Tough Girl Podcast

Tegan in her own words:  “Once upon a time… I was studying to be a lawyer.  Then I drew some comics in a competition to win a bicycle, which I rode across Spain, telling the story of my adventure through a comic blog.  This kind of adventure storytelling was too fun to not wildly pursue, so I spent the next few years finding ways to go on more adventures (which included an 11,000km bike trip through Africa with my family, and a 10 Iron Man triathlon around New Zealand), while figuring out how to turn it into a real job.  Today, I work full-time as a cartoonist, speaker and endurance cyclist. I am currently working on a book, setting up a comic merchandise shop in South Africa and training to try again to set a women’s record of the fastest cycle from Cairo to Cape Town in Oct 2022 February 2024.”  The challenge: Cycling Africa: Cairo to Cape Town. 1 continent, 8 countries, 10,800 kilometres, and 58,000 elevation, setting a women's world record that needs to exist.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go l

Seanna in her own words: “I am Seanna (pronounced like Shauna) and I am deep into my healing journey. I am a survivor of multiple severe traumas and some debilitating psychosis. I have been to some of the darkest places and led a very limited life for some time.   As well as medication and therapy, I have found that carving out an intentional life and staying true to my values has helped me to not only survive, but truly thrive. After spending two months as an inpatient in a trauma clinic, I discovered embodied healing practices, and later qualified as a breathwork facilitator.  I aim to live a life that is aligned with who I am, focusing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as a life full of adventure.  In 2022, I thru hiked the Israel National Trail over two months on my own, which is over 1,000 km. The inner journey was even more powerful than the tangible one, and now I give talks on overcoming adversity and being guided by intuition to live your best, most intentional life.”  C

Zahra Rose, a brand ambassador for Sports Shoes and The North Face, and has achieved incredible feats such as trekking to Everest, Broad Peak, and K2 Base camps, as well as summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.  In addition to her love for adventure, Zahra is an active member of the Muslim Hikers Community and uses her social media platform to promote representation of Muslim women in outdoor activities.  Zahra is a strong advocate for breaking down stereotypes of the "Hijabi woman" and inspiring the next generation to pursue their dreams.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.  Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast Thank you.   Show notes Who is Zahra Rose Being raised in Hastings, South England Having 2 younger sisters  Feeling out of place Struggling to make friends locally Seeing people who looked like her for the first time Moving

Allie Mason is an autistic children’s author and micro-adventurer who has just published her first book, The Autistic Guide to Adventure: Active Pursuits from Archery to Wild Swimming for Tweens and Teens.  Allie lives in the English countryside with her partner and their beloved Labrador. The purpose of her writing is to give neurodivergent young people a place where they recognise themselves and feel that they belong. Allie in her own words: “When I was 23 years old, I was diagnosed as autistic. It was a bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand, it answered a lot of questions that had been accumulating since I was a child. On the other, it highlighted that a lot of the struggles I had faced when I was younger could have been avoided with the right support. I was (and still am!) an avid reader, but I never felt that I recognised myself in the pages of a book. The characters didn’t face the same struggles as me, didn’t think the same way, so as much as I tried to immerse myself in these fictional worlds, th

A couple of years ago, Julia embarked on a solo hike along England's 630-mile South West Coast Path. Since then, she has cycled King Alfred's Way, a 217-mile mainly off-road cycle route in southern England, and walked the Camino Frances and Camino Portuguese! But Julia's adventures don't stop there. In between her travels, she's been busy writing about her experiences, hoping to inspire others to embrace their own bucket lists.  During this process, she's discovered a love for hiking and is also writing walking guidebooks to encourage others to get outdoors and explore. Julia's story is a testament to the power of setting goals, pursuing your passions, and living life to the fullest.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.  To support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Sign up as a Patron -  www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you.    Show Notes Who is Julia  Deciding to live her bucket list Livin

