year quest, which included four dramatic attempts on Mount Everest, gives her a unique insight on achieving long term goals, and on maintaining personal motivation. After her career in mountaineering and adventure, Brigitte became a film maker and an inspirational speaker. Brigitte has also written an autobiography The Wind in My Hair which is a tale of true heroism, courage and an unconquerable determination. She now leads community building treks in her beloved village of Lura in Eastern Nepal, where she started a women’s literacy and empowerment program 'Il faut vivre ses reves et non rever sa vie.' 'We must live our dreams, not dream our lives’. Show notes Growing up in Belgium Her parents Being inspired by T

In 2010, Sarah's curiosity and thirst for adventure led to the greatest expedition of her life, becoming the youngest female Documentarian at 21 years of age to produce her first film in the Amazon Rainforest “Amazon Souls”. While over there for 2 weeks, Sarah lived with the Huaorani tribe, hunted with the warriors, gathered with the women and was initiated into their existence by marriage to a warrior, making her a Queen! Through this alliance Sarah continues to send out their message of protecting their land through her film and speaking work. Sarah’s achievements include winning the “Spirit of Adventure Award” from the Captain Scott Society 2014 for her next big expedition, “Life In The Darien Gap”, shortlisted by the SES (Scientific Exploration Society) Explorer of the year Award 2014, Finalist of the National Geographic Explorer Award, Finalist of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship Award 2014, highly commended by The Adventure Fund in association with Sidetracked magazine. With an interest i

Sara Hastreiter - adventurer, professional sailor and athlete. Current challenge - to be the first women to sail the 7 seas and to climb the highest summits of the world's 7 continents. Sara Hastreiter is a globe-exploring, international adventuring sailor and climber. It's Sara's goal to be the first woman ever to sail all 7 seas, and climb to the highest summits of the world's 7 continents. This feat would also see Sara become the first person in history to have competed in the Volvo Ocean Race (the 'Everest of Sailing'), and climbed Everest itself. During her reign as a professional sailor, Sara has sailed the equivalent of 5 laps of the planet, and has no signs of slowing down. Show notes Getting Sara to introduce herself Growing up in the cowboy state Her career path and journey after high school Going all in  Ending up in the Caribbean and starting to sail Wanting to cross an ocean How her sailing career progressed Reading books and being inspired  Deciding to become a professional sailor Deciding to g

Abbi is adventurous, fun, loves being outside and can not sit still! She loves being in the open air, and strives for everyday big and small adventures. Abbi encourages others to get outside and to get active she does this as both a hobby and a job; her job as an expedition leader and outdoor instructor, sees her travel a lot taking groups of adults and children on challenge expeditions it also allows her to teach bushcraft and survival skills to all types of people.  In 2017 Abbi set herself a HUGE challenge, to take part in 30 endurance events over 2018 to raise money and awareness for the charity Young Minds. During this podcast we learn more from Abbi about her life the challenges she has faced and overcome and what she has learned on the way *** Please note during this episode we do talk about eating disorders, mental health and suicide - we do not go into specific but please be aware these subjects are mentioned *** Show notes Loving the outdoors, being outside and being into health and fitness Not bei

On the 10th September 2018 - I started my next challenge, cycling over 4,000km down the Pacific Coast Highway to San Diego, before crossing the border into Mexico to cycle the Baja Divide to Cabo San Lucas. During this podcast I share more about the journey and what I learned along the way! Show notes What this episode is about Flying of to Vancouver in September 2018 Check out the previous episode which is all about the planning and preparation before the trip Talking the talk and walking the walk Stepping outside my comfort zone Questions from the Tough Girl Tribe Choosing my bike…  Flying into Vancouver and buying a second hand bike Being scared the first time I rode the bike Navigation on the Pacific Coast Highway Packing…. being a minimalist and being conscious of weight Clothing and wanting to be warm at night Taking my laptop with me…. Trying to do two very separate challenges Borrowing an off road mountain bike Riding the off-road section and breaking my chain Breaking my back rack in the desert FASS

