Hannah Engelkamp is a travel writer and ex-outdoor-magazine editor who bought a donkey, ‘the eccentric and handsome Chico’,  29 maps, and set off to walk the 1000-mile circumference of Wales. The journey took nearly six months, twice as long as her original estimate!

During this podcast we talk more about her life, being involved in adventure,  why she loves small adventures in the UK. Where she got the idea from and why she decided to take on this challenge. For those who have recently had children Hannah also shared more about how her life has changed since and what the impact has been with regards to adventure and fitness.

Show notes

• Growing up in Wales
• Being a magazine editor  and working in the adventure industry
• How adventure has played a role in her life and what has inspired her
• Where the idea first came from 
• Why she decided to tell people about her idea!
• The problems with stiles and kissing gates!
• Deciding to take a Donkey with her!
• Chico the donkey and why he was a special kind of donkey!
• Planning the trip
• Working as a freelancer in London
• Why it was easier to take off 3 months than 3 weeks
• Dealing with the extra logistics of travelling with a donkey!
• Her fears and worries before the trip started - and why they were mostly donkey related!
• The complex relationship with Chico 
• The life lessons she learned
• The challenges of route planning
• Knowing that she would next want to quit
• Making friends with Chico…
• Dealing with the hills and the magical moments 
• Being ready to finish the walk in November
• Adding another donkey into the mix for the final 40 miles!
• Why going on this adventure helped her with her first child
• What happened to Chico after the walk!
• The next challenge - walking to the town of Cardigan in Wales
• How has life changed after having a child
• The toughness of being a parent…
• Learn more about the book and the film!
• Final words of advice for new mothers who want to incorporate adventure into your life

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Social Media

Personal website - http://seasidedonkey.co.uk 

Twitter - @hannahengelkamp  

Facebook - @SeasideDonkey 

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BONUS TRACK! With Lauren from Discover Outdoors!

• Why she loves the outdoors
• Climbing Kilimanjaro
• Discover Outdoors and why getting back to nature is so important
• Having a common friend - Adelaide Goodeve from the Wild Show
• Women in the Outdoors Week - how it started and why
• Empowerment, Education and Activation
• How it works
• Why you should come along!

Get your tickets for Women in the Outdoors Week HERE!

NYC - 11th June - 17th June

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Sacha is an Australian-born conservationist, adventurer and motivational speaker. She works for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in the UK. Over the past 20 years, Berwick swan numbers have nearly halved with just 20,000 remaining in the wild but experts are unsure what is causing the population crash. Sacha had an idea to investigate the problem, which she though was crazy at first.

However, after 18 months of planning in the winter of 2016, Sacha decided to followed their entire 7,000 km migration route from Arctic Russia to the UK. She did this by flying with the birds on a paramotor. Essentially hanging from a paraglider with a propellor on her back! 

During this podcast, we learn more about her early life, growing up in Australia, before moving over to the UK. Sacha also shares more about her life as a champion free-diver! She provides advices and top tips that you’ll be able to apply to your next challenge or adventure! 

Show notes

• Who is Sacha Dench?
• Growing upon Sydney and spending a lot of time outdoors
• Moving to the bush with her mum, having a very basic upbringing 
• Getting comfortable being out in remote places
• How she got to school!
• Moving to the UK
• Never really being into sports
• Working out that she was very good at holding her breath!
• Free diving and how it came about..
• Free diving in the UK? 
• Understanding more about Free Diving - what it is and what it’s like being under the water
• Learning to understand how your body behaves while doing ‘breath holds’
• Learning how to stay calm and to keep adrenaline under control
• The transferable skills of free diving - such as mind control and keeping calm
• The Flight of the Swans... 
• The reason - Declining swan numbers making the migration from arctic Russia to northern Europe. From 29,000 in 1995 to just 18,000 in 2010.
• How the idea started to form….and why she sat of the idea for a couple of months.
• Having 18 months to plan and prepare and why she really needed another year to plan and prepare
• The challenges she had to face and overcome
• Dealing with the negativity and criticism for her idea
• The power of connections and why one person can make a difference
• Doing her research in Russia and developing local partners!
• The start, heading up to the Arctic!
• The call of the swans and being accepted as a lead bird
• What is it like flying in a Paramotor? 
• What was learned about the decline of the swans and the exciting discoveries made along the way
• The kindness of strangers and the impact Sacha was having by meeting individuals on the journey
• Being the first women to fly over the English Channel!
• The next challenge (Spring 2019)- planning to fly around the UK and maybe Ireland!
• A book and film is on the way!

Social Media

Website - http://www.sachadench.com 

Instagram - @sacha_dench 

Twitter - @sachadench 

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The Tough Girl Podcast has also been nominated for the Women’s Sport Trust #BeAGameChanger Award - which is fantastic news and really shows what an impact the podcast is having. However, I’m up against some massive organisations - Manchester City, Channel 4 and Sky Sports!!!

I would be very grateful if you could take a moment, to vote (every vote really does make a difference!) http://www.womenssporttrust.com/bagc2018/

*** Stacey Copeland is also up for individual role model of the year.***

Voting ends on the 13th May and the awards night is the 24th May.

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Kiko a former teacher, now turned SUPer and adventurer, at 36, rowed 3,000 nautical miles from Gran Canaria to Barbados in 49 days! Gaining a new Guinness World Record in the process!

Solo and unsupported, she was rowing for up to 16 hours a day, sleeping in two-hour shifts. What makes this story even more incredible is that in 2009, Kiko, was diagnosed with Cushing's disease, a rare condition that made even walking up the stairs impossible.

The tumour on her pituitary gland also caused severe memory loss, psychosis, diabetes, osteoporosis, insomnia and muscle wastage.

In order to give back Kiko stated fundraising for Kings College Hospital Charity, who helped save her life. Whilst in the middle of her training to row the Atlantic, she was diagnosed with a second tumour which was successfully removed in August 2017.

In March 2018, she smashed the previous record or 56 days and in the process motivated and inspired others to challenge themselves to do the unthinkable. 

During this podcast we learn more about Kiko; her life, the decisions she’s made and the challenges she’s overcome, what she has learnt on the way and why she wants to continue to inspire and motivate others. She also give a few hints about her next challenge!

