At just 15 years old, Naomi Kutin has already established herself in the world of powerlifting gaining her first world record at nine. While powerlifting may not seem the typical sport of choice for a young girl, Naomi has grown up with it. Naomi’s father is an accomplished powerlifter himself and now, after watching Naomi’s success, her younger brother Ari has also taken up the sport, making it a family affair.

Being an Orthodox Jew, Naomi sometimes encounters difficulties with her training and competition, as she can only eat certain foods and cannot travel or compete on Shabbat. Yet, despite these cultural barriers, Naomi has become known as arguably one of the strongest girl’s in the world and gained the nickname ‘Supergirl.’. Naomi can lift nearly three-times her weight and is a force to be reckoned with in her sport of powerlifting.

Naomi holds multiple records and gold medals from competitions. In addition to her academic and powerlifting pursuits, Naomi runs track and works weekly with special needs students. She also loves to spend time with her family and friends.

Show notes

• Being from Jersey
• How she got her nickname - “Super Girl”
• Her family - siblings and her parents
• Competing in competitions with her dad and brother
• Being active and sporty since a young age - playing soccer, basketball, track and basketball
• What she liked about powerlifting
• Her first competition - August 2010 - 8 years old… having to lift with all the men
• Dealing with stage fright before the competition
• Breaking world records and going on talk shows
• Dealing with negativity and the haters
• Breaking her first world record - at 9 years old
• Whats going on inside her head when she goes to do a lift
• Why she tries to keep her mind empty
• Using visualisation before the competitions
• Not getting the lifts and finding it difficult to handle
• What a typical training week looks like
• Her nutrition… being vegetarian and eating Kosher
• The documentary and how it came about
• What should have taken 6 months took 3 years 
• Filming her from 11 to 14
• Seeing the movie for the first time
• What her friends think about it all
• Her role models
• The biggest challenges she’s had to face in life
• How her religion impacts on powerlifting
• Dealing with injury while powerlifting and the recovery from that
• The olympics?
• Her plans for the next few years?
• Why it’s not all about the records?
• Where does she get her drive from?
• Final words of advice and why you should lift!

Social Media

Movie Website 

Facebook @SuperGirlNaomi

Instagram  - @Naomi.supergirl

Feeling inspired week after week? 

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2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
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Tina Muir is a 2:36 marathoner and Great Britain runner who recently shocked the running world by taking a hiatus to focus on starting a family and overcoming amenorrhea.

Tina created the Running for Real Community to foster a healthy mindset around running. This is a space where runners can explore, embrace, and get better from setbacks through inspiring podcasts, videos, and blog posts, and most importantly, sharing thoughts and experiences.

Behind every personal best, there are plenty of personal not-so-bests, from beating ourselves up about just-missed PRs to the injury blues to embarrassing falls.

Running can really hurt, but we don’t have to go through it alone. 

Show notes

• Moving over to America at 18 in 2007
• Meeting her husband in the States
• Running when she was younger
• Doing cross country at school and hiding in the toilets
• Making the school team and coming 4th in a competition 
• Deciding she wanted to win
• Joining a running club
• Being coached by Brad Plummer in the UK
• Deciding to leave her family and friends to go to America, but knowing it was the right thing to do
• How training in America is very different to training in the UK
• Loving the routine and living the running lifestyle 
• Running 7 days a week 
• quantity verses quality in running
• Training for different race distances from 800m to 10K on the track
• Learning how to run on tired training
• Loving the 5k race distance
• Being emotionally drained while running
• Where she gets her drive and determination from
• Wanting to wear the GB Vest
• How to qualify for the GB Team and the stress behind trying to qualify
• Achieving her lifetime goals of representing Great Britain 
• Running 2.36 mins 
• Running by feel and not looking at her watch 
• Trying to break the 2.40 barrier 
• Her favourite part of London Marathon - crossing Tower Bridge
• Time to Say Goodbye: When You Have Grown Apart From What You Love the Most
• Falling out of love with running
• Not having a period for 9 years
• Her identity and how it was/is tied into being a runner
• Talking to her husband about her decision and having to make her own decision 
• Speaking to doctors and experts about her period and not being able to get an answer 
• Book - No Period Now What
• Telling the world and being honest with the world
• Her plan for the future
• Freedom to decide what she wants to do and looking for joy
• Deciding to start a podcast and the reasons behind it - Live from April 14th
• The Running for Real Community
• It’s not about comparison - it’s about you!
• Being real about running!

Social Media

Facebook Running for Real

Twitter @tinamuir

Instagram @tinamuir88

Blog TinaMuir.com

Book - No period - Now what 

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Achievements

2013 - Ladies British National Champion at Double Ironman!

2015 - RAAM - 12 days 9 hours and 12 mins to become the first British Women to do so and the 37th women ever! 

Show notes

• Growing up on a farm and not being sporty or outdoorsy, but getting use to cycling as she had to cycle everywhere
• Taking up football when she went to university
• Moving to London and trying to fit in health and fitness at the same time
• Jumping straight into triathlon from football
• Liking to challenge herself
• What she liked about triathlon
• The Double Ironman! With ENDUROMAN
• Times for Ironman
• Becoming the Ladies’ British National Champion in 2013
• Dealing with sleep deprivation 
• The finish of Enduroman and why it’s special
• The 24 hour time trail and not realising the significance of the event
• Why she would never do it again
• Qualifying for RAAM - Race Across America
• Why her strength is endurance and not speed
• Her mental strength to just keep on going
• Growing up knowing there was nothing she couldn’t do and why she doesn’t believe in “can’t”
• Being inspired by her dad
• Still dealing with doubts
• RAAM - 2014 - time trail - Racing from the West coast to the East coast of America
• The worlds toughest supported cycle race
• 3,000 miles in 12 days and 21 hours for women  - 232 mile a day for women
• Preparing herself for RAAM and why only 5% of the race is to do with cycling 
• Sleeping less than 2 hours a day for 12 days
• Falling asleep on her bike, coming off her bike and breaking her collar bone 
• What she learned from the 2014 race and how she applied it to her 2015 race
• Preparing for the trans continental race in Europe for 2017
• Being able to emotionally detach while cycling
• Listening to music, podcasts and listening to audio books (The millennium Trilogy)
• Being inspired by stories from climbing mountains 
• Swimming from the UK to the US!! (The 3k Virgin Island swim)
• Loving running when she should be cycling
• Running in Cyprus and why she loves trail running
• Liking sleep and going for 8 hours a night
• Feeling drained, which she think is linked to her diet
• Making the change from vegetarian to vegan 
• Her final words of advice and why you should go an crew for someone doing a challenge
• Being Crew Chief for Jasminjn Muller LEJOG attempt
• How she met Jasmijn!

Social Media

Twitter - @shupillinger 

Website - http://shupillinger.info 

Feeling inspired week after week? 

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Despite roots in one of India’s most conservative rural Haryana state notorious for its skewed sex ratio in favour of boys, Nungshi and Tashi Malik, by 23 years old had achieved several global gender iconic milestones. 

They are the world’s first siblings and twins as well as youngest persons and the first South Asians to complete the ‘Adventurers Grand Slam’ (scaling highest peaks in all continents including Everest, and skiing to North and South Poles). Guinness World Records has already featured them for several of these including ‘first female twins to scale Everest, first twins and siblings to scale the Seven Summits and youngest person to complete Explorers Grand Slam’.

Popularly known as ‘Everest twins’, Nungshi and Tashi dedicated their adventure mission to Indian girl child with the motto ‘Gender Equality Now: Fight Female Feticide’. They use their climbing as metaphor for the ‘invisible’ mountains of gender discrimination, exclusion and denial of basic rights that millions of girls in India have to climb daily.

Last year they started ‘NungshiTashi Foundation’ with the twin objectives of promoting Outdoors Leadership and girl empowerment through Outdoors.