Allie has run over 60 races, from half marathons to 100 mile ultras, and her race sheet for 2018 is looking pretty interesting. In 2017 she gained her first podium place at The Ox 50 where she came first woman, repeating this at the Cotswold Ultra 44 mile race.  In October 2017 she finished her first 100 mile race in under 24 hours. She’s passionate about empowering women in sport and especially about endurance racing.  In January 2018 she became the first woman to cross the largest body of freshwater in the world on foot, taking part in a 100 mile multi-stage event on Lake Khovsgol in Mongolia. She has also trained people to run marathon and ultra distance. Having suffered from mental health problems for a lot of her life, she’s a passionate advocate of running as therapy and will be supporting Mind Hackney as her charity of choice in 2018.  Show notes Coming back from Man V Lakes (Rat Race Event)  Why she introducers herself as a mid pack runner Getting into running 6 or 7 years ago Being rubbish at sport

Tough Girl Kikkan Randall - 5X Olympian, Olympic champion cross-country skier 2018 & World Champion, “Get-Activist” and Mom Athlete.   Kikkan Randall is an American, Olympic champion cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, taken home 17 U.S. Championships, made 16 podiums in the Stage World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had the highest finish by an individual U.S. woman at the World Championships (2nd in the Sprint FS at Liberec, CZE in 2009). She was the first American female cross-country skier to take a top ten finish in World Cup competition, to win a World Cup race and to win a World Cup discipline title. She won the silver medal in the individual sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in cross country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, and in 2013 teamed up with Jessica Diggins to win the first ever American FIS Nordic World Ski Championships gold medal in the team spr

During this podcast we speak to Kat and Bettina about solo female travel in Asia and Africa, what it’s like being location independent, how they met and why they decided to create Aurora Wild Women of the World. More about their mission with Aurora Wild Women: “A mission to bring back the knowledge of the female wisdom from the depths of Africa, the continent of the heart, the birthplace of the Sapiens.  Engage with its medicine women. Visit its sacred spaces where rituals were performed, generation after generation. Bring back our learnings to a world that is re-learning to honour mother earth, care for her and care for each other. The world as we know it is changing, shifting, from a patriarchal system that is becoming obsolete, to a balanced union between the masculine and the feminine. Our aim is to do our bit to bring the balance back.” Bettina Guirkinger Fascinated with "why people do what they do", Bettina has been engaged in a 10 year-long exploration of human nature - including her own! - Which has t

Carolin is a 51-year-old ultra-runner and multi-day stage race specialist, however, this wasn’t always the case. When Caroline was 36 years old, she was a stay at home mum to three daughters. Wanting to feel better in herself, and wanting to get fitter and lose some weight, she started on a  journey which would ultimately lead to her becoming an ultra-runner….accidentally!!  She didn’t tell anyone what she was doing, and it was tough going at the start, she started with walking, then gentle jogging and gradually build it up over time to running further and further distance, until she was training for her first marathon! She persevered with it, even through injury and kept on challenging herself more and more. Since then Carolin has gone on to participate in some of the toughest multi-day ultras on the planet, from running the Ice Ultra in the Arctic Circle to the Jungle marathon in Peru. Show notes Living in Calgary in Canada Having 2 siblings and doing lots of sports growing up  An ordinary person who just

Growing up Janey spent the majority of time in wellies and a wax jacket covered in mud. When she wasn’t scooting round the fields bareback on her little Dartmoor pony she was playing in the woods with her brother and her dog. She then spent several childhood years in the bright lights of Las Vegas. Long summers were spent sneaking out while the folks were in bed. Exploring the desert and what the city had to offer. Swapping Geography degrees at the University of Exeter as a result of a more desirable field trip to the outback of New Zealand was a sign of things to come. Janey’s heart lies in the military where she spent four fulfilling years as a soldier with the Honourable Artillery Company. In an unfortunate twist of fate she suffered a serious back injury while training for a military horse race, the Royal Artillery Gold Cup. This halted her plans of joining the Army Legal Service as an Officer. Now a qualified lawyer but unable to fulfil her ambition in military law she embarked on a new business venture;

