The Marathon des Sables is one of the ultimate multi-stage endurance races in the world. It consists of running six marathons in six days across the Sahara desert. It’s been around for over 30 years and according to the Discover Channel has the reputation of being “one of the hardest footraces on earth”. It’s brutal, it's challenging and according to pretty much everyone I speak to, a crazy race to do!

During this podcast I will share my journey of the challenges I faced on getting to the start line and running the toughest footrace on earth!

Shownotes

• Introduction from Saira
• The MDS and when the seed got planted 
• The start of the journey in September 2014
• Preparation for the race - How I changed my fitness routine and diet
• Weight lifting and how it changed my body
• Starting to feel tired, lethargic, aching legs, no energy…..over training
• My low point - not having the energy to get out of bed
• My body failing me & being so disappointed in myself
• Dealing with candida and having to drastically change my diet
• Having to postpone the MDS until April 2016
• Working with a Personal Trainer - Jack Clover from JC Performance
• Why its so important you listen to your body
• The importance of being specific with your training and not just training for training sake
• Heading to Australia for endurance training
• Dealing with issues during training such as a broken little toe!
• What I learned from training in the heat
• What a typical week of training looked like
• Kit & equipment (You can also watch videos on the Tough Girl - YouTube Channel for more info)
• Top tips for preparing your feet and why it’s so important
• Dealing with the nerves before the race, and why its important to be relaxed!
• Getting the hair right for the race!
• Travelling to the start of the race & what it was like out in the desert
• The importance of receiving e-mails and the extra motivation they provided  - THANK YOU to everyone who wrote to me!!
• Cut off times and why you need to stay a head of the camels!
• Why it was important for me to run my own race. We also discuss the high points, the low points and handling day 4, the long day (80K - 52 miles)
• How I used gratitude in the race and why I found the finish of the race a bit of a let down
• Why I wouldn’t race the MDS again and what I’ve got coming up next
• My top tips for the MDS & dealing with pressure from the race
• Some final fun questions and what made me emotional after the race!

If you listen to this episode before the 29th April - You can vote for me to be your role model with Panache!

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Special thank you to Saira Khan for being an awesome host of the Tough Girl Podcast!

Jacki Hill-Murphy has always been passionate about having adventures and traveling. Along the way she added her passion for learning more about the female explorers of the past, who have largely been ignored or forgotten by history. 

During this podcast we get to learn more about the decisions Jacki has made on the way and how she’s followed her passions for traveling off the beaten track. We start with her first major expedition in 1988 when she traveled through Africa in a Land Rover!

Show notes

• The early years and were she got her love for travel and adventure
• Discussing fond memories from Camp America!
• Her adventure across the Sahara, the reasons behind it, how she made it happen and what she learnt about herself on the journey
• The benefits of travel and why its always about the people and not the places
• Isabella Godin's who was the first known woman to travel the 500 mile length of the Amazon river in a dug out canoe in 1769 and how Jacki is recreating her version of the journey
• Learning about Mary Kingsley's and her adventures in Cameroon. In 1885 she stopped the ship she was sailing on to go and climb up Mount Cameroon! 
• Heading off to Yakutia in Siberia to learn more about Kate Marsden and the journey she took while looking for a cure for leprosy.
• The scandal that surrounded Kate Marsden which overshadowed her achievements in crossing Siberia - “Mad, Bad or an Angel - The Story of Kate Marsden”
• Being able to retrace the steps of Isabella Bird, and being able to compare the differences and see the changes that have taken place since the two journeys took place.
• Having an audience with the  King of Ladakh
• Using the Valverde Map to look for the Inca Gold, which if found would be worth billions today…. It's never been found, but Jacki believes it’s out there...
• Her future challenges!
• What she's learnt most from the women she’s researched over the years
• The global village and how modern technology has shrunk the world

Books

Adventuresses, Rediscovering Daring Voyages into the Unknown 

Jacki is currently writing a biography about the Victorian nurse Kate Marsden

Social Media

Jacki is on twitter @jackihillmurphy - I’m also on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL

To learn more about Jacki - Please visit her website  - http://jackihill-murphy.co.uk/ 

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Parys is an age group athlete, who has won the World Championships at both the Olympic and 70.3 distances, along with European, British and English National titles. At the age of 38 she decided to turn her passion for triathlon into her profession. Parys is originally from Zimbabwe before she moved over to the UK 14 years ago. 

Show notes

• Parys introduces herself and shares more of her life growing up in Africa
• Being a professional hockey player, and the frustration about never quite making it to the national team
• Handling that frustration and what she learned on the way
• Why she decided to give triathlon a try! Even though she could hardly swim, and hadn’t ridden a bike since she was a child

“Thriving on overcoming the pain and digging deep”

• How she has improved her swimming and why its a labour of love. Parys also provides top tips to help you improve your swimming.
• Borrowing a bike and a trisuit for her first race and what she remembers from the experience
• Making the decision to turn professional and why she decided to go for it
• Grey zone training and why you need to avoid it
• The benefits of getting a professional coach involved
• The mental strategies she’s uses to help her cope with the pressure of racing at a professional level
• Being on the start line and how she channels her thoughts 
• How she deals with challenges while she’s out racing.

“Power, Love & Self-discipline”

• Why she wants to be tough - Why she wants to be the egg & not the potato!
• How to cope with injury and getting back to full fitness and why you need to focus on what you can do, and not what you can’t
• Advice for women who want to get into triathlon and why you need to break it down and not be afraid of it
• The bucket list races she wants to do
• Top tips for racing in hot conditions
• The role models who have inspired her throughout her life

Check out her website and blog here - www.parysedwards.com

Parys is on twitter at @parysedwardstri I’m also on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL

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Show notes

• Ragen talks about her childhood, being an athlete, and battling with an eating disorder
• The word “FAT” and why Ragen’s reclaiming it
• The story behind the dances with fat blog
• Why we should decouple the health & body size conversation
• How you can learn to love your body and be happy, whatever your size by having gratitude for your body and what it can achieve.
• Why she made the decision to challenge herself with a marathon - “cross finish line, get medal”
• The “good fatty” V the “bad fatty”
• “What happens if I do something that I’m not good at?”
• The disaster of the marathon and why she wanted to quit with every single step
• Learnings from the marathon experience and how’s she applied it to other areas of her life
• Handling the negativity that’s been thrown at her and how she turned it around and used it to her advantage
• Her next big goal - becoming at Ironman & the steps she's been taking to make it happen
• Dealing with haters, how she copes with online bullies
• Advice for women who may be holding themselves back from going after their goals

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