Katy 'KP' Parrott has been described as “Tinkerbell crossed with the Terminator”. Katy found her passion for adventure at a young age and when she was 17 went on an expedition to Nepal. Her love of nature and the outdoors led her to gain a First in Biology from the University of Bath and a Masters in wildlife film making for which she had to make a video out in the wilds of Bulgaria.  

She was a ‘recruit’ in the BBC programme Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, which she was selected for out of thousands of applicants, and made it to the final six in the show. It was an experience she found ‘life-changing’ and one that has inspired her to train to become an Army medic.

Most recently she has done her first 100K and half ironman. Katy also shares more about her future challenges and she wants to undertake!

** Please note during this episode we do talk briefly about her friend who lost of her life to suicide**

Show notes

• Living in Bristol
• How Katy would describe herself - “tinker bell crossed with the terminator”
• Growing up in Bristol, spending a lot of time outside playing sports
• Heading to Nepal at 17
• Not knowing how much adventure was going to play a part of her life
• Doing sport, theatre, and paining, but also having a passion for wildlife
• Having a passion for adventure and why it snowballed
• What the BBC TV show #UltimateHellWeek was all about
• Having 5 weeks to prepare…
• 15 men and 7 women
• Why she wanted to apply and the shock of finding out she had made it!
• Mentally not knowing how she was going to cope
• Preparing her body and training at various times to get herself use to different situations
• Coping with the unknown and getting anxious about what was going to happen next
• Going in with an open mind - “why there was nothing that would make her quit during the process”
• Getting respect
• The task that almost pushed her over the edge, being locked in a coffin for most of the night
• Being made Team Leader!
• 4 women making it to the final 6
• What she learned from going through this experience
• Planning a 400K hike through the Bulgarian Mountains!
• Mental tips and tricks - why it is always going to finish at some point
• Heading out to Bulgaria to hike
• Crashing after 4 days into the hike
• Finding old Russian military maps from the 1980s
• Having feet issues
• How she recovered once she got home
• Wanting to take on another challenge & signing up for the Army Reserves as a Combat Medic
• Deciding going full time in the Army isn’t the right decision for her
• Doing the Cotswold Way Ultra - 100K (62 miles) from Bath to Cheltenham 
• Managing her feet before and during challenges  & why she swears by talc
• Diet, food and drinking
• Future challenges and goals including wanting to walk the full length of Sir Lanka, an Ironman and maybe rowing an ocean
• Not letting her height stop her
• Advice for other women who want to take on new challenges
• Why you should say Yes and worry about it afterwards
• The marines letting in women 
• Being rubbish with social media!

Social Media

Twitter  - @ParrottKaty 

Instagram - @katy.parrott  

Jane has travelling and lived all over the world, she is a qualified solicitor and would describe herself as a ‘soft’ adventurer.  Her adventures have included hiking over 750 km along an old pilgrim trail from France and across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostella; rafting and canoeing for 17 days on the Zambesi River; and travelling across China by overland truck before heading down Pakistan’s Karakorum Highway to Islamabad.  

During this podcast Jane shares more about her life growing up, losing her mother and Aunt to breast cancer at a young age and the impact that had on her. She shares more about wanting to do the Marathon des Sables and why it took her over 15 years to achieve her dream. She gives practical advice about how you can figure out what you want to do with your life and how you apply this to your next adventure. 

Jane is a big supporter of women and has started AdventureShe magazine dedicated to empowering, educating and entertaining (predominantly) women of all ages, through sharing stories of adventure. 

Show notes

• Where her accent is from
• Believing in justice and becoming a solicitor
• Growing up in Wales and coming from a large family
• Going on a cycle adventure at 15
• Going to university at Cardiff and having some fun
• Wanting to move to London and why it was easy
• Coping with the loss of her mother at 18, as well as losing her aunt and her grandfather 
• Travelling and taking a gap year and getting the bug for travelling
• Working for 2 years while doing her training contact to qualify as a solicitor
• White water rafting in Africa 
• Why she decided to do the Marathon des Sables in 2016
• Giving herself 11 months to train and prepare
• Getting a chest infection and having to postpone the race until 2017
• Why she was most worried about the shame of not finishing
• Why education was a way out of poverty 
• Mental preparation and splurging on a warm sleeping bag
• Her most challenging moments during the MDS
• Going step by step
• What it was like crossing over the finish line
• What she’s learnt from the experience
• Doing her 2nd Half Ironman in 2017
• Roll down and getting a slot in the half ironman World Championships!
• Doing her Ted Talk - It takes a million small steps to achieve big dreams 
• Being a single female with no children
• Making the time to achieve your dreams
• Developing your mission statement and doing a SWOT Analysis
• AdventureShe Magazine
• Future challenges

Social Media

Website - www.adventureshe.com 

Instagram - @adventure_she 

Facebook - @AdventureShe 

Twitter - @adventure_she 

Ted Talk  - https://youtu.be/AM-B5rvx-sc

In 2000, Tricia went from being a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic requiring a wheelchair for mobility. Her life was changed forever, but Tricia’s competitive spirit and zest for life continued on. Through her experiences in both rehab and racing, Tricia has overcome adversity and learned what it takes to perform at the top of her game.

Having made the transition from able-bodied cyclist to an athlete with a disability, Tricia knows the true meaning of the words challenge and change, and has learned a wealth of lessons to deal with the obstacles we all face in reaching for our personal goals.

Tricia has completed over 100 races, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons, since her accident. She was the first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon and qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in 2006 and 2010. In 2011, she competed as part of the U.S. Rowing team at the World Championships in Bled, Slovenia.

Tricia’s professional life has also been immersed in sports as she earned a master’s degree in Sport Management in 1995 and worked at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was the press officer for the USA Table Tennis team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and for the USA Swimming team at the 1997 World University Games in Italy. Before becoming a professional speaker, she taught high school in the Denver Public Schools. Today she takes people on their journeys from start to victory, motivating each person to discover his or her own “inner champion”, just as she has. Receiving many sports accolades including being inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame, the 2006 Most Inspirational Athlete from the Challenged Athletes Foundation and the 2008 Courage Award from the Tempe Sports Authority, Tricia has truly excelled despite her life-altering injury.

In addition to her current sports pursuits, Tricia has completed master’s degrees in Disability Studies and Sports Management. She is also the Director for Camp Discovery, a camp for women in wheelchairs who want to explore fitness opportunities as well as create a support system of other women who have experienced mobility disorders/disabilities. In 2010 she has published her memoir: Cycle of Hope—A Journey from Paralysis to Possibility.

Show notes

• Based in Denva, Colorado
• Who is Tricia…. where to start
• Identifying as an athlete
• Doing sports when she was 4 years olds
• Starting bike racing after college
• Growing up with 3 brothers
• Being captivated with gymnastics
• How her athletes life evolved after high school 
• Growing to 5’10 and deciding to become a diver at college
• How she got into cycling and road racing
• Getting hit by a car and knowing something was wrong
• Breaking her back and injuring her spinal cord
• The aftermath of the accident
• What she learnt mentally and emotionally going through that experience
• Getting back into sports after the accident
• Being a goal driven person
• Doing her first Ironman in 2005 -Taking over 18hours to complete
• Maintaining balance and not letting her goals take over her life
• Happiness?
• The Ironman in Kona in Hawaii
• Dealing with the grief of losing her legs
• Being kind to herself
• Having multiple surgeries and ending up in chronic pain
• Taking up shooting as a Para-Olympian
• How she earns money
• Why she started to write 
• The mental challenge of shooting
• Adapting to change - advice and tips
• The Cycle of Hope Organisation
• Books! - Her first book - Cycle of Hope
• Plans for the rest of the year
• Final words of advice

Social Media

Website - www.triciadowning.com 

Twitter - @redefiningable 

Facebook - @RedefiningAble 

Instagram - @redefiningable