Loretta had a normal life she was living in Canada with her boyfriend, she was building a house, a 10 year project in the making, but once the final nail had been hammered in, she knew she wanted to do something different with her life. On a whim, and after being inspiredly the Adventure Cycling Touring Handbook, she headed off to England on her first cycle adventure over to Ireland. This was the start, since then, she’s spent over 5 years on the road travelling across 5 continents and cycling through 41 countries as she travelled around the world. During this podcast Loretta share more about how she came to be living this life, the challenges she has faced along the way and why she loves what she does. She also provided top tips and advice to motivate and inspire you to get on your bike and get peddling!  Show notes Run trekking in Nepal Living in Canada, 36 years old, with a proper job and a boyfriend The Adventure Cycling Touring Handbook Deciding to leave her life behind to go and cycle from England to I

Sophie is the 2017 New Explorer of the Year. Her expeditions have taken her to the streets of Managua to the mountains of Madagascar and everywhere in between. She is the Founder of AquaAid International, Sophie works with some of Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa’s most remote villages establishing sustainable sources of clean drinking water and basic sanitation. Sophie is a Health Security Specialist with a concentration on the civil military relations in infectious disease outbreaks and biodefense, for which she has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship from the US Department of State. Sophie holds a Bachelors in Environmental Science and Global Public Health from New York University and is currently working on a Master of Health Security at the University of Sydney.  Sophie is an avid sailor, has sailed across the Pacific Ocean, and holds a 200-ton captains license. At the time of certification, she was the youngest female to ever obtain a 200-ton MCA Yachtmaster Captains License. Her passion for adven

Jen has always loved to be active, from running around while growing up in the Peak District to playing football with the boys. Leaving school, and heading off to University she was painfully shy and struggle to talk to people, however, as she was studying to be a barrister she was thrown into the deep end and worked hard to over come this. While studying and working, exercise took a back seat until she changed her life, by becoming self employed and moving away from London. After the loss of her father and brother in quick succession she started going running as a way to deal with the pain. Although she struggles to call herself a runner, she has run multiple ultra in the country and has completed the Dig Deep Ultra, the Spine Challenge and the Northern traverse.  During this podcast Jen shared more about her passion for running, what she eats, how she trains, recovers and also gives top tips and advice for you to complete your own ultra challenge.  Show notes Why she has only just started to call herself a

Lowri has been around kayaking all her life, but didn’t get into paddling properly until she was 14, when kayaks and kit started to fit. She became hooked, nagging anyone she could to take her paddling – whether it was to a local beck, cold winter surf or a man-made white water course.  All of her hard work paid off and Lowri earned a place on the GB freestyle team for the 2001 World Championships and aged just 16 it was a life changing experience. She has continued to compete at the highest levels on the International freestyle scene ever since, earning a few medals along the way – including European Freestyle Champion 2006-08. Lowri has also been on many expeditions and adventures, paddling in incredibly remote, big volume rivers in Siberia as part of the Four Borders Expedition; she has also claimed first descents in Mongolia and Georgia; and bagged big waterfalls in Chile as well as getting lost in the jungles of Colombia! Her adventures with kayaking have taken her to over 30 countries on 6 different con

Susie Mitchell is a 38 year first time mom to a lovely vibrant baby girl Tori. Always enjoying the challenge of trying her hand at different sports, she discovered track cycling in July of 2011. After failing to make her mark in anything from shot putt to surfing, it finally seemed she had found something she was good at. Then two months later she became pregnant. Having set her sights on competing in the World Masters Track Cycling Championships the following October, she needed a plan. It would come four months after the birth and she wanted to be ready to give a good account of herself. Wanting to train properly throughout her pregnancy, she looked for and found lots of advice – but was alarmed at how conservative views on exercise were during this time. The advice of "gentle jogging or easy swimming" wasn’t appealing. Being both a vet and scientist with a background in research she decided to look into it herself and focus on what the science said as her guide. Through this, a healthy dose of common sense