World Records

•First female twins to scale Mt Everest (Climbed at 21 years of age)

•First siblings & twins to climb ‘Seven Summits’ (highest peaks in all continents)

•First siblings & twins to complete Adventurers Grand Slam & the Three Pole Challenge

•Youngest persons ever to complete Adventurers Grand Slam & the Three Pole Challenge

•First twins to reach South Pole on Skis (last degree)

•First twins to reach North Pole on Skis, (last degree)

National/Regional Records

•First South Asians to complete Adventurers Grand Slam & the Three Pole Challenge

•Youngest and Fastest South Asians to complete Adventurers Grand Slam & the Three Pole Challenge (two years and a month)

•Youngest South Asians to scale the ‘Seven Summits’

•First Indian women to climb all ‘Seven Summits’ in first attempt (overall 2nd Indian women and third Indians)

•Youngest and fastest South Asians to reach North & South Pole on Skis (completed in less than 4 months)

Show notes

• Where they are based at the moment
• Where they were brought up
• Travelling a lot when they were younger, 
• Growing up as girls in India
• Being trend setters and where it came from
• How their mum helped to support them with their goals
• Their 3rd sister
• Dealing with fears and what drove them
• Not understanding the desire to fit in within the group
• Why they wanted to be the best version of themselves
• Where the love for the outdoors came from
• Developing leadership attributes and self awareness through mountaineering
• When mountaineering turned into a passion
• Planning and climbing their first 19,000 ft mountain
• Who first mentioned Everest and why it was a calling from the mountain
• How they made their dream a reality
• Why to achieve your goals it comes down to commitment
• The struggles to achieve their goal over 4.5 years
• Getting the go ahead from their mum!
• Being labelled as fragile!
• The challenges and struggles they faced to achieve their Everest dream
• Funding the challenge
• How they trained to get in the best physical condition possible before the challenge
• The historic moment on the summit
• The journey back to basecamp 
• Deciding to do the 7 summits!
• Getting home and taking the time to celebrate
• Dealing with the adventure blues..
• Losing friends in the mountains
• mission2for7
• Completing the explorers grand slam at 23 years old
• What they’ve learned from doing these challenges
• Why exploration has become a spiritual journey 
• Why they strike a steel plate on the summit of every mountain
• Nungshi and Tashi Foundation which aims to empower girls
• Heading to study in New Zealand
• Final words of advice to motivate and inspire you

“With passion and commitment, miracles do happen”

Other Everest Episodes you can listen to on the Tough Girl Podcast

• Cathy O’Dowd
• Masha Gordon
• Squash Falconer
• Jo Bradshaw
• Tori James

Social Media

Website - http://nungshitashi.org

Facebook 

Instagram @twinclimbers

Twitter - @NungshiTashi

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Guin was introduced to rowing by her sister at 19 whilst at Southampton University. In her early years Guin excelled in a variety of school sports, playing county hockey and athletics.

During this podcast we learn more about the set backs that Guin faced trying to follower her dream, from being told she would never make it as a rower, to being so broke she was sleeping on changing room floors.

This is a story of courage and conviction and how by work hard, using everything you have you can achieve your goals.

Guin provides lots of top tips to help you face your own challenges, and also shares more knowledge on how you can take up rowing and maybe one day row an ocean!

Show notes

• When she started rowing
• Loving sport at school and how she learnt the rules of life through sport
• Rowing in the novice pot and taking 3 years to win it
• What she loved about rowing
• Growing up in West Africa and going to boarding school when she was 9
• Being expelled from school at 11
• Deciding she wanted to go to the Olympics
• Making the GB Team
• Having to work hard at her technique
• Not making the team and being told she was too small and that she would never be an international rower
• Being ranked 8th in the world in the single scull
• 5’7 tall
• Having no money and not being able to afford to go to her first World Championships
• Sleeping on floors and trying to cut her outgoings
• How she get’s over disappointment
• Her first World Championships rowing in the single scull
• The challenges she has faced throughout her international rowing career
• Dealing with injury before the 2000 Olympics
• The 2000 Olympics, the challenges, the race, the day, the experience
• Having to change the crew 5 weeks before the race
• Being coached by Mike Spracklen
• Having a race off for the last place in the boat
• Team makers & Drivers
• Dealing with the pressure when the world is watching you
• Being able to turn on the raw emotion at the right time
• 4 cms…..
• What it was like afterwards
• Getting back into rowing and stroked the women 8 at the World Championships
• Struggling with overtraining
• Deciding to retire from rowing at 34
• Deciding to row the English Channel
• Waiting 4 months for the right weather to row the channel
• The start of her expedition career
• Not letting people erode your belief
• Surround yourself with people who believe in you 
• The Youth Sport Trust 
• Turning the BIG 50!
• Her rowing plan for the summer - Outrigger Canoeing…
• Advice if you want to get into rowing 

Social Media

Twitter @guinbatten

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2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
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Kim broke her neck while doing a backflip on her snowboard. After making a complete recovery, she reinserted adventure back into her life with things like competing in big mountain snowboarding and even going to school to learn how to become a stunt woman. 

She is the Editor-in-Chief of Purpose2Play.com, a U.S. based digital publication that tells the positive and inspiring stories in sports. She routinely explores how and why athletes are able to overcome great physical and mental challenges. She believes that the talent she has for telling others' stories is rooted in her own desire to challenge herself physically and mentally and live her life at full throttle.

Show notes

• Where she is now and where she grew up
• Why she is a story teller first
• Being fearless since a young age
• Snowboarding off the roof when she was 8 years old
• Loving spending time outside
• Not knowing what she wanted to do
• Having to change career direction
• Becoming a sports writer and being willing to try something new
• Being in a major snowboarding accident when she was 28 years old
• Dealing with recovery
• Her identity and how it was tied to being an athlete
• Using writing to help her recovery and reflect on what had happened
• Wanting to get back to snowboarding and eventually getting back to the snow
• Doing another backflip and reclaiming herself as an athlete
• Where the idea for Purpose2Play came from and why they focus on the positive stories
• Why play is an important component in life
• Being inspired by Juliana Buhring
• Her vision for Purpose2Play
• Still competing in big mountain snowboarding
• What’s going through her head before she starts a competition
• 11, 11, 11,
• Going to stunt school and how it all came about
• What her parents think!
• Her plans for the coming year
• Writing a children's book
• Why she wants to focus more on mental health 
• Nikki Kimble and how she deals with her depression
• Dealing with the adventure blues
• 14,000 ft mountains and her goals to climb 58 by the time she turns 48!
• Wanting to go bungy jumping!

Social Media

Twitter @KimCon14  @Purpose2Play 

Instagram @KimCon14

Website http://www.purpose2play.com/

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

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2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

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Show notes

• Being a free spirit
• Growing up with 3 older sisters
• Being a spoiled brat while growing up
• Leaving home at 18 to travel
• Hopping around for 4 years, changing countries and jobs
• Dealing with anxiety at college
• Living on her own, working on her own and doing it all on her own
• Every step took her further and further away from home
• Dealing with a broken heart and trying to fill the empty void
• Arriving in Mexico - sorting out a job and a place to live within 3 days
• Doing Jaguar conservation work
• Leaving Mexico after 4 months
• Duolingo for learning languages
• Deciding to sail home across the Atlantic
• Crewbay.com 
• The cow scull
• Trying to get to the boat with no money 
• Sailing to England 
• Surviving on four hour sleeps
• Having an argument and not being able to get out 
• Sailing to Ireland and not England!
• Getting itch feet and wanting to get travelling again
• Cycling Ecuador to Argentina with no money
• Operation South America
• Getting her plans in place and dealing with the negativity
• Why you should smile at strangers
• The mental and emotional challenges of her trip
• Asking for help, asking for food
• How she coped when her fiancé was in an accident
• Having Ness Knight come out to join the trip
• What she learn’t from the South American cycle
• Being emotional once she was back at home
• What’s on her bucket list
• Her message that she advocates - “follow your dreams”
• Why you’ll learn from failure

Social Media

Twitter @laurabingham

Instagram @laurabingham 

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

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2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

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EXPEDITIONS:

 •First female to stand up paddleboard 1000 miles (Missouri river, USA)

•Cycled solo + unsupported 2000 miles across the USA

•First female in history to swim the length of the Thames River (UK)

•400 mile run – 15 marathons back-to-back (London to Land’s End, UK)

•Namib Desert solo fatbike expedition (2016)

•Upcoming: Record attempt – first female to row the Pacific Ocean solo and non-stop