Show notes

• Thinking about her recent achievement!
• Wanting to move on and focus on the next thing
• When the dream for rowing the Atlantic came about
• Growing up as one of 4 children
• Adventures growing up, travelling and taking gap years
• Driving to Cape Town from the UK in a team of 4 over 6 months
• What she learnt on this adventure…
• Learning to speak honestly to people and to be honest to herself
• Being diagnosed with Cushing Disease in 2009
• Why you have to let go of the things you can’t control and focus on what you can control
• The recovery process…over 18 months
• Going off her medication and the negative impact…
• Trying to find her passion
• Learning to stand up paddle board on the Nile
• Wanting to do paddle board life coaching in the future
• Telling her friends and family about her Atlantic Rowing Challenge!
• Not having the support from her family 
• Doing the planning at the start
• Deciding to do women only funding
• Having to deal with her tumour coming back
• Why it was a relief to start rowing the Atlantic
• Being closest to a person in space rather than on earth!
• Never feeling lonely or alone
• What a typical day was like on the water - her routine and day to day habits
• How she entertained herself while on the boat & getting obsessed with the data
• The last day and the finish
• Knowing her life was going to change after getting the world record
• What she’s learnt from this experience
• The next big challenge!
• Final words of wisdom…
• Where her name - Kiko came from

Social Media

Personal Website - http://www.kikomatthews.co.uk 

Twitter - @Kikomatthews 

Instagram @kikomatthews 

Donate here  to help raise funds for Kings College Hospital Charity -  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kikomatthews

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I'm excited to be up for an award at this year’s @womensporttrust #BeAGameChanger Awards! Please vote for me here - http://www.womenssporttrust.com/bagc2018/

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Fiona Oakes is a British marathon runner, who holds three world records for marathon running. In 2013, she won both the Antarctic Ice Marathon and the North Pole Marathon. She runs despite losing a knee cap from an illness when she was 17.

At 48, she holds three world records, including becoming the fastest woman to run seven marathons in seven continents, plus the north pole, with an aggregate time of 31 hours 11 mins and 53 secs.

Show notes

• Why Fiona describes herself as an animal advocate
• Going vegetarian at 3 years old in the 1970s
• Becoming vegan at 6 years old and her passion for animals
• Becoming an advocate for animals and needing a platform to speak out
• Where the running came from
• Working in London and coming from a cycling background
• Starting to jog to keep fit
• Not having a knee cap!!
• Considering herself as an amateur runner (even though running a 2.38 marathon!)
• Working out everything for herself
• Having determination and grit, but no talent…
• Deciding to go after ultras such as Marathon des Sables
• Running in pain
• The London marathon and training for it - and why you have to be brave to run a marathon
• Fitting training into her life - getting up at 3.30 am
• Her running routine to run a 2.38 marathon
• The magic for moving up a level in running - SPEED WORK!!
• Signing on to be available for the fire service
• Diet and why it is not a priority
• Not taking supplements, no gels or recovery drinks
• Vegan marshmallows!
• Eating one meal a day and not snacking
• Why she focuses on her feet
• Being on a very tight budget both financial and time wise
• Stomach problems while running
• Her most magical race
• The Marathon des Sables
• Being invited to run the North Pole Marathon!
• Learning a lot about herself while running
• Vegan running club
• 4 Deserts Grand Slam!
• How you can help and support!

Social Media

Fiona Oakes Foundation -http://fionaoakesfoundation.co.uk/about/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fionaoakes/ 

Twitter - @Marathonfiend 

Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary - http://www.towerhillstables.com 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/towerhillstables 

Twitter - @towerhillstable 

Cazz has developed a liking for taking on challenges that usually involve her walking long distances, running long distances, or swimming long distance! She’s a big fan of spontaneous adventures, dancing in the rain and eating cake!

In June 2018, Cazz is pushing the boat out (pun intended) and rowing 2400 miles across the Pacific Ocean, she’s competing in the Great Pacific Race!  Along with two other women she’ll row from California to Hawaii in a 26ft Ocean Rowing Boat! There aim is to be the first ever crew of three (male or female) to row the Pacific and the youngest crew of three females to row any ocean in the world! 

Show notes

• Growing up
• Taking a gap year, travelling around South East Asia and going off to university
• Her passion for sports and adventure, being new to the adventure scene
• Travelling solo at 18 and being encouraged to go by her parents
• Playing sports at school and loving athletics even though she’s not amazing at it!
• Her first big challenge or challenges - 12 challenges in 12 months!
• Wanting to get better at running
• 100K around the Isle of Wight 
• Her first 5K and her fear of coming last
• What she learnt from her first ultra which she has used going forward
• Going from a half marathon straight to an ultra!
• Not having a plan for her first ultra….
• Being scared of running through the night
• Hitting the bad patches through the race and pushing through
• Where her resilience and determination comes from
• Liking the pain and wanting to prove people wrong
• Being broken after the race.. & losing 6 toe nails after the event
• Blisters…. How can they stop you from running?
• Planning… or not planning and just going in at the deep end.
• What she learnt from doing 12 challenges in 12 months
• Being happier being around the water
• How the pacific row came about…
• Getting to the start line, the crew changes and raising the money needed
• The money!! £80,000 for a crew of 4…
• Rowing for MIND and to raise awareness for plastic pollution
• The Great Pacific Race
• Breaking down the planning while working full time
• What she thinks the biggest challenge will be
• Testing the boat and preparing for bad weather
• Keeping the motivation going while training and why having a Personal Trainer helps
• Final words of advice

Websites

Personal - https://www.cazzlander.com

Pacific Traffic - https://pacificterrific.com 

Charlene Gibson grew up as a studious bookworm, who wasn't keen on the outdoors. She is an only child who was brought up by her Mum and Nana in a pretty rough area of Scotland, near Glasgow. Although an avid reader of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books, there was really nothing adventurous about her at all. However, in her mid 30s, following the break-up of a long-term relationship, she discovered her inner adventurer when, to avoid spending Christmas alone, she booked on a trekking holiday to Morocco. Despite the horror of having to nip behind a rock, armed with only a roll of toilet paper and some matches, she discovered that she loved the trip (albeit still not quite used to nipping behind a rock!) and decided that she wanted more. Trips to Turkey, Morocco (again), Kazakhstan, India, Peru and Nepal followed, with each trip being more strenuous and challenging than the last. That could only lead to one thing - mountaineering!

In 2013 she decided to aim high and successfully summited Mera Peak in Nepal, which is classed as a 'trekking' peak. Despite the success, it highlighted to her the limits of her mountaineering skillset and how fortunate she'd been that nothing had gone wrong. Several high-quality mountaineering courses later and rather more experience under her belt saw her looking for a worthy challenge to help celebrate (or commiserate) turning 50 in 2016. And what better challenge than attempting an 8000m peak for the first time.

