In 2018, Laura rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic ocean, unsupported, in a team of four other women. The challenge took 43 days to complete and when the crossed the finish line in Antigua they were the fastest female team in 2018.
“A shopaholic, beauty salon owner - turned minimalist in training endurance athlete"
Laura was part of the tough girl - 7 women - 7 challenges in 2017 and we followed her row around Great Britain, a rowing journey of 1,800 miles in a mixed team of four, which took 56 days to complete. We interviewed Laura 6 times throughout 2017 and Laura shared the whole journey with us, from having the idea, to turning this dream into a reality, the ups and the downs, the challenges faced and what she learnt along the way, she demonstrated resilience, determination, focus and a strong belief in herself and showed everyone what goes into making your dreams a reality.
During this podcast episode, Laura shares more about what it was like to fulfil her ambition of rowing across the Atlantic ocean, she shares more about the training, the team, fundraising and the realities of being out on the water in such an extreme and challenging environment.
Show notes
- How Laura changed her life at 30
- Trying to buy happiness and not finding it
- Getting rid of stuff and filling her life with experiences
- Becoming a runner and doing ultra marathons
- Where the idea for rowing across the Atlantic came from
- Where is the Atlantic again?!
- Seeing the opportunity to row around GB
- Putting a video out on the internet asking to join a rowing team to row the Atlantic
- How 30 mins and making one decision changed her future
- Why she kept on going after this dream and how being stubborn helped her
- Fundraising £100K to row the Atlantic
- Joining a new team and team dynamics
- Going to work for Rannock Adventures and becoming part of the Ocean Rowing community
- 8 months of planning and preparation
- Having dedicated jobs
- How she balanced everything and why she just had to get on with it
- Getting up at 5am!
- Rowing on Sunday’s for 2 hours on a rowing machine
- Putting her rowing machine in interesting places
- Rowing in the challenging situations
- Getting out to the start line 2 weeks before the start
- Trying to balance the extreme emotions she was feeling
- Being able to relax when she was rowing on the boat
- The biggest challenges over the 6 weeks
- The challenges of team dynamics
- Goals for the crossing the Atlantic - safety and winning and how that helped with decision making
- Dealing with headwind….
- The mental side of rowing
- “Just get on with it”
- The breathtaking and astounding moments!
- Why the scary moments were also the highlights as well!
- Why rowing the ocean wasn’t what she expected
- Day 37 when her mind gave up and she didn’t want to do it anymore
- Crossing the finish line and reaching Antigua
- Transitioning back to “normal life” after the adventure
- Plans for 2019 and looking for some little adventures in the UK
Social media
Website - www.ltfactor.com
Instagram - @lauratryuk
Facebook - @lauratryuk