Nikki moved to Chamonix, to ski, serve beer to the locals and dance on bar tops, way back in the Winter of 2004.  Nikki has worked hard to train and run long distances and has run some incredible races and routes all over the world.  They include, the UTMB (all distances) 100km CCC/120km TDS/ 170km, as well as the Everest marathon. Based in Chamonix, she is a fully qualified VTCT Sports Massage Therapist, LiRF Run Leader CiRF Trail/Fell Running coach. Nikki is currently working towards her Mountain Leader qualification and finalising a diploma in sports nutrition all along side founding and building The Adventure Running Company.  In 2017, Nikki was a founder of the Neverest Girls who went out to inspire girls into trying their hand at challenges that they may have never thought possible. Show notes How she ended up living and working in Chamonix How she would introduce herself Being the founder of the adventure running company When she started getting into running How her love of longer distance running cam

Katy 'KP' Parrott has been described as “Tinkerbell crossed with the Terminator”. Katy found her passion for adventure at a young age and when she was 17 went on an expedition to Nepal. Her love of nature and the outdoors led her to gain a First in Biology from the University of Bath and a Masters in wildlife film making for which she had to make a video out in the wilds of Bulgaria.   She was a ‘recruit’ in the BBC programme Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, which she was selected for out of thousands of applicants, and made it to the final six in the show. It was an experience she found ‘life-changing’ and one that has inspired her to train to become an Army medic. Most recently she has done her first 100K and half ironman. Katy also shares more about her future challenges and she wants to undertake! ** Please note during this episode we do talk briefly about her friend who lost of her life to suicide** Show notes Living in Bristol How Katy would describe herself - “tinker bell crossed with the terminato

Jane has travelling and lived all over the world, she is a qualified solicitor and would describe herself as a ‘soft’ adventurer.  Her adventures have included hiking over 750 km along an old pilgrim trail from France and across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostella; rafting and canoeing for 17 days on the Zambesi River; and travelling across China by overland truck before heading down Pakistan’s Karakorum Highway to Islamabad.   During this podcast Jane shares more about her life growing up, losing her mother and Aunt to breast cancer at a young age and the impact that had on her. She shares more about wanting to do the Marathon des Sables and why it took her over 15 years to achieve her dream. She gives practical advice about how you can figure out what you want to do with your life and how you apply this to your next adventure.  Jane is a big supporter of women and has started AdventureShe magazine dedicated to empowering, educating and entertaining (predominantly) women of all ages, through sharing st

In 2000, Tricia went from being a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic requiring a wheelchair for mobility. Her life was changed forever, but Tricia’s competitive spirit and zest for life continued on. Through her experiences in both rehab and racing, Tricia has overcome adversity and learned what it takes to perform at the top of her game. Having made the transition from able-bodied cyclist to an athlete with a disability, Tricia knows the true meaning of the words challenge and change, and has learned a wealth of lessons to deal with the obstacles we all face in reaching for our personal goals. Tricia has completed over 100 races, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons, since her accident. She was the first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon and qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in 2006 and 2010. In 2011, she competed as part of the U.S. Rowing team at the World Championships in Bled, Slovenia. Tricia’s professional life has also been immersed in sports as she earned

2018 CHALLENGE  Cycling the Pacific Coast Highway & the Baja Divide! On the 4th September I will fly out to Vancouver. On the 10th September 2018 - I will be cycling over 4,000km down the Pacific Coast Highway to San Diego, before crossing the border into Mexico to cycle the Baja Divide to Cabo San Lucas. I will be sharing all of the planning and preparation as well as daily vlogging the cycling challenge! I can't wait to share this experience with you!  To support Tough Girl Challenges, please become a patron. Help me to increase the amount of female role models in the media.  Show notes What Caroline does The next challenge what it is and why I choose it! How it came about Getting outside my comfort zone Why the timing was just perfect Being inspired by Faye Shepherd 10th September…. How do you plan for a trip like this? Breaking it down and writing to do lists Paying for the big ticket items Equipment needs… Spot Tracker…. Buying a tent Support from the tribe with equipment Training and being in re