On 1st October 2016, Charlene became the oldest British woman to summit Cho Oyu (8201m) and living proof that the most unlikely people can sometimes do the most surprising things - it's certainly been a surprise to her mother.

As of March 2018, her Cho Oyu record still stands, but will be under threat in Spring 2018, when two British women will be vying for it.

Charlene's next challenge is to attempt Ama Dablam in October 2018

Show notes

• Growing up in Scotland and joining the civil service
• Growing up as an only child, with not much interest in the outside
• Starting trekking in 2000
• Hating PE and doing everything she could to get out of it
• Getting into mountain biking, but never describing herself as outdoorsy
• Breaking up with the boyfriend after 12 years
• Deciding not to spend Christmas and New Year alone
• Heading to Morocco to trek for 2 weeks and getting hooked!
• First time going on holiday by herself and feeling nervous
• Taking that first step and not knowing what to expect
• Why it’s about challenging yourself and not about other people
• Enjoying being uncomfortable and starting to understand more about her limits
• Dealing with lost luggage & how to handle it!
• Being shy and dealing with the group dynamics
• Developing fitness and starting to run - even though she doesn’t like running and would never call herself a runner!
• The Everest Marathon - being fit and healthy enough to start it.
• Rally Driving from Plymouth to Dakar (in a free car costing less than £100!) 
• Looking for a change in 2013! Deciding on mountaineering!
• Summiting Mera Peak in Nepal and wanting to see how she coped with the altitude
• Developing technical skills… while on the trip and doing courses to continue to develop the skills needed
• Tibet - 1st October 2016 - Climbing Cho Oyu (6th highest mountain in the world!) 8,201 metres!
• Wanting to do something special for her 50th birthday
• Summit night and struggling with acclimatisation and not knowing if she was going to make it 
• Reflecting back on what she’s achieved - especially in relation to knowing her own personal limits!
• What’s next!! - Climbing Ama Dablam in Oct 2018!
• Running and working with a personal trainer!
• Advice and tips for stepping outside your comfort zone and why going the commercial route could work for you
• How she funds her trips and why she pays for it herself
• Doing mountaineering for herself

Social Media

Twitter - @MadOldCatWoman

Catching up with Anna-Marie Watson who we last spoke with a year ago. Anna-Marie constantly pushes her own mental and physical boundaries and has achieved considerable success at an elite international level in various endurance sports. Anna-Marie combines the disciplines of ultra running and long distance triathlon with the odd adventure race thrown in for good measure.  

Her endurance journey spans over thirteen years with an initial gentle introduction with the London marathon (2004 and 2007), CCC race of the UTMB series (2007) and Everest Marathon (2007). Recent ultra-running career highlights include placing 7th lady in the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc (2017), 1st lady in Half Marathon des Sables Fuerteventura (2017) and finishing 2nd lady in the Marathon des Sables (2015) .  

Over the last two years Anna-Marie has achieved podium finishes in the multi day trail runs organised by XNRG Cotswolds Way, Round the Island, Devil's Challenge along the South Downs Way, then placed 1st Lady in the Brutal Events The ONER (130km) along the Jurassic Coast and Ultra Trail World Tour Future Series Cappadocia 110km Ultra in Central Turkey. 

She also ventures over to the "dark side" of triathlon and has raced the Ironman 70.3 World Championships twice in Las Vegas and Mont Tremblant placing in the top third of her age group.

Show notes

• The big goal of 2017 - UTMB 
• What is the UTMB - Ultra Trail Mount Blanc - 170Km
• The ultra of all ultras…
• The backstory to the race and why this race captured her imagination
• Spending time in Chamonix 
• Getting outside her comfort zone during the race
• What she’s learnt throughout the years!
• Racing in the dark and how she trains for it
• Building up the strength in her legs
• Rest and recovery, top tips - epsom salt baths & yoga toes!
• Focusing in on training for UTMB
• Going on a triathlon training camp 
• Planning her season very tactically
• Maintaining motivation while training especially when it’s cold and dark
• Biggest challenge to overcome while training - TIME!
• Struggling with balance
• The run up the race and why it wasn’t chill!
• Wanting to get going…. dealing with bad weather …. -9
• Being on the start line.. what it was like!
• Having a goal for the race and why she wanted to enjoy it
• Wanting to give it her all
• The race and knowing the route!
• Routines at checkpoint
• Nutrition and managing nutrition while racing
• The moment which stood out during the race
• The mental mindset while racing!
• How to end the race strong - 7th women! 93rd overall! 1st British Lady!
• What she learnt from the race
• Being destroyed
• Half Marathon des Sables
• So what’s next…& creating the space for things happen!
• Ranking in races and winning a place at MDS 2018!

Social Media

Website & Blog:  www.rfmcoaching.com

Twitter: @RFMCoaching

Facebook: @RFMCoaching 

Instagram: @RFMCoaching 

As her day job, Katherine works as a physiotherapist for the Swedish Olympic sailing team. In her double life she is a qualified Yachtmaster Ocean, offshore racer and has won international speed sailing competitions and the women's European title in her foiling Moth. She has sailed in the far north and rounded Cape Horn. However and wherever she has travelled, her inspiration has remained the same, to share the beauty and fun of playing outdoors and inspire everyone to follow their own adventure.

Show notes

• Growing up in the Midlands
• Being a sailor since she was a young age
• Where her love of sailing came from
• Wanting to turn her hobby into a job
• Female role models growing up
• Going back to uni and training as a physics
• Working with the Olympic sailing team, and getting to head to London & Rio
• Sailing a ‘Moth’
• Competing at the Europeans and the world championships
• Learning new skills & trying new boats out
• Meeting new people who became like a family
• Training to get in shape for sailing
• What it’s like at a sailing championships and how it all works
• What’s most challenging when competing
• The most memorable moment from competing 
• Staying calm under pressure
• Framing the situation and how it can help in situations
• Narwhal Expeditions and wanting to get more into the exploring of the world
• Wanting to share more of her travel experiences with other people
• Future expedition plans
• What life is like living on the boat full time
• Spending time in Scotland on Narwhal
• The ultimate dream… the North West Passage
• Book - How to have an Adventure
• Planning an expedition - top tips
• Making your expedition a reality and why it comes down to your mindset
• Chocolate bars…. and chunking it down into smaller pieces to make it more manageable
• Advice for finding your passion
• Why you need to listen to yourself
• Spending Spring in South America
• The bucket list!
• Wanting to learn to Scuba Dive!
• Advice and tips for your next challenge and why you need to get out there and make it happen!