India Pearson, is an Outdoors Advocate, Presenter, and Yoga Teacher based on the Kent coast.  India's passion for wellbeing and nature has lead her to produce and host the podcast 'Start a Ripple ...' which celebrates the power of moving in nature for the mind, body and environment. Guests have included TV adventurer Ben Fogle, Olympian Michelle Griffith Robinson, BBC Spring Watch Presenter Megan McCubbin and Emmy Award Winner Doon Mackichan. You can also find India presenting in front of the camera, on the highly successful Youtube Channel Holiday Extras Travel Guides, which over the last 4 years, has taken her all over the world making documentary style videos on sustainable tourism.  During her time with Holiday Extras India co-founded a sustainable travel podcast 'Green on the Go' which saw her speak to industry professionals and travellers about eco tourism. In 2019 India won the Holiday Extras Difference Award for her efforts to encourage customers and colleagues to travel and live more sustainably. A

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Saanvi Sita Mylavarapu, a seasoned hiker, backpacker, rock climber, and youth advocate for the great outdoors. Since the age of six, Saanvi has been exploring the stunning landscapes of the United States, and has completed some of the most challenging hikes in the country, including Kala Pathar, Half Dome, and Mt. Whitney. She recently accomplished the feat of reaching the Everest Base Camp, and is now gearing up for a 120-mile trek across the Tour du Mont Blanc in Europe this summer. Saanvi has hiked over 800 miles and has visited more than 25 National Parks, making her a true champion of nature conservation. Her passion for the environment has been recognized by national media outlets, who have featured her on the front page of newspapers and in articles in major magazines. As a National Park Trust Ambassador, Saanvi has been supported by the National Park Service, renowned conservationists, mountaineers, and wildlife photographers. She is also the founder of 'Youn

Jen Price, is a former British Army Officer who spent the entirety of 2022 undertaking an extreme set of adventure and endurance challenges on behalf of the Veteran’s Foundation.  The solo challenge she set herself was to complete 12 challenges in 12 months, in quick succession. The challenges were multi-discipline and included the Devizes to Westminster international canoe race, an ironman, a multistage desert ultra-marathon, summit of Aconcagua, and a 1000 mile self supported Lands’ End to John O’Groats cycle. None of the challenges were events she had attempted before and, in total, she covered over 3500km and climbed two of the Seven Summits.  Jen has raised nearly £35,000 for the Veterans’ Foundation and she continues to fundraise in her spare time by speaking about the challenges at schools, universities and business. She also has two outstanding challenges to go this year (replaced due to severe weather) which she will also fundraise for: paddle boarding across the English channel and climbing the famo

Emily is an adventurer, solo traveler, mountaineer, quote collector, and all around lover of things that get people out of their comfort zones. Put on her first international flight at 3 weeks old, she's been adventuring in one way or another ever since.  From wandering the forests of Sweden alone at the age of nine, to solo trekking in the Himalayas of India, to joining the circus as a professional aerialist, Emily is a big fan of the "just get out there and do it" mentality. She considers it her mission in life to inspire others to go outside, travel, and get curious about everything. As John Muir so aptly put it, "going out is really going in.” Emily is a columnist and longtime contributor to Outside. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, Adventure Journal, REI, and Backpacker, among others.  Emily has visited every national park in the United States, and her book Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks, came out in Februa

Vivianette Ortiz is a Latina originally from Puerto Rico. She grew up in the beach and mountain town of Patillas, Puerto Rico. She grew up running the hills of her hometown, bodyboarding, loving the ocean, and playing hide-in-seek barefoot through the farmlands.  Vivianette moved to North Carolina at the age of 17. She is a dedicated mother, daughter, and granddaughter. For a long time, she worked countless hours daily with 2 or 3 jobs at a time. Her adventurous soul went dormant for many years due to everyday responsibilities. Since arriving in North Carolina she has always gone back to the island to visit family and enjoy the feeling of freedom there. Going back to the island would help the homesickness she felt here on the mainland. Due to Covid restrictions, her traveling ceased for a while she found herself extremely homesick and depressed.  Through social media, she found a North Carolina hiking group page. Discovering the outdoors again provided her with a connection to home. Her love for nature and t