Show notes

• Not being a natural adventurer
• Coming to exploring later on in life
• Being an accidental adventurer 
• Deciding to change her life
• Looking for her passion in life
• Losing her best friend at university
• Deciding she no longer wanted to be an introvert and what she did to change it
• What would you do, if you could not fail
• Her conservative family and growing up in South Africa
• Why we need more females in endurance sports getting the spot light 
• Her list of how to live rather than things to do
• Her fear of failure
• Losing her best friend at 20 years old
• Deciding to live her life her way
• Deciding to do SUP - Missouri River - 1,000 miles
• Being inspired by Roz Savage - (Listen to Roz on the Tough Girl Podcast)
• Enjoying the solo journey 
• Courage & confidence 
• Her fears before her first solo cycle
• Trusting her gut instincts and how it improved her confidence
• How she’s been building her career and what she’s been focusing on
• Having her vision of what she wants to do with her life
• How she decides on what to do
• Swimming the Thames and the challenges she faced; the cold, dealing with Raynaud’s Disease, spending 10 hours in the water, dealing with the isolation and the pressure
• What’s going on in her head while she's doing these challenges and why she ends up writing books in her head
• What she’s learnt about her mindset and her mental resilience 
• Why her strength in life is to see everything positively
• Why you need to smile!
• Watch an Amy Cuddy TED Talk - Your body language shapes who you are
• 2016 challenges - Joining Laura Bingham in Bolivia for her cycle (with no money) challenge
• Heading to Namibia - to be the first person ever to solo cycle across the world’s oldest desert, the Namib.
• The worst decision she has ever made while being on an adventure
• Being humble and making smart decisions
• The Pacific Row and why it’s been 7 years in the making
• Planning for the challenge and wanting to build her own boat
• Costs of the challenge
• Working with a performance coach
• The power of visualisation
• Final words of advice and top tips for you
• Watch TED Talk- The power of vulnerability By Brené Brown

“My expeditions and work have taken me to some amazing corners of the world, but there is still so much more to discover.”

Social Media

Twitter - @Ness_Knight

Instagram  - @Ness_Knight

Facebook  - @explorernessknight

Website - http://www.nessknight.com 

Next Week

Laura Bingham will be coming on the Tough Girl Podcast  to share more about her life and cycle throughout South America

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

In 1982 at age 22 Elspeth set off on a solo motorbike trip around the world. The journey took her 2.5 years and she covered a distance of 48,000 miles taking in the sites of North America, Australasia, Asia & Europe. 

This was all done in the age before mobile phones and internet. During her travels Elspeth rode through post-revolutionary Iran during the war with Iraq. She survived life threatening illnesses and numerous accidents. She witnessed civil uprisings that delayed her journey and forced her to fake documents to cross brokers.

This is one hell of a story not to be missed!

Show notes

• How would Elspeth introduce herself
• Understanding more about her childhood
• Being encouraged to explore and push the boundaries
• Going to boarding school at a young age and being expelled at 16
• How she found her love of motorcycles
• Buying her first bike and understanding the travel potential of having a motorbike
• Doing what she wanted to do
• Going on a 10 week trip with her brother, riding across America
• What she feels when she rides her bike and why she loves it
• Finding out in 2006 that she was the first woman to ride around the world
• Having a painful breakup, feeling lost and needing a distraction
• Working in a pub to save £2,500 for her round the world trip
• Feeling nervous and not having a clue what she was doing
• The challenge of the unknown and why she liked it
• What her friends were saying when she told people about her trip
• The fears she had to deal with before she left
• Highlights from America and why she loved New Orleans
• Flying to Hawaii and then on to New Zealand hitchhiking around the North & South Island
• Arriving in Sydney with $50 in her pocket
• Having nothing to fall back on and having to rely on herself
• Her trip around Australia and heading over to Asia
• Feeling separate from other travellers and never feeling like she belonged
• Going for weeks without speaking English
• Being followed and started at while travelling around India
• Crossing the borders into Iran and Pakistan
• Getting Hepatitis 
• Coping with the stress of daily travel and the, not knowing what was going to happen next
• Being ready to head home and the reality of getting back to London
• What happened with Robert after they came back to the UK
• Why you should just go on that trip and do that challenge

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

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2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

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7 Women - 7 Challenges PART 4

At the start of 2017 after feedback from the Tough Girl Tribe. I started 7 Women - 7 Challenges.

Throughout the year I will be interviewing 7 women as we follow them on their journey of going after their own personal challenges.

We will learn what really has to happen for people to achieve their goals, we will hear about their frustrations, disappointments, set backs, as well as their successes and achievements. 

It is real stories, from real women, living real lives.

Schedule of future episodes

Part 1 - 1st January LIVE

Part 2 - 12th February LIVE

Part 3 - 2nd April LIVE

Part 4 - 28th May LIVE

Part 5 - 1st October

Part 6 - 19th November

Part 7 - 31st December

Show notes

Rae Red

• Feeling a bit weird in January
• Finding out she was pregnant!
• Knackered, dealing with morning sickness
• Stopping training
• Going on a mental roller coaster
• Not being able to tell people
• Moving house & being surrounded by boxes
• Processing the news
• Being angry
• Going through a grieving process
• BREAK
• Struggling with mental health 
• Walking everyday
• Publishing her blog posts
• Feeling lonely while pregnant
• Making her pregnancy her own experience
• The first 3 months
• Round ligament pain
• Pregnancy Yoga via Youtube
• Not fighting against it
• The elephant in the room!
• Heartburn
• The London Marathon Ballot!
• Being due early October
• Plans for the future.. new business idea
• Ice climbing in February?
• How her diabetes has been affected by being pregnant
• Having a starvation test
• Eating a banana a day..
• Trying to stay positive
• Why you need to reach out to people
• Starting with her blog - howdoesshedoit.com

Laura Try

• Listening back to part 3 of the podcast and crying about it
• Being on the edge of nearly giving up
• How it has all changed….
• Getting a main sponsor!
• Going to a business networking meeting every week #BNI
• Asking for a dream referral and wanting to speak to Russell Quirk
• 6 week later being told he will be at the meeting
• Should she mention the rowing trip?
• Doing her research.. taking a deep breath and saying hello!
• Going for it!
• £2,000 to go
• Becoming numb to emotion and not being able to feel anything
• Why the challenge is not about rowing GB
• Getting excited!!
• Give some love to www.emoo.co.uk
• Why it’s more than just the money
• Getting physical and emotional support
• Being a New World Record Holder!!!
• Being a member of the Sub 7 Rowing Club 
• Saying “YES”
• The world record row!
• Fitness before the challenge…. & not being able to train properly for the past few months
• £150 club? Still an option?
• The plan to get the final £2k
• Donations have stopped since she got a main sponsor
• Guest speaking gigs - which is ticking a few boxes
• Exhausted, scatter brain, forgetting things, never being so tired in her life!
• Taking time off….
• Moving house on Monday - 5 days before she goes rowing!
• Having a job for when she comes back!
• Starting her row on the 3rd June!
• Mental skills coaching
• Why it’s all about imagery!
• Getting excited!!
• 8 weeks - follow along with Laura via her social media channels
• It’s so easy!!

Jen Dykhoorn

• What’s been happening since we last spoke!
• Moving countries and living in Stockholm
• Getting to travel more
• Experiencing Spring twice!
• What she loves about Stockholm
• Signing up for an Ultra Marathon in July (Eco Trail Ultra Marathon)
• Doing long runs at the weekend and cycling to work everyday
• Tips for running on new trails, using iPhones and having a back up plan
• MapMyRun.com
• Getting the balance right between running and cycling while training
• Using the ultra as a training exercise
• Doing what she can do
• Being prepared as much as she can while maintaining everything else in her life
• Structured Reflection from using the Passion Planner
• Having fewer obligations in Stockholm and being able to choose what she wants to do
• Struggling with anxiety and why her tools helps her to create space
• Dealing with the stress and pressure from work
• Everyday magic goals!
• Making music once a week! Taking up the harmonica
• The 100 Day Challenge!
• Tips for meditation 
• Planning for LEJOG - mapping and accommodation
• Getting excited for her challenge!
• Her goals for the coming weeks
• Heading off to Budapest for a weekend getaway 

Jo Jo Rogers

• Dealing with injury
• Focusing on recovery
• Being angry with her injury
• Getting a new rescue dog and training her to get use to cars
• The frustration of not being able to run
• Being able to get out to Texas to race!
• Not pushing on her running, until race day
• Heading down to Dallas, and getting to see her son as well
• Running on cement in the heat!
• Carrying her own hydration and not needing to stop at the aid stations
• 3 loop course of 10.33 mile course
• Not having a time goal or a place goals
• Assessing the other runners on the start line
• Her goal for the race and wanting to run even laps
• 1 hr 30 mins for each loop - finishing 2nd women!!
• Women placed - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th!
• “Go the Girls!!” 
• The challenges during the race… 
• Running the last 3 miles faster and making an effort to stay over pace
• Feeling fully recovered
• Plans for the summer months
• Sleep & nutrition
• Meeting Jo Jo in Maine
• Her B Goal - To run the fastest 50K for women over 50
• Being the 2nd fastest female in the US for running 50K in 2016
• Her C Goal - To get a PB in a 50K
• Her 50k PB - 4 hr 5mins

Georgie Akin-Smith

• 2 challenges done
• Injury update…
• Not being able to run London Marathon (but being able to defer it to next year)
• Focus on cycling and 2 cycling challenges completed
• What was going through her head before Mallorca 312
• The pressure of having a cut off time of 14 hours and trying to do the distance in that time
• The start line
• Not sleeping well the night before and having a 5 am wake up call
• Dealing with mountains from the start of the course
• Eating every half an hour - which became harder and harder as the time went on
• Getting to 290K 
• Dealing with the nerves and excitement at the start of the race
• Race tactics
• The hills!
• Deciding to carry on and not stop at the 220
• The final 2 hours of the race and why they were so hard - mentally
• Having not choice but to carry on (having a few tears)
• What she’s learnt from the Mallorca experience
• Going to the extremes of her mental and physical fitness
• Pushing herself and gaining confidence from the experience
• 2 week rest and then cycling from London to Paris
• Cycling with Laura Kennington
• Meeting10 new people and having a lose plan for the cycle
• Having a MRI scan on her hip and being able to start running again
• Racing to the finish line to make it in 24hrs!
• Making changes to her 12 challenges
• Doing a Tough Mudder with her parents in August
• Having more of a focus on running and cycling
• Getting to a good place with cycling and training for her next 100 mile race in July
• Is she still enjoying herself?
• Making the challenges work for her and her lifestyle
• Why you can achieve more than you think

Gemma Smith - Adventures of a Novice Mountaineer

• What’s Gemma has been up to
• Climbing the Cosmiques Arête, how it came about and what it is
• Why she decided to do it
• Taking advantage of the weather and managing to get some skiing in
• Fitness while climbing at altitude 
• What she’s learnt from climbing the Cosmiques Arête and how she will be able to apply it to future challenges
• Building her confidence and gaining reassurance from the experience
• Getting a new climbing partner
• Climbing with a para climber and how it’s made her think differently
• Getting half way up a 7a
• London Ladies Climb - FB Group
• How her personal training is coming along
• What she’s focusing on with her training 
• Getting tickets for the ARC’TERYX CLIMBING ACADEMY
• Going on a mountain clean up
• Having to give up on May as a training month
• Working brutal hours and struggling to get the balance
• Feeling guilt about not training
• Having to speak to her boss about her work
• Plans for the coming months
• Bullet Journal….
• Trying to get a routine back in her life
• Not managing to make it to Scotland
• The Sandstone Trail…on the list for July to test her endurance
• Making a commitment and learning when to step back
• Making more time for herself
• Blogging… having more stuff to publish

Rachel Wise

• Summary from the last 2 months
• The big things have been done
• A family will be able to take the house furnished
• A home has been found for the dog
• Sorting out her job and speaking to her boss
• Having the difficult conversation
• Feeling relief that people now know
• Running the Geneva Marathon!
• Being ready for the next one!
• Running her own race, and running at a steady pace
• Pushing the dark throughs aside
• How the children are coping with the upcoming changes
• How Rachel is feeling about the trip
• Not being super excited and more focused on getting things organised
• Trying to save money and make money
• Her experience with Air BnB
• Dealing with back to back bookings
• Renting the whole house out for July
• Prices 
• Trying to fit it all in
• Money and the budget..
• Heading off in August!
• The girls education for while on the road
• The jobs that have to be done before they head off
• The website - slowtravelfamily.com
• Wanting to write more and share more blogs
• What she hopes will have happened by October

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

You can listen to the Tough Girl Podcast on the go via iTunes, Soundcloud & Stitcher!

After 6 years of living a 9-5 lifestyle, she had had enough. She was fed up of being stressed and overworked and had a mountain of baggage to contend with. She was burnt out, didn’t sleep well, was over-thinking all the time and had bouts of depression. She didn’t feel healthy.

So, she decided to make a change. She quit her job, signed up to do a few challenges and…..here she is! Adventuring, travelling and living her absolute dream life.

Since leaving her job she has completed the 240km London Loop on an adult kick scooter, sailed across the North Sea and hiked 1000km the full length of Israel. 

Show notes

• Where Bex is at the moment
• Going to Africa at 18 where she got the travel bug
• Settling into adult life and getting a regular job as a teacher
• Making the decision to quit her life and go travelling full time
• Making another big change in her life for the second time
• Having a small amount of savings 
• Making money while on the go
• Deciding to head off to hike 1,000km the full length of Israel
• Getting herself sorted before she headed off
• Logistics and planning for the trail
• Having her honeymoon at Burning Man Festival
• The challenges of her hike
• 2 months hiking with her husband and hiking separately
• What Scoop the Loop is!
• Not spending any money on the challenge
• Winning the Next Challenge Grant! 
• Wild Camping in a residential urban environment
• Sailing back from Sweden with Tall Ships
• Getting sea sick for the first 24 hrs
• How she decides where she will go travelling
• The struggles she has to face being a nomad and travelling all the time
• Working longer hours than she would in a normal job
• Living with uncertainty and not knowing when your next going to be making money
• Starting - “Love Her Wild” with her friend Alex
• Being inspired by Beth Rodden - climbing when pregnant 
• The Mentor Scheme and why it came about
• What challenge is on her bucket list!
• Looking for her next big adventure
• How she decides what to do next
• Planning and working with her husband
• Japan highlights!
• Advice if you do want to quit your job
• Why you should listen to your gut and your instincts!
• Why I got rid of my stuff  #minimalism
• Her top piece of adventuring kit - good boots and good socks!
• Getting a good night sleep!
• Get in contact with Bex via her blog
• Why you should go and visit loveherwild.com 

Social Media

Website - The Ordinary Adventurer & loveherwild.com

Facebook

Twitter - @Bex_Band 

Instagram - @_theordinaryadventurer

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Phoebe Smith is an adventurer, author, editor, presenter, speaker and filmmaker.

By day she is award-winning editor of Wanderlust Travel Magazine, travel writer and presenter, by night she’s an extreme sleeping outdoors adventurer who thrives on heading off to the wildest locations she can find to sleep in the strangest places she can seek out.

She was the first person to sleep at all the extreme points of mainland Britain – including the centremost point – which she did solo, on consecutive nights in 2014. 

She has completed the Three Peaks Sleeps Challenge – in which she overnighted on the summits of the highest mountains in Wales, England and Scotland. She is also the author of 7 books including the bestselling Extreme Sleeps: Adventures of a Wild Camper,Wilderness Weekends: Wild Adventures in Britain's Rugged Corners  and the first ever guidebook to Britain’s free-to-stay-in mountain shelters –Book of the Bothy.

Show Notes

• Backpacks & her favourite Lowe Alpine pack
• How Phoebe would introduce herself and why she lives something of a double life…
• Inspiring people to travel to new places 
• Doing a feature on the Appalachian trail and how you can fit in the best bits of the trail in 2 weeks
• Being a tourist in her own backyard the UK
• Why adventure doesn’t have to be extreme
• Growing up close to Snowdonia National Park and taking it for granted
• Not knowing what she wanted to do with her life
• Working in Australia for a year and how sleeping in a swag bag in the “red centre” change her perspective on the outdoors
• Finding strange places to sleep throughout the world
• Trying wild camping
• Her fist solo wild camping experience 
• Dealing with the naysayers
• Having adventures in the UK
• 2014 - The sleeping challenge!
• Seeing a cloud inversion 
• Dealing with the rubbish on the top of the Ben Nevis 
• Getting people to appreciate their local beauty spots
• The history of the bothy and becoming a bothy bagger!
• The Book of the Bothy - 26 of her favourite shelters spread out through Britain
• Her first book - The Camper’s Friend and how it came about via twitter!
• Practical tips for people going camping
• “Enjoy not endure”
• Creating a hot water bottle
• Tentertainment….
• Why it ok to just stop and “just allowing yourself to be”
• Wild Camping in Scotland and the changes to the by-laws and how it can impact you
• Take your rubbish with you and leave no trace
• What people should do, to help support this campaign
• Ordnance Survey 2016 and 2017 - Get Outside Champion #GetOutside
• Why you should learn to map read
• How she’s applied what she’s learned from the outdoors to her own life
• Getting angry with herself whilst facing a dangerous river crossing
• Her 8th book!! Britons Best Small Hills  - ***Coming 1st September***
• Final words of wisdom 
• “You don’t find the time, you make the time”
• Creating your own go bag!!

Social Media

Twitter @PhoebeRSmith

Instagram @phoebersmith

Website: www.phoebe-smith.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ExtremeSleeps

Check out her latest books at: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoebe-Smith/e/B0070LP2N2

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Dr Laura Gush is a patron of the Tough Girl Podcast, a member of the Tough Girl tribe and a phenomenal runner. She’s raced in The Iron Man, Marathon Des Sables and a number of ultra races and marathons.

Laura took a year off her medical career in 2015 and took that time to get her personal training qualifications and race in the Marathon Des Sables. Laura shares what she does to train for a race and how her educational perspective had an impact on her running.

We talk about how Laura got into running with no background in sports and what her future challenges will be.

Show Notes

• Growing up in South Wales with a musical background
• Running in the 2008 London Marathon
• Training for her first marathon
• Getting shin splints and underestimating the challenge
• Becoming like the people you’re closest to
• Deciding to participate in The Ironman
• Laura’s strategy for getting through The Ironman Mallorca
• Running a marathon while feeling terrible
• How being a doctor affects Laura’s running
• What it felt like to be an Ironman
• Balancing running with her medical career
• Taking time off her career to run in the Marathon Des Sables
• Creating her own training schedule with back to back runs
• Running her first Ultra in the freezing cold
• Laura’s tips and tricks for getting through a difficult race
• Getting to the desert and getting ready before the race
• Learning from her experience in the desert
• Balancing holding yourself back and pushing yourself forward
• Wanting to repeat the Marathon des Sables
• Running the Druid Ultra and getting injured
• Struggling with rest and recovery
• Running a 100-mile race 6 days after the London Marathon
• Recognising that failure makes things ok and that it’s a choice
• Getting past the experience of giving up on a race
• Competing in the brutal Ironman Wales in 2016
• The highlight of the Ironman Wales
• What Laura enjoys most about marathons and ultra

“Every time I push myself forward a little further, I realise what I can do.”

• Laura’s race schedule for 2017 - The Boston Marathon
• Doing things that scare you - Laura and South Africa

Social Media

www.drgpt.co.uk

Instagram - @doctor_eat_sleep_run_rpt

Twitter - @drlauragush

Facebook - @drlgpt

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Last year Georgina Cleere Won the Women’s Soloist title at Revolve24 2016 completing 127 laps (305 miles) and climbing 8,128m (26,670 feet).

Show Notes

• Her childhood and adventures with horses, including her very own Mr Darcy
• Finding her feet again through losing her horse and her father being ill
• Starting to ride a bike through the Cycle to Work Scheme
• Finding a cycle club and the surprises of going cycling with experienced bikers
• Discovering the buzz of cycling and getting into the sport
• Entering her first Sportive and overcoming her nerves about riding 60 miles for the first time!
• Handling the doubts and worries about rides, and keeping her spirits up
• Taking on even longer distances with some friends, and discovering a love of pushing her boundaries
• Saving her bottom! Sharing her tips for avoiding a sore bottom from hours in the saddle.
• Revolve 24 as a team and deciding to go solo
• Cycling powered by rice pots and wotsits!
• Breaking up the 24hours and keeping herself going 
• Her race strategy and her surprise win at Revolve 24
• Her dream challenge for the future – RAAM!
• Aiming high for the Ultramarathon Cyclists Association
• Fitting everything in within the day between life and training
• Starting to train with a coach and the difference the structure has made, learning to push herself in new ways
• Her tips for getting into cycling as a woman if you’re nervous

Social Media

Say hi to Gina on twitter - @GinaCleere1

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Cheryl Strayed is the author of four books, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Wild. Through her book, she shares her journey of hiking Pacific Crest Trail at 22 years old and dealing with the grief of losing her mother.

These events changed the course of Cheryl’s life and took her on an incredible adventure along the Pacific Crest Trail. It wasn’t until 10 years later that Cheryl shared her experience in a memoir.

As a writer, Cheryl has been committed to the power of story all her life. In our conversation, she reflects on her childhood and what’s changed since she’s become a mother herself. She shares her experience of personal transformation, what it was like publishing Wild, and what happened after sharing her book.

Show Notes

• Growing up with a young mum and witnessing abuse
• Learning to live ‘rich in love’ from her mother
• Being a mother and how it’s changed her perspective
• Dealing with the loss of her mother and leading up to the PCT
• Deciding to hike the PCT from a place of weakness

“I knew that the wild places made me feel most full.”

• Writing the book 10 years later
• Figuring out who she was throughout her life
• Having no one to rely on during her hike on the PCT and feeling empowered
• Finding transformation in wilderness, physical challenge, and solitude
• About ‘monster’, Cheryl’s backpack on the PCT
• Feeling lucky to have made mistakes during her hike

“I had to learn how to live with the truth of my life. I had to learn how to carry those things.”

• Being astounded by the beauty of the PCT and feeling gratitude
• Understanding what was important about writing Wild
• What it felt like having her personal story read by people around the world

“You have to be fearless when it comes to writing the truth.”

• The values of a writer and how that helped Cheryl share her story
• Dealing with people who don’t like her books
• Teaching her kids to have emotional intelligence
• Using the outdoors to cope with the emotional ups and downs
• Having a revelation that grief is always with us and learning to live with it
• What it was like finishing her hike of the PCT
• Deciding what’s next after a big adventure
• Meeting her husband 9 days after her hike
• Sharing other people’s stories while telling her own
• Being a writer mum and teaching her kids
• Telling herself, “I’m not afraid.”
• Sarah’s Appalachian Trail challenge
• The pros and cons of being connected during an adventure
• How Cheryl met Oprah
• Measuring your success by doing all you can do
• Watching Wild for the first time
• Considering the ‘flawed’ label
• Cheryl’s words of advice for people going through struggles

“Even the hardest times are only a moment. They are one part of a whole life.”

Social Media

Keep up with Cheryl on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and at www.cherylstrayed.com

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Chloe Phillips-Harris is a freelance adventure journalist. While her day job is riding, training, and competing with horses, adventure lurks around every corner. In the winter, she goes off the beaten path to adventure and shares her experience with journalism.

As a teenager, Chloe would get naughty ponies she had to train. The next step for her was training wild horses. Bonding with wild horses is a magical experience she goes back to again and again. You can hear the passion in Chloe’s voice for her horses.

Chloe has worked all over the world in places like Egypt, Fiji, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia to use her skills in new ways. Her interest in the world and animals propelled her to take amazing opportunities taking care of wild animals. Chloe raced unsupported in the Mongol Derby, what’s called the toughest horse race in the world. While dealing with sickness and wild animals, Chloe was spurred on by anger and kept going.   

Show Notes

• Growing up in the Bay of Islands on a farm with her strong mother
• Developing a passion for horses at an early age
• Working with wild horses at 21 years of age
• How Chloe gets wild horses and spends 16 hours a day with them
• Bonding with wild horses and how it relates to other relationships
• The wild horses Chloe’s learned to love and taught to love other people
• Dealing with horses she hasn’t been able to connect with
• Learning that we’re all similar from working with horses
• A typical day in Chloe’s life
• Enrolling in a double science major at Uni
• Working hard at age 18 and winning the New Zealand Young Rider series
• Getting burnt out at 23 and going to Egypt
• Travelling around the world to use her skills in new ways
• Caring for horses and doing aid work in Fiji, India, and Egypt
• Seeing the worst parts of humanity at times and feeling burnt out
• Writing about what she saw for horse and adventure magazines
• Participating in the world’s toughest horse race, the Mongol Derby
• Training for the Mongol Derby by running and riding in shorts
• The difference between Mongolian horses and New Zealand
• Getting sick during the Mongol Derby and dealing with incredible challenges
• Being chased by wild dogs and having her horse bolt into a swamp
• The most amazing experiences of the Mongol Derby doing exactly what she wanted to be doing

“It’s really important to do something in your life that you’re proud of.”

• Being a part of the crew for the Mongol Derby this year
• Getting to a crossroads and deciding what to pursue
• Wanting to work with camels
• Having an incredible experience watching a woman ride a reindeer

Social Media

Say Hi to Chloe on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs.

Yorkshire Rows is a team of four working mums who dared to dream. They are the first women to row across the North Sea and holders of the Guinness World record for rowing 3,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean during the world’s toughest rowing race.

I’m joined by Niki Doeg and Janette Benaddi, two members of Yorkshire Rows. They share their story about life-changing adventure, witnessing the beauty of the elements, and discovering who you really are.