Social Media

Website: www.NarwhalExpeditions.com 

Facebook: @YachtNarwhal 

Twitter: @YachtNarwhal 

Instagram: @YachtNarwhal 

After receiving the sudden news of losing her father whilst on the other side of the world backpacking, Lindsey threw herself into adventure to deal with the grief. Having not ridden a bike since at school, she decided to cycle to Paris.

She liked it. So, she cycled the length of Britain. She liked that too and then scaled the African continent. But, she didn’t just stick to adventuring on two wheels.

She ran from her home in London to Manchester, carrying a ukulele to busk on arrival. Hearing the absurdity of her latest challenge, the local radio station got her to sing and play each night live. The only problem was that she couldn’t play or sing.

She then turned to eight wheels, and roller skated to Paris, whilst learning en route. And, having been inspired by the story she read ten years earlier, she trekked for ten weeks on her own, across the Australian outback, following the Rabbit Proof Fence, retracing the amazing journey of three young sisters.

Past Adventures

2017 - Truck Tales - circumnavigating Australia with Truck Drivers

2016 - Walking the Rabbit Proof Fence

2013 - To Bude in the Nude- 150 mile roller-skate to Bude in a nude suit, because it rhymed!

2013 - Je Parle Franglais en skates - Rollerskating to Paris whilst learning French

2013 - Running with Kenyans - Turned 30 and wanted to run a sub 3.0hr marathon. It didn't happen! 

2012 - Runkule - 250 mile run to Manchester playing the ukulele

2012 - Running to Wales - Ran from London to see a friend for a cup of tea

Show notes

• Living in France and writing a book
• How she would describe herself
• Growing up in London
• Where her love of travel came from
• Finishing university and taking a year out…
• One gap year turned into a 6 year adventure
• Doing a Masters in journalism
• Living in a boot room of a chalet at 35! 
• Any pressure to settle down? Not knowing what she wants to do!
• Dealing with rejection and how she got into adventure
• Learning about the death of her father and dealing with it at 24 years old
• Signing up to the London to Paris Cycle ride and why it helped her with her grief
• A break down of her different challenges
• Being average but still managing to surprise herself
• The thing she finds the hardest! 
• Researching the Rabbit Proof Fence and getting permission from the daughters of Daisy
• Doing survival training in preparation for the trip
• The number one tip in survival - DON’T PANIC
• Trevor the Trolly (named after her dad)
• Dealing with the wildlife in Australia.. snakes…spiders…
• Wanting to do the challenge on her own
• Not wanting the challenge to end
• Learning more about Molly 
• Hitching a ride around Australia with Truck Drivers
• Normality and not fitting in
• Plans for 2018?!
• The Book/Boyfriend
• Learning how to roller-skate!
• Not announcing her next challenge until she knows it’s going to happen
• Final words of advice

Social Media

Website & Blog - https://www.lindseycole.co.uk

Twitter - @LindseyCole  

Instagram - @Stompycole 

Cal is a stand up paddle boarder, surfer, ocean lover and vet. Increasingly upset by the amount of plastic waste she was finding in the ocean, she wanted to connect people to the harm that it was causing, but moreover to empower people to make positive changes to help prevent it.

So she turned to adventure in 2016 she stand up paddle boarded the entire Cornish coast in a bid to demonstrate the problems surrounding single use plastic water bottles; a 260 mile epic ocean voyage. In 2017 she circumnavigated the Isle of Skye’s 400 miles of coastline on a paddle board! Cal also shares with us, what she has got planned in 2018! It's EPIC!!! 

Show notes

• Living by the sea and why it is everything to Cal
• Being a surfer and a paddle boarder
• Paddle against Plastic
• Working as a vet part time
• Spending time in Australia and where she learnt to surf
• Falling in love with the sea
• Why surfing is so frustrating & why you have to persevere 
• Being a budding surfer and why it’s doesn't matter if you’re good or not
• Why she loves fell running over road running
• Why she started stand up paddle boarding
• Plastic pollution and how it impacted her personally
• What she decided to do about it!
• Dealing with the forces of nature and the challenges from the sea
• The mental challenge and doing her first ever expedition
• Deciding to paddle around the Isle of Skye in Scotland
• Spending time alone on the water, but being alone
• Dealing with a challenging situation while on expedition
• Eating flapjacks in an emergency situation
• The impact plastic has on the animals
• Why the problems are not unique to Skye
• Preparing for the trip, managing supplies such as food and water
• What she learns from going on these expeditions
• Adventuring with a purpose
• What individuals can do to change their own personal behaviour in the battle against plastic
• The ways to tackle plastic pollution
• Why you should switch it out
• The challenge in 2018!

Twitter @major_cal 

Paddle Against Plastic

https://paddleagainstplastic.com 

Paddle Against Plastic was set up by Cal Major in 2016 as a way to reach people and talk about the issue of plastic pollution.

Paddle Against Plastic uses epic stand up paddle boarding adventures to capture peoples’ imagination, highlight the issue of plastic pollution so close to home, and to promote positive change by proposing simple solutions that we can all be proud and excited to be a part of.

Cal was unable to stand the amount of plastic washing up on her favourite surfing beaches any more without doing something about it, and so Paddle Against Plastic: Cornwall 2016 was born as a way to reach out to people.

Katie-Jane L’Herpiniere has a passion for adventure, challenging her limits both physically and mentally, and exploring this wonderful world in which we live. 

After university Katie had the opportunity to build a career as a commercial model, on fashion shows for household names such as Marks and Spencer’s, Tony & Guy and Alexander McQueen, photo shoots and a number of Film and TV projects including having body-doubled for Cameron Diaz. 

Then in 2005, Katie met polar explorer Tarka L'Herpiniere,  and they were quick to find they had little in common. Tarka was less than impressed with her manicured nails and face full of makeup, likewise, Katie did not see Tarka as the ‘all-action hero’ that his accolades suggest, more a really ‘odd’ Frenchman who seemed to find enjoyment in throwing himself into frozen lakes! It wasn’t long before the facades were broken and by 2006 Katie had left behind her life as a model and made the gigantic leap from exhibitionist to expeditionist.

In 2007, after 167 days and 4500km Katie & Tarka, in an incredible feat of determination, became the first recognised people to walk unsupported the entire length of the Great Wall of China, from its western most terminus to its eastern most. 

From the completion of this challenge, Katie realised that any feeling of accomplishment, achievement or success is directly proportional to the effort, commitment and hardship put into achieving it. 

Having discovered this newfound inner strength, she has since gone on to fill her life with many more adventures. Including; the longest crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap by a woman, cycling across Africa on a vintage African bicycle with no brakes or gears unsupported, raced in the Transcontinental unsupported single stage 4000km bike race across Europe, lived in a floating tent in -50C on the Arctic Ocean, and has nearly lost her life on many numbers of occasions.

Show notes

• Living in France in a ski resort 
• Growing up in Devon, spending time outside and riding horses
• Being lazy by nature
• Meeting a polar explorer…. Tarka
• Being invited to walk to the North Pole!
• Deciding to walk the Great Wall of China!
• How her confidence evolved
• Being open to new challenges
• The conditions over in China
• Dealing with the 40 degree heat and having to be rescued
• Not being cut out for the expedition life
• Dealing with compression of the spine and shrinking by an inch
• Dealing with the biggest snow storm China had ever seen!
• Why she kept going, even though she cried every day of the journey
• What was it like finishing her first massive challenge
• 2 showers in 6 months….
• Reflecting back on the journey which was completed over 10 years ago
• Their relationship while on expedition
• Starting to plan the next adventure, almost straight away!
• Being disheartened by adventure, and struggling to make a living from being an adventurer
• No adventure for 5 years…
• Discussing money…
• Living at home with parents to cover the day to day living costs
• Playing favourites with challenges
• Why she is happy to say no 
• Heading over to the Patagonia Ice Cap even having a fear of snow & ice…
• Stopping breathing & dying on the ice
• Waiting for a weather window to make a crossing, while living on half rations
• Making a plan to get off the icecap
• Mental tips and tricks to keep calm and to be resilient
• Working with a sports psychologist 
• Type 2 fun and not enjoying the experiences while she does them
• Making the transition to solo adventure
• Signing up for the Transcontinental Bike Race in Europe
• What a typical day was like while on the road - riding, eating & tears!
• When it all went wrong…
• Recovering from challenges
• Plans for 2018….The Silk Road Mountain Race (August 18th 2018)
• Advice for women and girls who want to lead a more adventurous life

Social Media

Website: www.katiejaneendurance.com

Instagram: @katielherpiniere 

Facebook: @katiesenduranceadventures  

Jane was born in Edinburgh and brought up in North Yorkshire. After reading English at Somerville College, Oxford, she became an antiquarian book dealer, and later a writer. Her ten books to date have been critically acclaimed, and have confirmed her as one of our most engaging and original social historians.

Jane lives near Oxford with her husband and - during university holidays - her two sons. She writes full time, apart from when she's happily travelling to give talks or broadcasts about her books, or working one day a week at Somerville College as an assistant archivist.

Her most recent book came out in January 2018 - Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote. This is a story of ordinary people effecting extraordinary change. By turns dangerous, exhausting and exhilarating, the Great Pilgrimage transformed the personal and political lives of women in Britain for ever. Jane Robinson has drawn from diaries, letters and unpublished accounts to tell the inside story of the march, against the colourful background of the entire suffrage campaign.

Show notes

• Growing up in Yorkshire
• Her passion and love for books
• Getting interested in women travellers and women adventurers
• Meeting a collector from America and how her life changed
• Creating the first bibliography of women travellers
• “Wayward Women" - First hand travel accounts written by women
• Finding women, whose voices need to be heard
• Being inspired by these incredible women’s spirit
• Doing the research, one year to research and one year to write 
• Common themes of her work - looking at social history through women’s lives
• Women who headed out to the unknown, who wanted to see what was over the horizon 
• Being naive… 
• Dr Susie Rijnhart- a missionary based in China - travelling to Tibet
• Getting personally involved in the stories being researched 
• What she’s learnt from doing this research and writing the stories 
• 2018 and writing the story of women and getting the vote
• Not being able to identify with the suffragettes 
• 1913 - The Great Pilgrimage
• What is the definition of a suffragette?
• The Marches and the narrative behind it
• What was being shared in the women’s diaries 
• Dealing with the real fear of violence from being on the pilgrimage 
• Which women got the vote
• Reading newspaper accounts when women got the vote
• Her next book!

Visit her blog and website - http://www.jane-robinson.com

Hélène  has just come back to the UK after 18 months adventuring in her VW camper-van travelling with her bikes, and finding the best places to triathlon train in Europe!

In 2016 Hélène represented Great Britain at Age Group level for the European ironman and half ironman championships in Poland and Austria, in 2017, it was Ironman Austria, where she qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii!

Show notes

• Deciding to go on an adventure
• Heading to Europe to do triathlon
• Her introduction into road cycling and swimming
• Her first triathlon in 2004
• How her love for triathlon evolved
• Getting to explore the countryside
• Joining a running club to make it more social
• Where are all the women?
• Why you don’t have to be amazing at it all
• Working and training and trying to get the balance in your life
• Deciding to do an Ironman…. with 3 months to train for it
• Dealing with anxiety and fear before a race and why self confidence is so important
• Being on the start line for Ironman Wales
• Learning to not worry about the things you can’t control
• When the gun goes off & the mass entry of 2,000 people into the water!
• The hills on the bike and why you need to pace yourself
• Being Celiac and how it impacts on her nutrition and training
• #VanLife
• Buying her van in a car auction… (Victor the van!)
• Planning and organised and why you don’t need to play your life to have an amazing time!
• Being a female solo traveller
• Leaving just before Brexit! July 2016
• Expectations verses reality
• Getting through the tough days
• Racing triathlon in Poland
• Qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona!
• 3 months…. training… and why it wasn’t all plain sailing…
• Learning to control her emotions
• Why the only person who is putting pressure on you is you
• The training plan
• Heading over to Hawaii! Feeling serene on the day
• The aggressive start in the swim
• Transition… and dealing with the wind
• The mental side of triathlon
• Plans for 2018
• Advice for women and girls and why it wasn’t an easy decision to make
• Being Selfish and why you should go for it!

Social Media

Twitter - @WhereWheelsGo  

Instagram - @WhereWheelsGo  

Blog  - https://wherethewheelsgo.wordpress.com

Hope Virgo suffered with anorexia for over 4 years, before being admitted to a Mental Health Hospital in 2007. She lived in the hospital for a year, fighting one of the hardest battles of her life. Since being discharged, she has fought to stay well. 

