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Tough Girl Podcast

The Tough Girl Podcast is all about inspiring and motivating YOU! I will be interviewing inspirational women from around the world, who’ve faced and overcome difficult challenges and situations, they will share their story, their knowledge and provide advice and essential tips for you to overcome your own personal challenges. Please check out the Tough Girl Challenges website - www.toughgirlchallenges.com and follow on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL
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Now displaying: February, 2023
Feb 28, 2023

Kate in her own words...

"My name is Kate Strong and I don’t believe in living a compromised life. From an early age, I felt I was different. I was curiously questioning almost everything I did, and realised that living within society’s comfort zone doesn’t always create inspiring and extraordinary results.

My mission is to inspire and empower people just like you to step up and achieve what you know intuitively that you know you want.

Add clarity, direction, a sense of purpose and methods to maintain your desire to move forward to achieve and live your dreams.

For over two decades, I tried to fit in. I put what other people expected of me ahead of what I truly wanted to do. I was not being entirely me – I was conforming and compromising.

At university, I studied Engineering – to please my parents (I did enjoy the challenge of learning a new topic, but being an engineer was never my dream).

After graduating, I went to Latin America. Yet, I eventually ‘returned to normal’ and started to ‘settle down’ – following the unspoken rules of society.

I find it curious why most people wait until a ‘cliff edge moment’ before making significant changes. I was no different, waiting until after a dramatic break-up with my fiancé that left me financially in debt and emotionally distraught did I finally accept that things needed to change. I needed to change.

It was time I started to live for me and feed what could be rather than resign to what is already. Far too many people are settling for below their potential, in a state of discomfort: Living for Friday afternoon and the next pay cheque. Life doesn’t have to be like this.

Applying this philosophy, I took up running and became age-group World Triathlon Champion. I have been striving to stop reacting to circumstances and instead continue to consciously create a life that inspires me and others."

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. 

Support the Tough Girl mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media - especially in relation to adventure and physical challenge by signing up as a patron. www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you. 

 

Show Notes

  • Who is Kate Strong
  • Her early years and growing up in Wales
  • Loving sport from a young age
  • Not loving the competitive side of sport
  • Wanting to connect with herself and nature through sport
  • Studying engineering in France for 5 years
  • Having a life while studying 
  • Her first big physical challenge
  • Learning lessons from cycling to the Alps
  • Treating physical challenges with respect
  • Going through an emotional breakup 
  • Getting into triathlon while being based in Australia
  • Not wanting to cap her potential  
  • Wanting to be number one in the world
  • Needing a big goal 
  • Getting started with training for a triathlon
  • Just wanting to spend time outside and do something physical
  • Overcoming her own excuses 
  • Letting herself have the permission to put herself first 
  • Starting to add some structure to her training
  • Healing from the breakup and moving on 
  • Why she’s still on the healing journey 
  • Learning to use her pain as a strength 
  • Using triathlon as a distraction
  • Becoming age group world champion in 14 months 
  • Selling the business and moving back to UK in 2014
  • Starting at zero 
  • Working on her mindset and belief in herself
  • Racing at the world championships in China 
  • Figuring out ways to make it happen
  • Focusing on her future and healing 
  • Focus on the WHY and the HOW will sort itself out
  • Showing up everyday regardless of what was happening in her life
  • Being supported by her local community who crowdfunded for her
  • Race day and saying her intentions to come first in the race
  • Focusing on doing her best in the current moment
  • Having an attitude of gratitude 
  • Being vegan and plant based
  • Deciding to stop eating dairy and the impact it had on her performance after 5 days
  • What a typical day of eating looks like
  • Tour de Wales and Challenge 3000
  • Getting injured during Tour de Wales and having to make changes to the plan
  • How the idea came about and how it changed and evolved over time
  • Wanting to travel slower and in a more sustainable way
  • How to connect with Kate and get involved with her challenge
  • The Strong Voice Podcast
  • Final words of advice - go out and start exploring with curiosity

 

Social Media

 

Website katestrong.global 

Instagram  @katestrong01

Facebook @katestrong01 

Twitter @katestrong01 

 

 

Feb 21, 2023

Nirjala is a 41-year-old Nepalese national triathlete and a mother of two. She was Nepal's national mountain biking champion for 12 years, from 2001 to 2012, and after dominating the mountain biking scene for 12 years, Nirjala was known as the "Mountain Queen" by her peers. Nirjala is now a triathlete on the Nepal National Team.

On June 6th, 2021, Nirjala completed the UK Ultimate Triathlon event in Whitchurch after 15 hours and 13 minutes. The full Ironman distance includes 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling, and 42 kilometers of running. She then became the first Nepali female athlete to complete a full Ironman-distance triathlon.

Her historic achievement was publicly recognized as the "First Nepalese Female Athlete to achieve" by Nepal Triathlon Association President, Mr. Nilendra Raj Shrestha.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. 

You can support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Learn more by visiting www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast . Thank you.

 

Show notes

  • Who is Nirjala
  • Speaking with Nirjala previously on the Tough Girl Podcast
  • Discovering triathlon 
  • Living in UAE in 2011 and training for mountain biking 
  • Thinking about doing an Ironman
  • Making the transition from mountain biking to triathlon 
  • Stopping mountain biking and focusing on family 
  • Wanting to lose weight after having children
  • Getting back into training after having a C section 
  • Why she wanted to do a triathlon 
  • Learning how to swim as an adult 
  • Overcoming her fear of open water
  • Taking on her first sprint triathlon 
  • Learning to swim front crawl in 2018
  • Not feeling confident in the water 
  • Dealing with feelings of panic while in the water
  • Feeling more confident in the water 
  • Training for open water swimming 
  • Learning how to float 
  • Doing her first Full Ironman triathlon
  • Following a free training plan found online
  • Balancing training time with her family 
  • Being on the start line of the race
  • Being worried about the cold water
  • Eating during the race
  • Feeling relief and happiness crossing the finish line
  • Recovering afterwards
  • Feeling a lot of pain at the end and not being able to sleep
  • How to connect and follow on the social 
  • Final words of advice to motivate and inspire you to take on your next challenge
  • How to face your fears even when you are afraid 
  • Why you can do anything you want in your life

 

Social Media

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NirjalaTamrakar 

 

 

Feb 14, 2023

Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner. She was born on Christmas Day in Norman, Oklahoma. She credits her athletic ability and steely toughness to her grandpa, who earned two Purple Hearts in World War II, and her dad, who played college basketball at Oklahoma State University for 3-time Olympic Team Coach, Henry Iba. As a 7-year-old she would practice basketball without water until she would black out. When she was 17, her family became homeless when they lost their home in a tornado. She started running long on Sundays to celebrate her life.

Camille won the 2017 Comrades Marathon and holds several World Record times at ultramarathon distances. She is the first and only athlete to win all three of the road IAU World Championships for 50K, 100K, and 24 Hours. Camille also holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero costume. She is known for running with her hair down, drinking beer, and eating tacos during ultramarathons.

In November 2017, she broke Ann Trason's 100-mile Road World Record by over an hour in 12:42:40. She is the first woman to run under 13 hours for 100 miles, exceed 150 km for 12-Hours, and reach 270 km for 24-Hours. In April 2022, she became the youngest woman to reach 100,000 lifetime miles.

Camille has overcome multiple challenges in her life, including injuries as a young runner and the loss of her family's home in the 1999 tornado outbreak in Oklahoma. In February 2019, just two weeks after surviving a rollover car accident, she won the Tarawera 100 Miler in Rotorua, New Zealand in a new course record of 17:20:52.

She was a 3-time All-Stater in cross country, 3-time State Champion in track and field, and valedictorian at Westmoore High School. As a young runner, Camille experienced many injuries and was inspired to understand why. She got back into competitive running as a road racer in her fifth year of college coached by her husband and former elite runner, Conor Holt. In 2007, Camille graduated from Oregon State University with a Master of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. 

Support the Tough Girl mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media - especially in relation to adventure and physical challenge by signing up as a patron. www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you. 

 

Show Notes

  • Who is Camille
  • Being a marathoner for 10 years before getting into ultra running
  • Committing to ultra running in 2015
  • Wikipedia for Camille 
  • Being a shy kid with high energy
  • Getting into dance ad basketball before running 
  • Playing point guard in basketball
  • Finding running very natural 
  • Doing her first cross country race
  • Meeting her husband in college
  • Being surrounded by super runners and being inspired
  • Running miles for fun
  • Suffering from injuries and wanting to understand why
  • Winning 3 state titles in high school
  • Growing 9 inches and dealing with multiple stress fractures 
  • Being told by doctors not to run competitively 
  • Being taught how to train properly
  • Studying bone and exercise in grad school
  • Remaining injury free from her mid 20s
  • Reaching 100,000 miles in running 
  • Being part of a research study at Stanford
  • Her running routine 
  • Running periods and peri-menopause
  • Using her period as a marker of health
  • Having a mineral imbalance
  • Low magnesium and high iron
  • Working with a dietitian 
  • Foot strike haemolysis 
  • Recovery and sleeping after big training sessions
  • The Root Cause Protocol
  • Getting into a better routine at night
  • Feeling the best she’s ever felt at 40
  • Loving 24hr races and why its the hardest distance 
  • Strategy for 24hr races
  • Mentally breaking down the race
  • Why it’s the hardest ultra race
  • The motivation and where it comes from
  • Future races and wanting to race more trail races
  • Connect with Camille
  • Coaching with Camille
  • Advice for new runners 

 

Social Media

 

Website www.camilleherron.com/ 

Instagram @runcamille 

Facebook @runcamille 

Twitter @runcamille 

 

 

Feb 7, 2023

Amy Aed is a travel writer and adventurer from Wales who was the first person to walk the entire Danube River.

Amy was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 15, and the daily impact on her health was a struggle, but there’s nothing stopping her from living the life she wants.

On 14th September 2022, Amy finally finished the 1770-mile journey and became the first person to walk the Danube river, more or less a year after she started.

Amy is also the face behind the blog Wandering Everywhere. She enjoys writing raw, off-the-beaten-path guides to beautiful places.

Amy's writing has been featured in Sick Chirpse, The New Welsh Review, Yahoo! Lifestyle, Buzz Magazine, Wanderlust Magazine, Buzzfeed, and many more.

About the blog:

Wandering Everywhere is a space filled with raw, off-the-beaten-track travel guides on gorgeous places, with a focus on solo female travel and travelling when there’s a million obstacles in front of you.

This blog is for the travel-hungry, those who are on the constant search of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s for the people who are all about asking questions and collecting stories, sharing their passion for exploration in an outlet designed to inspire a whole community of travellers.

Wandering Everywhere is a blog set out to inspire others to live a life of a travel in a way that needn’t be scary, expensive, or isolating – where wandering and wondering go hand in hand. Let’s turn the world travel-hungry.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you.

*This walk was started 1st September 2021 and finished 14th September 2022

 

Show notes

  • Who is Amy
  • Her early years
  • Wanting to travel from a young age
  • Her blog - Wandering-everywhere and how it evolved from a book blog to what it is now 
  • Travelling to Germany and writing about travelling 
  • Working with tourism boards 
  • Walking the length of the Danube river.
  • Where the idea came from 
  • Doing research on the Danube and finding out that no one had walked it before 
  • Not doing a lot of planning and preparation
  • Concerns before taking on this challenge
  • Feeling excited to go and travel
  • Planning to walk 40 miles a day and finish the challenge in a month
  • Having to go home multiple times during the trip
  • Never having done a walking trip before
  • Doing about 25km on average per day
  • Deciding to walk with other people 
  • Not being able to finish the trip before Christmas
  • Having to make changes to the journey
  • The challenges of walking with teammates (girlfriend - Emily and friend - Ines)
  • The challenges of taking a break during the walk and going back to it 
  • Feeling ready to finish and end the trip
  • Being diagnosed at age 15 with Crohn’s Disease.
  • Changing her diet and eating while walking
  • Not taking care of herself and getting ill
  • Figuring out what her food triggers were
  • Getting food and resupply while walking 
  • Money and costs of the challenge
  • Receiving a small grant for £500 and a small amount of sponsorship 
  • The biggest lesson and learning from the challenge
  • Dealing with the street dogs
  • Not being able to rely on other people
  • The ending of the journey and reaching the Black Sea
  • The Danube Delta and not being able to walk the end and needing to take a boat
  • Why the end was underwhelming and vey different from what she imagined
  • Magical moments from the walk
  • Deciding not to camp anymore
  • Using couch surfing for the first time 
  • Future plans - a road trip through Eastern Europe and going to Mexico for the day of the dead celebration
  • How to connect with Amy 
  • Final words of advice for women who want to get wandering and travelling 

 

Social Media

 

Website www.wandering-everywhere.com 

Instagram @wandering-everywhere 

Facebook @wanderingeverywherepage 

Twitter @wandrevrywhere 

 

 

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