With corporate and medical backgrounds, spouses and children at home, these women committed to an adventure. They challenged themselves to prepare the finances, take the exams, and train themselves to row across the ocean.

Show Notes

• How Janette and Niki began their careers and got interested in adventure
• Meeting at a rowing club and becoming good friends
• Deciding to embark on a challenge and getting family support
• What their children had to say about their adventure
• Being very passionate in order to accomplish a dream
• Racing finances, learning about the ocean and taking exams
• Supporting charities through their challenge
• What it cost to row across the ocean
• How long it took Yorkshire Rows to execute their idea
• Transporting the 30 ft long boat
• Preparing for the launch date
• Recognising the danger of being out on the ocean
• What it was like for Jeanette being the skipper
• Dealing with the pressures of the row
• Mentally preparing for the challenge
• Getting annoyed with each other and dealing with it
• What a typical day looked like during their row
• Being bored, experiencing highs, and missing family
• Finding comfort in the middle of the ocean
• What it was like seeing land in the distance at the finish
• Shouldering responsibility during the row
• Celebrating their amazing crossing
• Learning to be more relaxed about life and not be so cautious
• What’s next for Niki and Janette
• Coming out with a book about friendship and adventure
• Last words of inspiration and not making excuses

Social Media

Connect with Yorkshire Rows at www.yorkshirerows.com/ and YorkshireRows@outlook.com

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

***Thank you to all my patrons and all the amazing members of the Tough Girl Tribe - thank you for your continued support, in allowing me to share important stories like this***

Show notes

• How she heard about the Tough Girl Tribe (thank you Lou!)
• Life before children - running marathons and climbing mountains
• Finding a lump in her right breast
• Being diagnosed with a very aggressive type of breast cancer
• How her whole world came crumbling down
• Dealing with the shock and trying to come to terms with it
• Losing control of her life
• Joining a FB group for women under 45 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer - The Younger Breast Cancer Network
• Setting her intentions from the start of the diagnosis
• Spending New Years Eve doing chemo - and a reminder of why good friends are so important
• A year of treatment
• How much her mentality played a part in her recovery
• Getting through the bad days and how she got through them
• How her girls coped
• Dealing with her hair loss and cutting her hair
• Why she decided to take on a triathlon while undergoing treatment
• Team Phoenix and signing up for a sprit triathlon
• Her training and how it all worked
• Her fears about the triathlon… swimming!
• Why she kept on practicing and why she enjoyed learning a new skill
• Drawing a line in the sand and using the triathlon as a way to mark the end of her treatment for cancer
• Being so happy to be alive
• Advice for other women who may be in a similar situation
• Her next challenge in 2017!
• Supporting Team Phoenix as a mentor for the ladies in South East London
• Raising funds for Team Verrico
• Looking forward to the future,  focusing on her family, her work and her exercise

***CHECK YOUR BREASTS - TODAY***

Paula Reid has achieved 150 things of her things to do before she dies list including skiing to the South Pole, walking on hot coals, kayaking the Thames, and running a marathon.

She believes in living life to the full and making the most of our one life. To seize and savour is her mantra from taking advantage of amazing opportunities to savouring beautiful, small moments.

In one of her challenges, Paula sailed in a race around the world with only 2 months of preparation. The team faced a number of trials and accidents, ultimately making it home in 10 months. Later, Paula became the 14th international woman and 3d British woman to ski across the full distance from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

Show Notes

• Finding her sense of adventure and discovery
• Becoming a rebel as a teenager and falling in with the ‘right’ crowd
• Starting her living life list and adding a diversity of challenges
• The challenges that stand out for Paula
• Feeling stuck in a job she enjoyed and deciding to sail around the world
• How Paula has been able to afford these challenges
• Training to sail in 2 months with no prior experience
• Dealing with overwhelm and worry
• Using mantras and taking things one step at a time
• Leaving the port for the yacht race
• Experiencing medical evacuations, man overboard
• Working as a ‘pit chick’ on the boat
• Dealing with accidents during the race
• Bouncing back from depression as a team
• Coming home after a 10-month race
• The difficulty of coming back after a great adventure
• Getting the dream to ski across the South Pole
• Finding an adventure partner and telling friends and family about her goals
• Skiing in a temperature colder than a freezer
• Facing a major challenge with an injury
• Balancing the seize and savour
• Paula’s next challenge, 50 Good Turns
• Getting in touch with Paula at www.paulareid.com
• Looking forward to biking Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
• Paula’s tips on living life to the full
• Writing a list of what you’ve done already and creating your live life to the full list
• Planning for a worm charming competition

Social Media

Find Paula’s book and connect with her on www.paulareid.com. She’s also on Twitter and Instagram.

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Over the last twenty years Anna-Marie’s journey has taken her from icy snow holes in Norway, to the desolate plains of Afghanistan and Iraq while working for the British Army. Most recently she’s been pushing her endurance boundaries running various ultra races & competing in long distance triathlons. 

Her diet, lifestyle and work has turned a full 180 degrees from being totally over weight and unhealthy to being tucked up in bed by ten with a diet based on real food and competing at a high level in endurance sports. Her passion has focused in on the mindset aspect of endurance/adventure/challenges and what you can learn from them to apply to your every day life 

Endurance Portfolio 

•Marathon des Sables - finished 2nd lady & top 50 overall (2015)

•Ultra-Trail World Tour Future Series Cappadocia 110km – finished 1st lady & 5th overall (2016)

•Course records in The ONER (2016), XNRG Cotswolds Way (2015) & XNRG Round the Island (2016)

•Qualified IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships 2013 & 2014

•IRONMAN 70.3 Aix en Provence (2014) & Weymouth (2016) placed 3rd in age group

•Ultra-Trail World Tour sponsored athlete

•Supported by French endurance company W A A

•Other races include: St. Oswald’s Way 100 mile, North Face 100, Everest Marathon, UTMB CCC, Challenge Roth, GeoQuest 48 hour adventure race.

Show notes

• Connecting at the WAEXPO event in January
• Getting AnneMarie to introduce herself
• Hating PE when she was a child, but loving the outdoors
• Being involved in Cadets and Duke of Edinburgh
• Being sponsored by the Army & going to university, before heading off to Sandhurst
• Being in the military for 9 years and going on operational tours in Afghanistan
• Running her first marathon, but never really enjoying running on the road
• Meeting her husband while in the Army
• Deciding she wanting to do an ultra in 2007
• Deciding on the Everest Marathon!
• Getting perspective on the world & finishing the race!
• The race which has really challenged her mental limits
• What goes through her mind before she races - the planning, the preparation, the route, visualisation and her internal chat and why she checks in with herself a lot during the race
• Why she has a strategy to be positive during the race
• Deciding to commit to your goals 
• Advice and tips to help you take your first steps and why you should always ASK people for HELP
• Being scared of even going into a bike shop
• Training for the Marathon des Sables and getting the balance right
• Her concerns before the race
• Her race and the point which really challenged her!
• Being one of the top 5 females on the long day
• “Just do your best”
• Trigging my memories of Marathon des Sables
• The race to the finish and coming in 2nd women!
• Would she do the race again?
• Trying to pick races which have a special meaning
• Advice and tips for when you’re going after your first ultra,  why you should build up to it and be kind to yourself.
• Getting into Ironman & training in Dubai
• Being horrific at swimming and wanting to sort it out
• What a typical training week look likes and why it does vary
• Getting her genes tested - DNA FIT to understand more about what she should be eating and how she should be training
• Avoiding junk miles and why you should either be doing, long slow runs or speed work.
• Why it’s about the quality of your training and not the quantity
• How she recovers and why it’s all about sleep!
• RFM Coaching - how the company started and has evolved
• Why performance is so important in all areas of your life
• Loving her life!
• NLP
• Quick fire questions from the tribe:- kit, mantras, books, food & theme songs!
• Future plans for 2017 - learning how to swim properly & taking on the UTMB!

Contact Anne-Marie

anna@rfmcoaching.com

www.rfmcoaching.com

@rfmcoaching

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

SaveSave

Part 3 - 7 Women - 7 Challenges 2017

At the start of 2017 after feedback from the Tough Girl Tribe. I started 7 Women - 7 Challenges. 

Throughout the year I will be interviewing 7 women as we follow them on their journey of going after their own personal challenges. We will learn what really has to happen for people to achieve their goals, we will hear about their frustrations, disappointments, set backs, as well as their successes and achievements. 

It is real stories, from real women, living real lives. 

This is part 3*

Timings

Jen Dxyhorron - 4 mins

Jo Jo Rogers - 33 mins

Georgie Akin-Smith - 1.07

Gemma Smith - 1.35

Rachel Wise - 2.09

Laura Try - 2.47

*We will be catching up with Rae Red in Part 4

Show notes

Jen Dykxhoorn

• Visiting friends and family in Canada
• How our last conversation reinvigorated her training plan
• Signing up for 1 month gym membership and doing 20 classes
• Feeling strong, powerful and feeling even more energised 
• Moving back to Sweden for 3 - 6 months
• Update on her everyday magic goals  - from reading more books to flossing her teeth everyday
• Being inspired by the adventurous women from the Tough Girl Podcast
• Being inspired by the book “Wild Women”
• Cultivating good habits 
• Champagne Goals - are in progress and her first goal will be checked off soon when she moves back to Sweden
• The planning and preparation for her August cycle ride - LEJOG
• Working with her sister to plan the trip in more detail
• The power of lists
• Sorting out the route and accommodation
• How her PHD has helped her to plan for her adventures
• Using permanent lists
• Her city break to Poland and taking a break from life and being able to switch off 
• The 3 Ps - Packing - Planning - PHD 
• Her end of month check in - “Structured Reflection”
• Feeling good about the progress she’s made in both her training and her PHD
• The Passion Planner - Why she loves it and has used it religiously for the past 2 years
• Filling that space when you’ve finished your goal
• Her focus for the next few weeks
• Thinking about an ultra marathon!
• Looking for an ultra marathon race in July somewhere in Europe - Any ideas!
• Continuing the, Year of the Mighty Thigh!
• Sunning 6k to get to wifi!
• Why she’s also going to focus on strength training as a use for injury prevention

Her Sister - Karen Dykxhoorn - Follow on Instagram @hopefulgoat  & twitter @hopefulgoat 

Jo Jo Rogers

• What’s been happening since we last spoke
• The snowshoe races!
• The World Snowshoe Championships… with no snow!
• Getting ready to race when the course conditions were so terrible
• What the route was like and being fearful of getting hurt
• Finishing 3rd in the world for women aged between 50 - 59
• How she celebrated
• The National Snowshoe Championships… 10 ft of snow!
• Her race strategy
• Watching her daughter race
• How she deals with nerves before a race
• Travelling next year to Spain for the World Championships with her daughter
• Mother daughter bonding
• Her next race in Texas
• Starting to pick up training again
• Training for snowshoeing in the dirt and the grass
• Mixing up her training
• The challenges she is dealing with at the moment - sleep, nutrition, 
• Weekly millage… 130 
• Junk miles?
• Running easy miles
• Overtraining and how she knows
• Happiness
• Speed work and how she does it - her favourite is progression training 
• Sleep habits
• What she’s learnt from the races so far
• Feeling selfish, because she’s doing what she loves
• Living the life she wants to

Georgia Akin-Smith

• 2 of her challenges have been completed!
• How she was feeling before her duathlon in Windsor
• Getting to the venue super early
• What the course was like
• 10k run - 40k bike - 5k run
• What was going through her head on the start line
• Trying to remember to run her own race
• Her race strategy 
• What she learned from the experience
• Why being prepared helped her
• Her “oh no” moments
• Her final transition and what her legs were like
• Trying to fit another duathlon into her schedule for this year!
• Her 2nd challenge
• The Cross Country Ski Marathon in Switzerland!
• Training for the Ski Marathon in Hyde Park!
• Not being able to get into her rhythm
• The downhill and why it was harder
• Her next challenge - The London Marathon
• Suffering with a hip injury
• Why you have to listen to your body
• 120 mile cycle ride, 10 hours in the saddle with few stops
• What she was eating on her cycle ride
• Going for a Bike Fit
• Feeling nervous about her next cycle challenges
• Her current fears about the upcoming races
• Mantras and visualisation to help with her challenges

Learn more about Georgia and her future challenges www.gwhodares.com 

Twitter @GWhoDares & Instagram @GwhoDares

Gemma Smith

• What Gemma has been up to since we last spoke
• Working hard, making the most of her weekends and spending time in Chamonix
• Skiing, climbing and heading up North in the UK to head into Snowdonia in Wales
• Some low level hiking just below the snow line
• Enjoying ice climbing and leaning new skills to help in the mountains
• Heading over to Italy to climb and being one of the few girls out there
• Practicing screwing in ice screws and different ways of belaying on ice
• What good ice should look like
• Thinking about the long term and why she’s learning these skills now
• Having the aim to be skilled and fit enough to face any challenge on the mountain
• Working with her personal trainer
• “Hurricanes” a new fun way of training!
• Working in a hypoxic way
• Trying to maintain everything she’s doing
• Heading back to Chamonix in Easter
• Getting everything ready for her trip in August
• Getting her accommodation all booked for August - staying in mountain huts on the way
• Dealing with Raynaud’ s while out in the cold
• The £200 pair of gloves…
• Starting to blog - Adventures of a novice mountaineer
• Why she’s going to start upping things now
• Trying to do more ridge walks to get as much exposure as possible
• Her next challenge in Chamonix and planning another trip to Scotland
• Finding a good guide through - Adventure Base
• Tips from her guide - John
• The challenges over the past few weeks, especially trying to balance work
•   How she keeps her motivation going especially day to day
• Collecting local art work and reminding herself why she’s doing it
• Why music helps to keep her motivated as well as talking to people
• Why you have to be a little bit crazy to pursue what you love 
• Nutrition for mountain days
• The Sandstone Trail in Cheshire - potential training walk for me!  
• Keeping updated with Gemma via Instagram, twitter and her blog!

Rachel Wise

• A reflection on how she was feeling a few months ago
• Turning a corner 
• The website is now live, and she’s up and running on twitter and Instagram
• Air BNB is starting to make money which is great going into the savings account
• Speaking with their landlord about being able to sublease the house while they were away
• Being able to come back to the same house in Switzerland once they finish travelling
• Paying for the flights and being all booked up as far as they can with regards to flights
• Planning the budget per day for each place they visit
• Progress regarding the girls education
• The focus for the coming weeks
• Trying to figure out what to do with their dog!
• Feeling more organised and getting on top of things
• Documenting the journey through the website and via social media
• Not getting twitter, and not seeing how it can work for her
• Enjoying Instagram and finding it fun
• Feeling more positive about everything
• Training for the Geneva Marathon
• What’s she learned so far
• Telling work…..
• Blog post - “Are we who we say we are?”
• Ignore the haters and the negative comments
• Feeling proud of the website, and crossing of items on her to do list
• Applying to be a house sitter for July
• What else she’s be working on in the coming weeks - from running the Geneva Marathon to sorting out accommodation for their trip, and planning the US road trip
• Visit the website - www.slowtravelfamily.com  and follow on twitter @SlowTravelFam  and Instagram @slowtravelfamily

Laura Try

• Life is tough
• Formulating a plan
• New members of the LT Support Crew
• The issue of raising funds for the challenge
• The struggle of getting in front of the right people
• £6k raised and another £15K needed to reach her target in 9 weeks or else she will be kicked off the team
• New strategies every week e.g. last week cold calling
• How’s she's handling the pressure
• Having a melt down a few weeks ago
• Not being able to rest, if she rests, then nothing else happens
• Trying to remain positive
• Waking up at 6 am - working all day and then back on the laptop working (every day)
• What the options are?
• Feeling embarrassed if she doesn’t do it
• Focus on the positives
• Being featured by Health & Fitness Magazine!
• New videos being made
• Making progress
• Speaking with Lauren Morton 
• Connecting with local business people
• The £150 club!
• Speaking to Jamie Sparks
• Cold calling!!
• Learning new skills!!
• Making changes to sponsorship brochure 
• No time for training 
• Having to sacrifice; food, sleep and training to focus on sponsorship and funding
• Mental health
• Feeling on the edge
• How its become an obsession
• The focus for the next few weeks
• Wishing she done crowdfunding first
• Debt?
• Creating a video for the - Road Rower!
• Being proactive
• What she’s learned from the past few weeks
• Not being able to think straight
• How to connect with Laura - Facebook, twitter, Youtube, and visit her website

17-year-old Lilyella Craw-Seaman carried a 43lb rucksack as she took on the Pen Y Fan in the latest instalment of the Fan Dance Race Series. More than 300 people took part and Lilyella was the first female across the line.

Lilyella carried a 43lb rucksack to the top of 2907ft Pen Y Fan in Wales, ran down the mountain, then turned round and did it all over again. She completed the brutal 15-mile route, designed to weed out the weak in SAS selection training, in just four-and-a-half hours. Afterwards, Lilyella said the trek, known as the Fan Dance, was the greatest challenge of her life! 

During this podcast we learn more about Lilyella, why she enjoys doing challenges, her motivation and her drive to make sure she always give her best and goes after every opportunity.

Show notes

• Her first passion, swimming & swimming competitively from 5 years old
• Finding out about her family
• Liking to win!
• Balancing school work with swimming and why boarding school helped
• Waking up at 4am, to swim for 2 hours before school and swimming again in the evening
• Where she gets her drive from
• Why swimming makes you mentally strong
• Her proudest moment swimming
• Being 14 and making the Scottish Senior Team
• Competing internationally in Germany
• The start line, what’s going through her head
• Keeping her composure while racing
• Her race tactics
• Why it’s important for her to stay calm, especially at the start of the race
• Having a strong finish at the end
• Making a transition into the mountains and how it came about
• Alba Military Fitness
• Who Dares Cares
• The Fan Dance Challenge!
• Telling her parents about the challenge!
• The race, her bag, the route, the distance, the start
• Crossing the finish line!
• How working as part of a team helped her to achieve this goal
• Future challenges she wants to get involved in!
• Wanting to join the Army
• Why failing has made her stronger
• Advice for other girls out there who want to get involved in sports and doing challenges

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Thank you to all the Patrons of the Tough Girl Podcast  - your continued support is fantastic!!!

To become a patron - click HERE!

Ride4MedicalAid is a sponsored cycle ride from London to Jerusalem to raise awareness and funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). The ride, started on the 27 August 2016, crossing 13 countries, covering a distance of 3,500km in less than 35 days, arriving at Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on the 30 September 2016.

MAP is a humanitarian organisation working for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. MAP provides lifesaving medical supplies, equipment, training and humanitarian aid to those most in need in Gaza, the West Bank and in Lebanon.

Show notes

• About Rahma, her transition into cycling from rowing
• Growing up in Norwich and having a very normal upbringing
• Setting her history and learning more about her family
• Being brought up with Islam
• In 2014 during the war in Gaza, she was sitting on her sofa watching the news and finally decided it was time for her to do something to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine/Israel. 
• Not doing anything for a year and not knowing how to start
• In May 2015 visiting Shatila camp in Beirut where she learnt more about MAP and how it was founded following the massacres in Shatila and Sabra camps in 1982.
• The “Key of Return” and what it means
• Finding her belief and her reason why” the belief in equal healthcare for ALL”
• Being scared, and how the idea slowly evolved and all started to become real
• Dealing with her fears and how her family and friends helped
• Planning for her cycle!
• Fitting in her training around work, doing back to back training and adding in sportive events to ensure she was on track
• Sorting out tyres and becoming a tester!
• Planning her route using Google earth & street view
• How she didn’t plan mentally for the trip
• Starting her adventure, from the bottom of her road
• Having her mum with her for the start
• Dealing with the hills & the cobbles!
• Getting to Munich and being joined by her friends and enjoying the first few weeks
• Saddle soreness and dealing with the pain
• Doing exactly what she wants to do with her life
• The descent into Athens!
• Getting into Jerusalem and finishing the cycle
• What she's learnt most about herself on this trip
• The most challenging part of the trip and what she learned from this experience
• Dealing with unwanted attention 
• Arriving back into the UK and trying to settle back into normal life
• Getting out of the slump and being inspired by Emily Chappell & Anna McNuff
• Her plans for the future!
• Raising £22,000 for MAP - Learn more about MAP
• Final words of advice and, “why you can’t fail if you try” 

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3?

You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Frances Taylor a member of the Tough Girl Tribe is sharing more of her life on the Tough Girl Podcast!

• Over caffeinated and overreacting. 
• Marathon runner, and one time ultra runner.
• Cycling New Zealand, Cape Reinga to Bluff 🚲
• 💌: francesmtaylor@gmail.com

Show notes

• Hating PE at school and stopping all physical activity from 14 years old
• Finding fitness again
• Deciding to do the Detroit Marathon
• Living in London and working full time as a receptionist
• Starting to run and how it helped her with her mental health
• Having 10 months to train for her first marathon
• The first time putting her trainers on and going for a run
• Building up her training over time
• To tell people or not to tell people?
• Being embarrassed about how slow she was
• Being a few weeks away from her first marathon and dealing with the nerves
• Letting herself feel her feelings and carrying on
• Her first marathon, being overwhelmed, tired and crying at mile 17
• How her self confidence sky rocketed after doing the marathon
• The Scafell Pike Marathon!
• Training for the hills
• Deciding to do an ultra! A flat 75K (with no navigation)
• Why the time is passing anyway and you should go out and do what you want to do
• Giving it their best shot
• Doing the race for themselves
• With her 30th birthday coming up & deciding to quit her job
• Needing to do something big with her life 
• Why she decided she wanted to go to New Zealand
• Tips for saving money
• Giving herself 2 years to get ready
• Her plan for NZ and why it’s been more difficult than she thought and why its been more amazing that she could imagine
• Learning to have more self belief

Social media

Tumblr - http://pennyface.tumblr.com

Instagram - @Penny_face

Twitter - @penny_face 

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs. 

Thank you to all the patrons of the Tough Girl Podcast!

If you want to giveback and support the Tough Girl Podcast please become a patron.

Learn more - HERE!

Natalia Cohen has been travelling the world, living, working and exploring for the last 15 years. She has gained access and insights into an incredible variety of cultures and customs on all continents, as well as personal insights, and has charted her journey with beautiful, deeply inspiring writing and photography along the way.

Her unshakable passion for adventure has taken her to people and places that most of us can only imagine. From the Middle East to Antarctica, the villages of Africa to the colours and chaos of India, South America and the middle of the Pacific ocean, she truly is a global traveller.

Her most recent adventure led her to row across the Pacific Ocean delving deep into the mind and exploring the strength of human spirit. Her mission is to empower others to enjoy their life journey, reach their full potential and understand that we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now!

2 World records were set with the Coxless Crew:

• First all female team to row the Pacific Ocean.
• First ever fours boat to row the Pacific Ocean.

Show notes

• Travelling the world for 15 years 
• Coming back to the UK to train to row across the Pacific Ocean
• How the Pacific Row came about and how she came to be involved in it
• Being open to opportunities
• Deciding if she liked rowing!
• The selection process for the Coxless Crew
• Why getting to the start line was almost as difficult as the ocean row
• Doing all the planning while holding down a full time job and how it helped to prepare them for the crossing
• Being overwhelmed and dealing with those feelings
• Taking it day by day, and focusing all her energies on getting to the start line
• Having the support of the team and why it made it easier to keep on going
• Why if you don’t ask, you don’t get
• Remembering the start and her feelings of quiet and calm during the first 24 hours.
• 2 hours on & 2 hours off for 9 months & how it impacted on sleep patterns and how quickly the body can adapt
• Getting into routine and how life became very simple: - eat, sleep, row, repeat!
• Getting to know the women on the boat and having the time and space to listen to one another while sharing their stories
• Meditation while rowing and being fully present and living in that moment
• Learning how to shift her mindset:- using mantras, motivating one another, photo’s, writing blog posts, and speaking to family members

“I am in charge of how I feel, and today I am choosing happiness”

• Focusing on the positive and setting your attention at the start of the day, to have a great day!
• The challenges she faced during the 9 month row and one particular challenging night shift

“I can do it - I can do it - I can do it - I can do it - I can do it”

• Team Values: - SPIRIT - Strength, Perseverance, Integrity, Resilience, Inspiration, Trust
• Being open with one another and learning to not take things personally
• The biggest argument on the boat…. Instant Noodles!!!
• What she has learned about herself by doing the Pacific Row Challenge
• Setting herself up as an inspirational speaker
• Why being yourself is so important and why self belief is important

“We all have the power to be who we want to be and do what we want to do”

• Being more aware of what she can control and what she can’t control
• Having the power to choose your attitude and making sure you enjoy the journey 
• Coming back to reality and no longer being in a rowing boat in the middle of the ocean
• The next Coxless Crew team challenge!
• “Losing Site of Shore” - A documentary of the row

Social Media

Learn more about Natalie by visiting her website - say hi to her on twitter @EyeoftheNomad 

Learn more about the Coxless Crew by visiting their website and follow on twitter @coxlesscrew

Feeling inspired week after week? 

You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!

1. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
2. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
3. Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!

Want to do more?

Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs.