In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we’re joined by Pamela Lee, a professional offshore sailor from Ireland who’s breaking records and barriers in one of the most extreme, male-dominated sports on the planet. Now based in Brittany, France—the heart of short-handed offshore racing—Pamela has carved out her path with grit, determination, and a clear vision for empowering women through sailing.
Pam shares her journey from growing up beside the sea in Ireland to becoming the first Irish woman to skipper the Transat Jacques Vabre Race, setting three world records sailing around Ireland, and now training for the 2026 Route du Rhum, one of the toughest solo ocean races in the world.
We dive deep into her early influences, the realities of offshore racing, learning French to break into the French sailing scene, and the financial, emotional, and physical challenges of pursuing elite-level sailing. From boat borrowing to breaking glass ceilings, Pamela opens up about the power of visibility, representation, and believing in your own potential—no matter how big the dream.
Whether you're interested in sailing, women in sport, or chasing bold goals, this is an empowering and eye-opening conversation not to miss.
***
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. 
Thank you x
***
Show notes
- Who is Pamela
- Living and working in Brittany, France
- Professional Off-shore Sailor
- Living in the mecca of off-shore sailing
- What short-handed sailing is
- Speaking French and sailing in French
- Studying French at school and doing a French exchange
- The challenge of learning French
- The power of emersion when learning a language
- Growing up in Ireland (south of Dublin, on the South East Coast) beside the sea
- Having a dad who is a sailing fanatic
- Family holidays camping and sailing
- Opportunities to become a professional sailor?
- Adapting her mentality on how she wanted to live her life
- Knowing that a 9-5 job was not for her
- Living in Sydney, Australia and wanting to sail
- Sydney Hobart offshore sailing race
- Finding a boat to sail on
- Wanting to travel and to sail more
- Wanting to make a change
- Considering the possibility of becoming a professional sailor
- Getting her Yacht Master Qualification
- Getting the opportunity to move to France
- Wanting to learn more skills and not getting to do those positions
- Reaching a glass ceiling and not seeing how to get to the next level
- Looking for the next opportunity and heading back to Ireland to figure it out
- Discussion around the Olympics and sailing (double handed offshore racing)
- Being part of a mixed sex duo
- Being invited to train for the Irish team for this potential event
- Heading to France to trail for this type of racing
- Being exposed to the French offshore racing world
- Deciding to stay in France 2019 - 2020
- Setting 3 world records by sailing around Ireland and how the goal came about
- Fastest sailing around Ireland in a boat of 40ft or under
- Setting the record for double handed and the women’s record for racing around Ireland
- The covid years and going back and forth between France and Ireland
- Personal inner ambition and wanting to know what she could do
- Needing to get a boat
- Borrowing a boat and starting to train with it for racing around Ireland
- Spending several days at seas and racing 700 nautical miles in approx 3-4 days
- Funding for sailing
- Making a big media splash and getting your name out there with the record
- Getting women’s stories in main stream press
- Women’s voices and the progress being made in women’s sports and how they are represented
- The push towards progress
- The Route du Rhum a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes place every four years in November.
- Racing from France to the Caribbean solo - the longest and toughest trans-atlantic race
- Being the first Irish female to do the race
- Needing to qualify for the race (based on miles raced)
- Needed to race and train before
- Starting the project and finding their founding sponsor - DFDS
- Funding costs via sponsorship
- The dream budget and costs involved
- The stress of getting sponsorship and maintaining the relationship
- Filming a documentary with Musto (Sailing clothing brand)
- The importance of visibility and representation
- Being inspired by the sporting women in the Olympics
- The importance of PERSONAL challenges
- How to connect with Pam
- Words of advice for other women who want to go after their own goals
- Encouraging women to go after big goals and building a step by step progression plan
- Lisa - Life & Business Mindset Coach
- Building your confidence along the way
- Giving yourself credit and the belief to tackle big things
Social Media
Website www.pamelaleesailing.com
Instagram @pamybefree
Bianca Fernandez-Clark is a 7x Ironman finisher, Chair, and co-founder of Women in Tri UK, a charity on a mission to bring more women into triathlon and break down barriers in the sport. With no background in sport, Bianca laced up her trainers at age 29 to tackle a 10km as a way to manage her mental health. From there, she progressed to marathons and, in 2016, took on the challenge of learning to swim and cycle to complete her first triathlon.
As a Black/mixed-race woman, Bianca has been vocal about the lack of diversity in triathlon, especially at long-distance events, and has worked to highlight the barriers faced by the Black community in accessing swimming.
In 2022, she co-founded Women in Tri UK, and the organisation has been growing ever since, working hard to make triathlon more inclusive and accessible for women everywhere.
By day, Bianca works full-time in the financial sector, but every spare moment is dedicated to continuing her own triathlon journey and supporting the work of Women in Tri UK.
***
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. Thank you x
***
Show notes
- Who is Bianca
- Being based in London
- Being serious about the sport of triathlon
- Staring running at 29 and then moving into triathlon in 2016
- Working full time in the financial services
- Founding Women in Tri UK - which aims to break down barriers and make the sport more accessible for women
- Being at advocate for women, especially women of colour
- Building a community to support women in the sport
- Growing up in the Dominican Republic
- Not being encouraged in sports from a young age
- Dealing with curly, afro hair
- Having zero background in sports
- Not being naturally good at sports
- What changed at 29
- Living in Spain to study for her Masters
- How running gave her a life line
- Going from the couch to 5k
- Crossing the finish line of her first 10K race
- Feeling alive again
- Not falling in love with running straight away
- Going on a journey of self discovery
- Deciding to sign up for her fist Marathon
- Discovering the group - the running bug in the UK
- Meeting a guy who could give her advice…
- Being with her partner for 10 years
- Being a part of the running community
- Not being very fast and being more suited for endurance
- Getting into triathlon
- Signing up for swim classes and learning to ride a bike for the first time
- Doing her first triathlon which was a women only event.
- Wanting to take on an ironman
- The stress of cutoffs
- The time commitment involved in training
- Making training work for her lifestyle
- Doing the best training that she can with the time she has
- Having a goal of finishing the race
- Making training part of her lifestyle
- Hair advice and tips
- Alice Dearing
- Hairstyles for women in triathlon
- Black women role models in the triathlon space
- Sika Henry
- The lack of swimming lessons for children
- How Women in Tri UK came about
- Heading to Kona, Ironman World Championships
- Using lockdown for fitness and training more
- Women in Tri, First sponsored Athlete - Naomi Rumble
- Coaching programs and having realistic training plans for women
- Speaking with British Triathlon
- Advocacy work and partnering with SheRaces
- Barriers for women in triathlon and writing a detailed 63 page report
- Making sure the sport also changes
- The plans for Women in Tri over the next few years
- Partnering with Cycle Sisters
- The diversity of Women in Tri
- Wanting to remove financial barriers
- Working with brands
- Working on her personal goals and wanting to go back to Kona
- Recovering from a broken foot
- How to connect with Bianca
- Women in Tri US - being closed
- Final words of advice for women who do want to take on a triathlon
- “Women in Tri, Made me do it!”
Social Media
Website www.womenintriuk.org
@biancatriathlon
@womenintriuk
Harriet Frost is a force of energy, endurance, and entrepreneurial grit.
From completing the notorious Arc of Attrition 100-mile ultra twice, to directing multiple trail races, to co-founding a menstrual cup company focused on sustainable period care for athletes — Harriet is redefining what it means to pursue hard things, in business and on the trail.
In this episode, Harriet shares her journey from growing up in Cornwall to discovering a love of endurance sport later in life — despite hating running at first. With no formal coaching, she’s built her own training strategy based on experience, discipline, and gut instinct — and it’s taken her to the finish lines of some of the UK’s most brutal ultra events.
We also dive into the founding of Sea+Flo, a period care company created by women, for women, aiming to empower people to better understand and manage their menstrual health during sport. Harriet speaks candidly about the mental strength required to train alone, run in the dark, and manage periods while racing, as well as her mission to bring more female voices to the forefront of adventure and endurance media.
This is a conversation about grit, vulnerability, and showing up — again and again — even when the path ahead is long, muddy, and uncertain.
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. Thank you x
Show notes
- Who is Harriet?
- Completing her 2nd Arc of Attrition 100 mile ultra
- Race Director to 2 current races and soon to be a 3rd
- Running her own business called, Grit Culture - focused on business management
- Launching a menstrual cup company called Sea+Flo in 2024 with her best friend
- Dog mum to November
- Being surrounded by an amazing network of friends and family
- How things connect together
- Speaking with Harriet mum, Theresa Frost on the Tough Girl Podcast
- Having parents to everyone
- Childhood and growing up in Cornwall
- Learning resilience and grit from a young age
- Being supported by her parents
- Loving school and heading off to University in Southhampton to study fashion and journalism
- Not really knowing what she wanted to do
- Travelling and working on super yachts
- Heading off to London for 3 years
- Spending time in Australia for 2 years, and New Zealand for 2 years, before moving back to Cornwall
- Hating running…. And finding running really hard
- Living in London and doing her first triathlon in 2012/2013
- Doing her first marathon during her first 100k
- Race to the Stones 2017
- Doing her next ultra in 2023 - Isle of Wight in April
- Arc of Attrition on the South West Coast Path. 100 miles.
- Entering the race
- The Plague 64 miles race (toughest races she’s ever done)
- Planning her own training and talking things through with her mum
- Going on how her body feels and past experience
- Working backwards from the race start date
- Focusing on back to back runs
- The mental toughness of training and training solo
- Out and back runs and the mental challenge
- Knowing there is still more in her
- Fitting running into her life
- Training in winter and in the dark
- The stress of running in the dark as a female and the wasted energy
- Why it’s discipline over motivation
- Recovery…. And what it looks like
- Having big toe strain
- Why the Arc was different in 2025 after being taken over by UTMB
- Feet and blisters
- Nutrition, food, fuelling
- The struggle of eating food
- Practicing eating on 20 milers
- Training and periods
- Sea + Flo reusable menstrual cup company
- Which menstrual cup?
- How using a menstrual cup came about
- Putting herself out there a bit more
- Women doing amazing things and not getting enough airtime
- Nikki Love breaking the women’s record for running across Australia
- “It’s not about beating the men it’s about winning for the women” - Hannah Paradise
- Jasmine Harrison - swimming the length of Great Britain and not being able to to get a book deal -
- The lack of stories of women in the news
- The women who inspire Harriet
- Lucy Gossage - “It’s a privilege to choose to suffer”
- How to connect with Harriet online
- Final words of advice for women who want to pursue endurance sports
- Being inspired by Sarah Wilson
- Building your resilience in sport or physical challenges and how it can help you in your everyday lives
Social Media
Website
This special episode of the Tough Girl Podcast brings together three incredible women—Tori James, Jo Bradshaw, and Rosemary J Brown—for an inspiring conversation about legacy, mountains, and the enduring spirit of women in adventure.
We’re diving deep into the story of Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest in 1975, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of her historic climb. Despite her groundbreaking achievement, Junko’s name is still unfamiliar to many. Tori, Jo, and Rosemary are determined to change that.
In this episode, we talk about how Junko inspired a life-changing all-female expedition to Yala Peak in Nepal, the launch of the First Females Podcast (May 16th 2025), and the wider mission to highlight the stories of women who were the first from their countries to stand on the roof of the world.
You’ll hear about:
- Rosemary’s journey to the mountains in her 70s.
- Tori’s return to Nepal, 18 years after climbing Everest.
- Jo’s vision for a meaningful anniversary tribute.
- The power of visibility, representation, and saying yes to adventure—at any age.
This episode is a beautiful tribute to Junko’s legacy, a reminder of the power of community, and a call to action for anyone ready to find their own summit. #MyJunkoJourney
***
Past episodes with Jo, Tori & Rosemary:
Tori James - https://www.
Rosemary J Brown - https://www.
Jo Bradshaw TGP Extra - https://www.
***
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. 
Thank you x
***
Show notes
- Speaking to 3 incredible tough girls!
- Rosemary Brown - Journalist & writer - drawing attention to women adventurers who have been forgotten.
- Working on her next book - women who have mountains named after them
- Tori James - 1st Welsh Woman to climb Mt. Everest, plus other record breaking expeditions over the years, mother of 2 children, living in Cardiff and working as a motivational speaker.
- Starting a new podcast - The First Females Podcast - launching 16th May 2025
- Jo Bradshaw - Everest summiter in 2016 (2nd attempt) on Everest, camp 1 when the earthquake struck in 2015. Working as an expedition leader and motivational speaker.
- Yala Peak - a mountain that Junko Tabei climbed in 1977 - 2 years after climbing Mt Everest.
- Individual connections
- Women’s Outdoor Expo
- Meeting Tori at the end of the the Wales Coast Path
- How Jo & Tori first connected at St. James Palace in 2016
- How Rosemary met Tori & Jo
- The History of Women in Exploration Conference in 2018
- Junko Tabei having mountains named after her on Pluto
- First Females - and celebrating the 1st female ascent of Mt. Everest
- Tori climbing Mt. Everest back in 2007 and not knowing about Junko and her achievement
- Why didn’t we know about Junko?
- Wouldn’t it be great to know who the other first females are from around the world who have summited Mt. Everest
- Junko passed away in 2016
- Putting the First Females Podcast together
- Speaking to Rebecca Stephens as the first British woman who climbed Mt. Everest.
- 800 women’s stories for the Tough Girl Podcast - 10 years
- There are still so many women’s stories that I haven’t shared yet
- Jo coming up with the idea to climb Yala Peak located in Langtang National Park in north Nepal.
- Making it at all female commercial expedition
- Connecting a team of 13 awesome women
- Adventurous Ewe
- What Rosemary’s experience was like climbing Yala Peak
- Deciding to make the commitment and finally saying yes to go on the trek!
- Climbing Kilimanjaro 13 years ago, and now being in her 70s
- Why each day was special
- Setting off an hour earlier on summit day
- The joy and experience of climbing the mountain
- The universe is your friend
- Feeling very grateful for her belief in herself
- Why it was a life changing experience.
- Making the trek work for you
- Tori heading back to Nepal after 18 years since climbing Everest
- Spending time at Yala Basecamp (2 days)
- Wanting to spend more time there!
- What Junko said on climbing Everest “here is the summit, and I don’t have to climb anymore”
- Junko’s story
- Book: Honouring High Places: The Mountain Life of Junko Tabei
- Her early years and being quite an ill child
- Her resilience shining through.
- Being encouraged to climb her first peak at 10 years old
- How restorative it can be, being out in the wildness
- Being a pioneer in getting a women’s climbing group together. Especially in Japan.
- What would Junko do? How would she make this happen?
- Finding it difficult to hear people crush their dreams with the word ‘but’
- Reaching ‘my’ summit if not ‘the’ summit
- Junko was also the first women to complete the 7 summits (which Jo has now completed)
- Wanting to get her name out more and to share her legacy
- Magical moments for Rosemary whilst out on her trek in Nepal
- Meeting Leo Houlding (Climber & Adventurer)
- How Junko’s positive mindset shines through
- Tori getting to speak to Junko’s son, husband and best friend
- Not thinking about failure
- Going against the stereotypes of the times
- How Junko was being supported by her husband - Masanobu Tabei
- 16th May 2025 #MyJunkoJourney
- What Jo is doing in Wiltshire - going to climb the highest Hill - “Milk Hill” 12.30pm (Junko Summit Time on Mt. Everest)
- Becky Bellworthy (climbing Everest 2012)
- Rosemary is going to go to the highest point in her town, Islington and going to watch the sunrise as a tribute and reminder to the trek in Nepal
- Sarah - What will I be doing? I’ll be heading out to climb Moel Famau in Wales.
- #MyJunkoJourney is happening all year - get involved!
- Advice and top tips from Rosemary - “Life is not a rehearsal, this is it. If you want to do it, you can do it.”
- Advice and top tips from Jo - being a reframer, and making it work for her. Jo does stuff (adventures), to show women that we are doing it and not that we can do it.
- It is possible and that by showing up (which is what Junko did, all the time) you can achieve great things.
- A lovely Japanese saying, ‘Ganbattekudasai’ - Do your best
- Advice and top tips from Tori - If you want to get into the mountains, you can do it.
- Thank you to Jo, Tori and Rosemary for sharing more about Junko and her 50th Anniversary.
Social Media
First Females Podcast - Launching 16th May 2025 - a podcast celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first female ascent of Mount Everest and recognising women in mountaineering.
In 1975, Junko Tabei became the first woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
Over the past 50 years, almost 900 women have followed in her footsteps, defying cultural and physical barriers to reach the world's top.
Very few people have heard of Junko Tabei. The First Females Podcast is being made to shine a spotlight on her remarkable achievement and to celebrate the incredible stories of women from around the world who were the first from their countries to reach the summit of Everest.
In her interviews with female Everest summiteers from around the world, Tori will bring her unique perspective and firsthand experience to the conversation to inspire future generations of women to dream big, climb higher, and break barriers in their own lives.
Website https://torijames.com/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/
Tough Girl Resources: Everest Summiters & Their Stories - https://www.
Angela Maxwell spent nearly seven years walking around the world — solo. Covering over 20,000 miles across four continents and 16 countries, she braved the Australian outback, battled dengue fever in Vietnam, and faced the daily challenge of finding safe places to sleep, often in a tent.
A self-described introvert and novice adventurer when she began, Angela’s journey was as much an inner transformation as a physical one — fuelled by fear, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to explore what it means to live with courage.
Angela walked with purpose, raising funds to support girls rescued from human trafficking, and continues that mission through mentoring and women’s empowerment workshops. She’s been featured by Lonely Planet, BBC Travel, and Outside Magazine, and most recently became one of the first women to swim across the Caspian Sea — a feat that took 28 days and redefined her relationship with fear and endurance.
Now based in Wales (for the moment), Angela is writing a book about her world walk and sharing her philosophy that “courage is a verb.” Whether she’s walking, swimming, or simply choosing the unknown, Angela lives by example — proving that adventure doesn’t require expertise, just the decision to begin.
***
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/
Your support makes a difference. Thank you x
***
Show notes
- Who is Angela
- Spending 6.5 years walking west around the world
- Setting a world record by swimming across the Caspian Sea
- Being settled in Wales for the Winter
- Having a mutual friend - Miriam Lancewood
- Her childhood and growing up
- Getting chicken pox at 30
- Not having any friends and being an introvert as a young kid
- Her love for nature coming later on in life
- Liking her own company
- Daydreaming about travel
- Spending time alone
- Being inspired from a young age
- WHY?!
- Starting walking because she was terrified
- Where does an idea come from?
- The route and what the journey looked like
- Starting in Australia and walking North to South on the West Coast
- Heading over to Vietnam
- Heading to Europe and the UK
- Flying back and forth due to visa issues
- Writing a book about the walk
- The challenge of writing a book
- Not wanting to share the journey on social media
- Wanting to be totally present and have the journey for herself
- Raising funds for women and girls
- Self funding the walk
- Being inspired by Rosie Swale Pope who ran around the world
- Book: Just a Little Run Around the World: 5 Years, 3 Packs of Wolves and 53 Pairs of Shoes
- Living on a budget of $5 per day
- Women for Women International
- Adventuring with a purpose
- Bad days while walking
- Thriving on the little daily adventures
- The joy of not knowing and what might be around the corner
- Still enjoying walking now
- The classic thru-hikes
- Walking the Pennine Way in the UK
- Walking part of Te Araroa in New Zealand
- Her thoughts on courage
- Dealing with self doubt, before and during the walk
- Ted Talk - “Courage is a verb”
- Making the decision to continue
- The most dangerous place for a woman is in the home
- The fear at the end of the walk, what was going to be next
- Little feeling of depression at the end
- Swimming across the Caspian Sea
- Swimming V walking
- Having a fear of open water and not being a good swimmer
- Funding the challenge
- What it was like day to day on the water
- Taking 28 days to do the crossing, swimming 6hrs per day
- Other around the world challenges?!
- Not having a compulsion to share her stories
- Living on very little and funding her current lifestyle
- Using Trusted Housesitters
- Running workshops for women
- Guilty pleasures….
- Injuries?
- Book: Wilder Journeys: True Stories of Nature, Adventure and Connection
- Future plans for 2026
- How to connect with Angela
- Final words of advice on courage
- Choosing courage on a day to day basis
Social Media
Website www.SheWalksTheEarth.com
Instagram @AngelaMarieMaxwell
Catch the latest episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast, dropping every Tuesday at 7 am UK time! Don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women. Want to play a part in uplifting female representation in the media? Support the Tough Girl Podcast on Patreon! Your generosity helps shine a spotlight on female role models in the world of adventure and physical challenges. Join us in making a positive impact by visiting www.patreon.com/ Thank you for your amazing support!- Who is Alex
- Growing up in Porto Ricco - a small island in the Caribbean
- Her childhood and early years
- Spending time in nature from a young age
- Living in Western Northern Carolina, USA
- Spending time around the ocean
- Swimming and respecting the water
- Her parents farm
- Hiking with her family
- 2017 and deciding to climb Mt Kilimanjaro
- Looking for the next thing to work towards
- Pushing herself to achieve
- Difficult pursuits of the year
- Training physically and mentally for the challenge
- 2018 and doing the Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim Challenge
- Keeping herself learning and engaged and wanting the challenges to be fun
- Running….
- Learning as she goes
- The importance of training
- Planning Approach
- Thinking of her own ideas for Difficult Pursuits
- Focusing on challenges in Porto Ricco
- 35 miles - Backpacking trail in Porto Ricco
- The power of visualisation
- The power of doing hard things
- Going through hard times
- Managing emotions while on challenges
- Letting emotions out and acknowledging them
- Journaling and writing for outdoor magazines in the US
- The women who inspire Alex
- Being inspired by Sunny Stroeer
- Co founding the AWE Summit Scholarship Foundation
- Their mission to increase accessibility for women and girls and for gender equality in the mountains
- Offering scholarships to 25 women to climb mountains around the world
- Her difficult pursuit in 2025
- Heading to France in July and wanting to climb Mt Blanc
- Wanting to set a Fastest Known Time (FKT)
- How to connect and support Alex
- Final words of advice for other women who want to take on difficult pursuits
- Find a community of people or women who can support your goals over a period of time.
- The advice of ‘just do it’
- Choosing what is difficult for you
Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2013, Lis van Lynden has refused to let the condition define her limits. With no prior cycling experience or training, Lis set off in 2022 on a solo, unsupported ride around the entire coastline of Great Britain—covering 5,000 miles over seven months and raising over £13,000 for MS charities.
Her journey didn’t stop there. Lis went on to cycle the Irish coastline and most recently visited 12 of the UK’s national parks by bike, with plans to complete the final 3 in 2025.
Along the way, she’s faced physical challenges, experienced incredible acts of kindness, and become a passionate advocate for others living with MS.
Lis’s story is one of courage, conviction, and living life on her own terms—no matter the obstacles.
***
Catch the latest episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast, dropping every Tuesday at 7 am UK time! Don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women.
Want to play a part in uplifting female representation in the media? Support the Tough Girl Podcast on Patreon! Your generosity helps shine a spotlight on female role models in the world of adventure and physical challenges. Join us in making a positive impact by visiting www.patreon.com/
Thank you for your amazing support!
***
Show notes
- Who is Lis
- Half Dutch, Half British
- Growing up abroad
- Moving to London and training as a teacher
- Losing her brother in a sailing accident
- Losing her father to bowl cancer
- Working in West Dulwich for 12 years
- Thinking there must be more to life
- Being interested in adventure travel
- Climbing Kilimanjaro and doing a mountaineering course
- Slowing the group down
- The first signs of having Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- 2008 packing in her job and doing a history degree with the Open University
- Losing her mother to lung cancer
- Meeting someone and buying a house together
- Getting diagnosed in 2013 with MS
- Going through a divorce
- Heading to Svalbard in 2018
- Reading “one man and his bike’ by Mike Carter
- Book: One Man and His Bike: A Life-Changing Journey All the Way Around the Coast of Britain
- “Can I do this? Could this be my adventure challenge?”
- Having 100% conviction
- Being inspired by and supported by Verdangi Kulkarni
- Being consumed by her dream
- 2020 and dealing with lockdowns
- 2022 7th May - Ready to start the journey!
- No training and doing 68 miles on the first day.
- Ripping up the rules….
- 7 months, 3 days and 1 hour
- 1 month into the journey and how everything had changed
- Going off medication and feeling free
- Heading to Northern Ireland
- Meeting Ann Whatmore on the road (her episode on the TGP goes live on 5th June 2025)
- MS Symptoms and dealing with it on the road
- Wanting to make changes in her life and live life to the fullest
- Trying to figure out a different way of earning income
- Movement, eating well and sleep
- The power of helping ourselves and the importance of mindset
- Getting through the shitty days
- Reframing
- Next challenge
- How to connect with Lis on social media
- Final words of advice for other women who want to take on a new challenge
Social Media
Just giving: www.justgiving.com/
Instagram: @coddiwomple2wander
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lis.vanlynden
Twitter: @LisvlTravels