On 5th June 2022 Laura set off on the back of a tandem, with husband Stevie, from the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin... 180 days later she returned having circumnavigated the World and with a new Guinness World Record!  But, the ride wasn't straightforward; with closed borders, sickness, monsoons, sub -10 degree temperatures and a motorcycle collision that nearly ended the trip it took everything to reach the finish line on target.  Laura blogged and updated social media throughout the trip and relied on her skills in project management and from her ultra-distance background to make the trip a success, as well as the ultimate team work of surviving 6 months on a bike with her husband. We first spoke with Laura on 27th January 2022 - You can listen to that episode here.    New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.  You can support the Tough Girl mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media - especially in relation to adventur

Shandi’s love of running began when she was very young, and throughout her life, it was something that always helped her to cope with stress and anxiety. However, as she got older, she became consumed with the idea of proving something to others, and the pressure of the pursuit caused her to have a nervous breakdown during the 2013 Boston Marathon. During this episode Shandi shares more about how she got into running, how running the NYC Marathon changed her life, especially the second time she ran it, when she ran a Boston qualifying time of 3 hours and 12 mins.  After qualifying for Boston, she set herself the goal of breaking a 3 hour marathon. Shandi put a lot of pressure on herself to perform well.  Unfortunately things did not go to plan, she realised early on she wasn’t going to hit her goal, but she still managed to cross the finish line, where she was immediately ushered to the medical tent. Her body had finally given in and later on she would find out that she had had a nervous breakdown.  *Please b

Nicky Button was born in Gloucester and grew up in Worcester. Having a very happy childhood. Nicky was always last to be picked for any teams at school and was the most uncoordinated and non sporty child being told to go and swim after a term of tennis when she still hadn’t hit a ball. Her teens and twenties removed around horses and children , whilst she ran a yard starting and schooling young horses and teaching people to ride alongside being a foster mother.  In 2000 with an eight year old daughter she moved to Surrey where she spotted a group of people kayaking on a local canal, she went along to the club and heard only two parts of the sentence, Wednesday nights are adults only, whitewater training and we go to the pub afterwards. Six months later she was staring at her first White water river in Wales. Several swims later and at the end of the river she was hooked.  The kayaking totally changed her life and she soon realised that whilst she certainly wasn’t the most proficient, she had found her t

Sasha DiGiulian began climbing in 1998 at 6 years old. She won the World Championships for Female Overall, a Silver in the Bouldering World Championships, as well as Bronze in the Duel.  Sasha was also the undefeated pan-American Champion for over a decade. Outdoors, Sasha is the first North American woman to climb the grade 9a, 5.14d. Additionally, she has on-sighted multiple 8b+’s, 5.14a’s, ascended groundbreaking, multi-pitch routes of over 1500 feet of 8c climbing, and accomplished multiple First Ascents and over 30 First Female Ascents around the World. Sasha is a graduate of Columbia University in New York City where she studied Non-fiction Writing and Business.  She is on the Board of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and is an Athlete Ambassador for Right to Play, Up2Us Sports, Access Fund, and American Alpine Club. She is the founder of SEND Bars and Female Focused Adventures, and is a co-founder of RoamTV.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you

India in her own words: “I am India Cook, an avid Atlanta-based runner, marathoner, race announcer, YouTube vlogger, podcast host, and RRCA-certified run coach. I have a love for running and road racing, but I also have a passion for encouraging and guiding runners and those who aspire to become runners. I advocate for all paces and body types in the space of road racing. My running journey started in 2008 on the quest to lose weight and also engage in a healthy social activity. Since 2008 I have completed distances from 5K to marathons.  Throughout my running journey, I observed that there were limited running resources created by women of color to help individuals get into running or resources for those already engaged in the sport.  Therefore, I developed a vlog “Miles From India” on YouTube. The vlog’s purpose is to educate, inspire, and motivate runners. Viewers can find tips and how-to videos that aid in helping runners navigate running effectively. Within the running community, I also find it important

Maddy is a 72-year-old runner, cyclist, mother of four, and grandmother to three. Her goal is to fight aging and show that we can do things long after we thought we couldn't. Maddy has always enjoyed being outside since she was a child. At school, she enjoyed sports and spent a lot of time swimming with her brother. Maddy has been running for more than four decades. She began running in 1977 at the age of 26. She was working for the military in a child guidance clinic in Munster, Germany. Maddy was just running for pleasure, and prioritises her children after work. She was a social worker before becoming a teacher. She joined the Harriers in the 1990s and began running seriously in 1997–98. She has competed in every imaginable race, as well as loads that no longer exist. In 2017, Maddy competed in over 30 races, winning the majority of them in her age category (V65). From 2004 to 2018, she ranked in the top 50 in the UK for her age group at distances ranging from 5K to marathon. She finished 14th among V65 wo

Amy Rusiecki is a full-time engineer with a passion for ultrarunning.  Amy, who has been running her entire life, started out with orienteering when she was only six years old before moving onto cross country running and then transitioning to road racing (during which time she escaped to the trails to train). During her ultrarunning career (Amy has completed 82 ultras and has won 33 of them), she has found confidence, joy and her husband.  She is the Race Director for the Vermont 100 and coaches other ultrarunners through The Run Formula.  She is a three-time member of the USA Trail Team, and is sponsored by Inov-8 and Drymax.  Amy, her husband and their kitty live in western Massachusetts and mainly race throughout the East Coast.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.  The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mil

Ingrid has loved competitive sports since a young age. Originally swimming was her passion and she began swimming competitively at 6 years old, she swam throughout high school and attending UCLA (a division 1 school) where she swam competitively for 2 years, while studying Sociology.  After leaving college, Ingrid made the transition from swimming to running and also decided to become an actress. Played lifeguard Sheryl Whelan, on Baywatch as well as having roles on Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, and Parenthood, to name a few! At the age of 47 after running her fastest marathon ever, 2hr 48 mins in the 2019 LA Marathon.  Ingrid was feeling the strongest and fittest she’d ever been.  However, while training for her next challenge, she started to not feel well and after seeing her doctor was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ingrid underwent a double mastectomy, and continued to run while undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy as well as radiation. Ingrid is a member of Janes an elite women’s running group based

A Swiss-born ultrarunner, Luzia Buehler now lives in the mountains, trying to live a good life while protecting what is most important to her. Luzia has always been an athletic person since she was a child because of her great love for the outdoors and the mountains. Luzia discovered her passion for trail running when she was about 20 years old, and she has since competed in all of the most important international races. In 2016, Luzia competed in the Western States 100 race for the first time, finishing 27th (27hrs 03mins) and 11th (20hrs 23mins) in 2019. Having run this race twice, which has greatly prepared her, Luzia, 40, has rocked the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race, the Western States Endurance Run, by becoming the 4th place women's finisher in a time of 18 hours, 08 minutes last year. Luzia is also a social worker who enjoys skiing and snowboarding during the winter.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.  The T

Allie spent a lot of her life seeking approval from people she thought were cool, believing that in order to be successful, you had to act a certain way. For her, success is seeing someone who doesn't believe they can do something transform into someone who does. After working for major record labels for 12 years, Allie realised that music, which she had once loved, was slowly killing her. Her dream career had turned her into a nightmare, and she was completely lost. Allie has struggled to find her place and suffers from depressive demons, anxiety, and existential misery. After taking part in the inaugural Rat Race Test Pilot trip to Mongolia in 2018, she realised it was the first time she had truly had time to stop, think, and be completely at peace. Fast forward, after three and a half years, numerous journeys, a pandemic, some questionable decisions, and a lot of planning and running, Allie is now coaching other people to do amazing things. Allie holds several world firsts to her name, including running ac