Hope has now written about her journey with anorexia, in her book, Stand Tall Little Girl. Hope uses her experiences of mental health illness to champion the rights of others, inspire them to get well, and help break the stigma of mental illness.

Hope lives and works in London. In her spare time, she volunteers for refugee charities, and charities that support young and abandoned children. She is a dedicated runner, and has a keen interest in maintaining good mental health through healthy eating and exercise.

Show notes

• Growing up in Bristol
• Starting to run
• Developing anorexic  
• Having something else to think about
• Being admitted to a mental health hospital at 17
• Learning to talk about her feeling
• Deciding to write about her story
• Learning to open up and being in a place to share her story.
• Taking with her mum while out running
• Her relationship with her mum, why it’s had its ups and downs
• Travelling around South East Asia with her boyfriend
• Why she had to manage her anorexic every day
• Her ‘friend’ - the voice of anorexia
• How her running developed from the cross country team at school, to running half marathons
• Doing her first marathon and over training
• 3.26 marathon…
• Making sure she has rest days
• Trying to not get obsessed with weight training
• The Brighton Marathon
• What she thinks about while running
• Negative thoughts in her head while running
• Where her drive comes from
• Working with schools talking about mental health
• Talking about body image and mental health
• What a typical week looks like
• Life after a marathon
• Cycling across Taiwan & staying with local people
• What she learnt from the experience
• Being an ambassador for Sure Mind Foundation 
• Her book  - Stand Tall Little Girl 

Twitter @HopeVirgo

Facebook @HopeVirgo

Show notes

• Loving sports & science
• Coming from a sporty and academic family
• Playing lacrosse at school and University
• Deciding to take up high altitude mountaineering
• Climbing mountains in South America - Heading to Bolivia to climb 6,000 m peaks
• The struggles she faced at the start - dealing with the cold the wind and the altitude
• How she moved forward with mountaineering
• How she developed her skills with no money
• Climbing a non technical mountain and learning through experience
• The impact of altitude on her body
• The next mountain and heading to Alaska!
• Climbing Denali….with no guide
• Being stuck inside the tent for 12 days…
• The preparation that’s done in advance
• Summit night on Denali
• Fitting in climbing around her PhD
• Funding her expeditions to the Andes
• Collecting data and using the super computer!
• Identifying all of the mountains over 5,000 m in the Andes
• Finding Inca ruins on the summit of mountains
• Getting to name the mountains…
• 106 mountains over 6,000 metres….
• Route planning in modern times
• Adjusting back to life after spending time out in the mountains
• TV opportunity and being approached by the BBC… Do you want to be an Astronaut?!
• The tests!
• Developing resilience
• Being taken outside her comfort zone
• Staying calm under pressure
• Wanting to go into space & astronaut selection..
• Being back in the academic world
• Inspiring the younger generation with outreach programs
• Dreaming about the mountains….
• Having balance in her life… getting up at 5am, running, getting to work at 7 am, work…
• Why routine is so important 
• Learning languages… and why you have to challenge yourself and do things that you aren’t good at
• Persistence, working hard and developing skills

Twitter - @SuzieImberSpace 

Anna, is a British born adventurer, motivational speaker, influencer and author. She was recently named by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the 50 most influential travellers of our time, and by the the Guardian as one of the top modern female adventurers . She is also proud to be the UK Ambassador for Girl Guiding, and the co-founder of Adventure Queens; the UK’s fastest growing women’s adventure community.

Show notes

• Social Media Experiment…. riding across Europe…
• Thinking about journeys 
• Being a planner & getting uncomfortable
• Climbing over her back fence…. left, right, straight on??
• What’s going to happen next?
• Making a change from walking to cycling
• Having an element of control
• Wanting to see the monkeys
• Focusing on the new opportunities & not dwelling on missed opportunities
• Accommodation while on the road
• Warm showers - https://www.warmshowers.org 
• The kindness of strangers and the people she met on the way
• Getting home.. train..plane?
• Going to Gloucester
• The love story…. following your passion
• Trying to be the sunshine in people’s lives
• The next adventure idea!
• Missing her brothers wedding 
• Making it work with Jamie
• Deciding on the route?
• Testing out Kick Scooters
• Loving the mountains and cycling up hills
• Starting at La Paz & being hit with altitude straight away
• Cycling Death Road, as a bikepacker
• Navigation with MapOut
• Accommodation while on the road… Wild camping!
• The challenges on the journey…
• Facing your fears and getting naked!
• The wild dogs…. & being bitten by a dog..
• Travelling with Faye and what she learnt from the experience
• Being ready to finish the adventure & how they celebrated the end!
• Dealing with the post adventure blues…
• Heading over to Canada on a book tour with Jamie….. Plannada….
• Book writing… the Prequel… (Cycling the 50 states America)
• Being an Ambassador for the Girl Guides
• The Adventures Queens….
• The next challenge… A running adventure in 2019
• Final words of advice and wisdom
• Live your life, like no one else is watching!

Connect with Anna - Support & follow!

Website - https://annamcnuff.com 

Twitter - @AnnaMcNuff 

Instagram - @Annamcnuff 

Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/AMcNuff/ 

Faye found her adventure mojo in 2014, since then she’s taken on a new challenge each year;  from climbing Kilimanjaro, to cycling the length of New Zealand solo and most recently coming back from spending 6 months cycling the Andes.

Show notes

• Living in Cornwall
• Being shy & feeling homesick
• Going to university and taking a gap year 
• Learning to live off very little money
• Spending time in Thailand
• Being called an Adventurer & why she 
• What she got up to after university
• Deciding to climb Kilimanjaro & getting the adventure bug
• Summit night on Kilimanjaro..
• Making changes in her life
• Micro Adventures and meeting new people
• Joining the search and rescue team in Cornwall
• Deciding to cycle the length of New Zealand
• The fears, and making the decision to do it - 
• BE BOLD, COMMIT & GIVE IT A GO!
• Being a planner…
• Getting to meet Anna McNuff
• Starting her cycle ride in the South of NewZealand in 2015
• Crying on the bike and having doubts
• Wanting to quit
• What she learned from her New Zealand experience
• Your vibe attracts your tribe
• Deciding to go on her next Adventure to South America
• Fitness….
• Flying into La Paz and dealing with Altitude
• Being in South America - dealing with standing out, learning Spanish and the physical demands on the body
• Being stung by a scorpion!
• The end of the challenge!
• Adventure Blues and coming to terms with them
• If your going through hell, keep going 
• Why its normal to have hard times
• Changing her career aspirations
• Future dreams and goals
• Why you should do something that scares you!
• Commit to it and be bold

https://fayeshepherd.wordpress.com

Twitter - @Faye_Shepherd  - 

Instagram - @faye_shepherd 

Fiona is an adventurer, speaker and entrepreneur who loves to get outside and push her limits on expeditions big and small, meeting new people and discovering tasty cake stops en route. In 2017 she walked and cycled the length of Britain and in 2018 is due to set a new world record by becoming the first person to SUP Britain. When she's not adventuring you'll find her running Adventure Book Club and coaching entrepreneurs. 

Show notes

• Who is Fiona?
• Being inspired by Al Humphries
• Being an entrepreneur and wanting to direct her own career and life
• Hating the corporate life & quitter her job after 6 weeks
• Setting up her first business
• Getting into cycling
• The freedom of Adventure and what she loves about it
• The self development side of adventure
• Cycling from London to Brighton
• How she ended up cycling the length of Great Britain
• Cycling home for Christmas
• Not being a runner or a swimmer
• Why she loves adventuring on her own
• The challenges she faced while cycling and why she had to stop on her first attempt
• Key learnings from her failures
• Getting to the end of her challenge
• Doing the same challenge again
• Social media and how it interacts on an adventure
• Mental resilience, mental toughness and mindset
• Walking from Land’s End to John O’Goats
• The pains from walking
• Planning at the last minute
• Getting injured
• What she thinks about while walking and why she wants to digitally detox
• People from Instagram
• The plan for 2018 - SUP Britain
• Stand up Paddle Boarding….
• The 3 Lakes Challenge- March
• Dealing with fears & funding for her challenge
• The Adventure Book Club
• #TakeAction
• Words of advice and why you shouldn't be afraid of failure

Website- http://fionalquinn.com

T: @FionaLQuinn

IG: @FionaLQuinn

FB: /FionaLQuinn

M: @FionaLQuinn

A former corporate business management specialist within the banking sector, she's now fully focused upon soul sustaining adventuring with purpose. Megan has mountaineered across the globe and has scaled some of the world’s most famous peaks such as Elbrus and Mera Peak. Megan is one half of the all-female adventure team Dare two Do. Megan is an advocate of adventures in any shape or size, is partial to an overnight bivi wild camp under the stars as well as an epic self-powered voyage, and is an avid fan of all that’s deemed a challenge.

Show notes

• Walking away from her stable job
• Being drawn to the outdoors
• Heading to Borneo when she was 17 & getting to climb her first mountain
• Getting distracted by university her job and her career
• Deciding she needed to do something with her life
• Running away to the mountains at every opportunity
• Everest Base Camp, the preparation before hand and getting ready to go there
• Arriving into Kathmandu & meeting new people with a similar mindset
• Being changed by the whole experience and having a need to be in the mountains
• Getting up-skilled and learning about alpine climbing
• Her first taste of being scared in the mountains
• How it changed her future expeditions
• Deciding to quit and do adventuring full time
• Having a purpose to her life
• Heading of to Mexico to climb 
• Taking the step and why it took her 4 years to get there
• What will other people think?
• Heading back to Nepal in April 2015 to climb Mera Peak
• Taking some time out to figure out what she wanted to do
• Going to Climb Mt. Elbrus
• What did she want from her life - trying to figure it out
• The decision making process
• Feeling like an imposter
• The Paddle Pick Up with Love Her Wild
• Creating - Dare two do
• The first Challenge - The Grand Union Canal
• Plans for 2018
• The Great Pacific Race!
• Advice and tips for you to follow your own dreams

www.daretwodo.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mhoskin

Instagram: @meg_hoskin

Twitter: @meghoskin

Mina is a 36 year old Primary School teacher who discovered the beauty of long-distance running in her late 20's. She would say she’s very ordinary and just someone who has a love of long distance running and spending time outdoors. 

She hopes by sharing the different challenges and adventures she has, that it might in some way inspire you to take that step to actually do the things you really want to in your life. She believes that just by telling people the things you want to do it will start to make them more of a reality. 

So say out loud what you want to do with your life and see what happens! 

Mina is not a sponsored athlete, she doesn’t win the races she enters, she is a normal woman who has followed her passions!

Show notes

• Based in Wellington in NZ
• Being someone who loves being outdoors and loves running
• Not being a runner & being un-sporty
• Why it all changed in her mid - 20’s
• Her first Half Marathon…& how she got into long distance running
• What if she could do the Marathon des Sables?
• 3 years to train.. the pressure?
• Training in her final year.. including an ironman!
• Becoming obsessed with her plan!
• Training with her partner and by herself
• Managing her nutrition and food
• Her highlight from the MDS..
• Why did you start? What are your reasons?
• Taking it to the next level and deciding to run the full length of a country!
• What if….
• Getting to the start line on the 16th November 2014
• 77 days on the trail!
• Getting past the first 7 days and why day 8 she hit a low..
• What’s going on in her head while she’s out on the trail..
• Key moments on the trail
• Dealing with the rivers…
• The final day, the final 65K & reaching Bluff
• What happened after the run?
• Deciding to live on a boat!
• Deciding on her next challenge!
• Wanting to see more of Great Britain
• Planning the GB run
• Expectations verses reality
• What’s she learnt from doing these challenges
• Advice for other women
• Future plans and ambitions
• Emilia Lahti - https://www.emilialahti.com/ 
• Sisu Not Silence - https://www.emilialahti.com 
• What her role will be as a supporter of the challenge
• Family Violence - #ItsNotOk
• How to keep updated with Mina and her challenges - http://minaholder.com/index.html

Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent is a travel writer, TV producer and director of Edge Expeditions. She’s written three books, penned numerous articles for magazines, set an unlikely Guinness World Record for driving a tuk tuk 12,500 miles from Bangkok to Brighton and filmed in remote locations from Bolivia to Borneo and beyond. 

Her latest book, Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains: A Journey Across Arunachal Pradesh – India’s Forgotten Frontier.

Show notes

• Living in Bristol and growing up in Norfolk
• Being inspired by her parents and her grandmother
• Family holiday
• Going straight to University and using her holidays to travel
• Deciding to drive a tuk tuk from Bangkok to London in 2006
• “Ting Tong" the bright pink tuk tuk and raising £50K for the charity MIND
• Quitting her job, planning the trip, and raising the funds!
• Getting ill in Bangkok
• Taking a month to cross China
• How the trip changed her perceptions of herself
• Adjusting back to real life after the trip
• The Ho Chi Minh Trail adventure and how it evolved
• Loving the history and the research behind the trips
• Travelling by herself & being terrified
• The day that stands out in her mind
• Having a scary day in the Cambodian Jungle…
• Treating writing like a job
• Being a self motivated person and being consumed by what she does
• Her latest book….
• Money -how she funds her trips…
• Getting to the remote parts in India
• Getting drunk with the nuns!
• How happy and content the people seemed
• Her routine while travelling
• Missing her boyfriend & hot baths while being away
• Edge Expeditions
• Future expeditions
• Wanting to go to Pakistan
• Advice and tips for travel
• Talk on 2nd Feb -  London - Destinations Website

Social Media

Website - http://www.theitinerant.co.uk

Maria Leijerstam is a Welsh British polar adventurer and a Wales 2016 Year of Adventure ambassador. She was the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the continent in 2013.

 Leijerstam started her expedition on the Ross Ice Shelf at the edge of the Antarctic continent. She cycled for 10hrs to 17hrs each day with no rest days, and the total distance cycled was 638 km (396 mi).

Leijerstam cycled a uniquely designed, three wheeled Polar Cycle, a modernised form of polar travel, demonstrating that cycling can be more efficient than skiing to the South Pole.

Show notes

• Why she doesn’t call herself an explorer
• Growing up and wanting to be an astronaut 
• Her childhood
• Getting into more extreme adventures
• Always living in a mans world
• Joining the Officer Training Corps
• Learning how to look after herself
• How she started her journey into adventure
• Doing the Marathon des Sables!
• The lead up to the race, dealing with nerves and preparing her body for the heat
• Knowing how your body responds during a challenge
• Learning how to manage pain
• Why you put your body through the extreme challenges?
• Being the 200th person to ever reach the South Pole
• Doing an adventure race & what she loves about it
• The last wild race in Patagonia
• Handling team dynamics during adventure races
• When races fall apart…
• Dealing with discomfort and managing your pain
• Colour therapy
• 4 years preparation to get to the South Pole
• Testing out equipment and figuring out what was going to work
• £100,000 needed to do the expedition and how she paid for it
• Dealing with rejection
• Getting onto the ice and the relief she felt
• What she leant from the experience of planning and doing the polar expedition
• Coming home and returning to Wales
• Future goals and plans
• Being a mother of 2 and how she fits fitness into her life

Follow Beth on Social Media

• Website - http://bethfrench.co.uk
• Twitter - @bethsbigswim  https://twitter.com/bethsbigswim
• Instagram - @bethfrenchlives  https://www.instagram.com/bethfrenchlives/
• Facebook  @bethfrenchlives https://www.facebook.com/bethfrenchlives/ 

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If you have questions about me, the podcast, what I’m doing… then please check out my website

https://www.toughgirlchallenges.com/

If you want to do more to help increase the amount of female role models in the media, please, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode. If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with your friends, to spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love. 

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If you have questions regarding the Marathon des Sables - Please read  - Tough Girl Sahara Challenge 

http://amzn.to/2mwP0hd 

If you have questions regarding climbing Kilimanjaro - Please read - Kilimanjaro Tips for The Top

http://amzn.to/2mPfKFO

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Want to do more?

Become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund my mission

https://www.patreon.com/ToughGirlPodcast?ty=h

If you want to support my mission - you can also donate via PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/toughgirl 

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Beth French, an ultra-marathon open-sea ocean swimmer who was once a Buddhist nun, a single mother who home schools her autistic son and an adventurer who suffered from a crippling illness (M.E. aka Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) in her youth. 

During this podcast we speak to Beth about her journey to swim across the seven most dangerous sea-channels in the world, an official challenge called ‘Oceans Seven'. For extreme swimmers it’s the ultimate test; only a handful of people have ever completed it, but it took them many years.

In September 2016, Beth set out to become the first person ever to conquer Oceans Seven in a 12-months period.

Her motivation: to prove to her autistic son that you are not determined by your circumstances and that you can fulfill your dreams and ambitions by confronting obstacles head on.

Show notes

• Not living close to the water
• Self employed single mum who home schools her son with autistic needs and sea swims for sanity
• Having ME as a teenager…
• What life was like growing up - the challenges she faces and how she overcame them
• Not being able to walk..
• Coping strategies to numb the pain
• Hitting rock bottom
• Going to see an alternative therapist 
• Being told it was her fault at 17
• Writing a wish list 
• Having a wake up call and taking responsibility for her life
• Becoming a Buddhist Nun - meditating for 17 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months
• Having a 2 week holiday which turned into an 8 year adventure!
• Swimming in the ocean and falling in love with it
• Learning the mental side of endurance
• Being told she couldn’t have kids… Getting pregnant and being terrified
• Wanting to adventure with her baby
• Can she do it with a baby? How did she?
• Her version of motherhood
• The Channel Swim! Generating the right emotions to push her through
• How to be true to you and to live your truth
• Why you should be full of yourself
• Not celebrating
• Heading to Hawaii for the winter
• What’s going on inside her head while she’s swimming
• Tattoos and why she has them
• Vulnerability as a strength and what’s she learn’t
• Why she stopped her last project - Oceans 7
• Going for the world record and pulling the plug on it
• Making the toughest decision she has even made
• The next challenge/adventure!
• Top tips… advice..
• Learn more about Beth via her social media channels- see below!

“I'm in it to swim it and it's not over till I run out of water.” 

Social Media

• Website - http://bethfrench.co.uk
• Twitter - @bethsbigswim  https://twitter.com/bethsbigswim
• Instagram - @bethfrenchlives  https://www.instagram.com/bethfrenchlives/
• Facebook  @bethfrenchlives https://www.facebook.com/bethfrenchlives/ 

On Thursday - hear more from Beth on Tough Girl Extra - The Quick Fire Round!!

What a journey it has been! There have been high points (a new baby!), low points (trying to raise £21K), focus, dedication, commitment, success and failure. New skills have been learned, new challenges ticked off bucket lists and fears overcome.

I would like to extend a massive thank you to all of the seven women who have been involved in this project since December 2016. It is not easy to put yourself out there, and to share your story with the world (the tough girl podcast is listened to in 172 countries).

These women, all stepped up, they have shared honestly about their experience, the good bits and the bad and I hope you have all managed to take something away from all of their collective experiences.

For the full show notes - please visit www.toughgirlchallenges.com

Please become a patron at www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast