Jen has always loved to be active, from running around while growing up in the Peak District to playing football with the boys.
Leaving school, and heading off to University she was painfully shy and struggle to talk to people, however, as she was studying to be a barrister she was thrown into the deep end and worked hard to over come this. While studying and working, exercise took a back seat until she changed her life, by becoming self employed and moving away from London.
After the loss of her father and brother in quick succession she started going running as a way to deal with the pain. Although she struggles to call herself a runner, she has run multiple ultra in the country and has completed the Dig Deep Ultra, the Spine Challenge and the Northern traverse.
During this podcast Jen shared more about her passion for running, what she eats, how she trains, recovers and also gives top tips and advice for you to complete your own ultra challenge.
Show notes
Social Media
Twitter - @jenscotney
Instagram - @jenscotney
Lowri has been around kayaking all her life, but didn’t get into paddling properly until she was 14, when kayaks and kit started to fit. She became hooked, nagging anyone she could to take her paddling – whether it was to a local beck, cold winter surf or a man-made white water course.
All of her hard work paid off and Lowri earned a place on the GB freestyle team for the 2001 World Championships and aged just 16 it was a life changing experience. She has continued to compete at the highest levels on the International freestyle scene ever since, earning a few medals along the way – including European Freestyle Champion 2006-08.
Lowri has also been on many expeditions and adventures, paddling in incredibly remote, big volume rivers in Siberia as part of the Four Borders Expedition; she has also claimed first descents in Mongolia and Georgia; and bagged big waterfalls in Chile as well as getting lost in the jungles of Colombia! Her adventures with kayaking have taken her to over 30 countries on 6 different continents… so far…
Lowri is a BC Level 5 Coach & European Freestyle Champion, she is the owner of FlowFree Kayak Coaching
Show notes
Social Media
Website - www.flowfree.co.uk
Twitter - @flowfree_lowri
Instagram - @flowfree_lowri
Facebook - @flowfreecoaching
Susie Mitchell is a 38 year first time mom to a lovely vibrant baby girl Tori. Always enjoying the challenge of trying her hand at different sports, she discovered track cycling in July of 2011. After failing to make her mark in anything from shot putt to surfing, it finally seemed she had found something she was good at. Then two months later she became pregnant. Having set her sights on competing in the World Masters Track Cycling Championships the following October, she needed a plan. It would come four months after the birth and she wanted to be ready to give a good account of herself.
Wanting to train properly throughout her pregnancy, she looked for and found lots of advice – but was alarmed at how conservative views on exercise were during this time. The advice of "gentle jogging or easy swimming" wasn’t appealing. Being both a vet and scientist with a background in research she decided to look into it herself and focus on what the science said as her guide. Through this, a healthy dose of common sense and the help of her coach, she found a way to maintain and improve her fitness while training through all stages of her pregnancy and post-partum.
Her return to form came so much quicker than anyone could have expected, winning a National Medal just 6 weeks after the birth. She added others in the following months and went from strength to strength culminating in winning a title in the Individual Pursuit at the World Masters Track Championships in Manchester just a few months after Tori arrived. She had somehow managed to achieve her lifelong goal of sporting success in any discipline, and had pregnancy to thank for it. Susie showed that it is not only possible to stay fit and healthy by exercising through your pregnancy but that you could turn pregnancy to your advantage during training. The physiological changes in the body during this time mean training with baby on board is akin to training at altitude. Only a lot cheaper and easier to do!
By staying somewhat immersed in her sport, she also reaped another unforeseen benefit – she succeeded in maintain her identity through it all. Staying fit and getting back on the bike post-partum was one of the things that kept her sane, when coping with the biggest shock to the system anyone can have – becoming a mom for the first time. All of this was made possible by the help of a very supportive husband, Cormac.
She is now back at work as a fish vet, travelling all around Ireland, visiting fish farms and jumping on and off trawlers. She tries to balance working, being a mum and enjoying her sport, a bit of a juggling act at times. Wanting to help other women like her during their pregnancies, she wrote the book she would have liked to read.
Show notes
Social Media
Website - www.pregnancytopodium.com
Twitter - @susie_mitchell
Nikki moved to Chamonix, to ski, serve beer to the locals and dance on bar tops, way back in the Winter of 2004. Nikki has worked hard to train and run long distances and has run some incredible races and routes all over the world. They include, the UTMB (all distances) 100km CCC/120km TDS/ 170km, as well as the Everest marathon.
Based in Chamonix, she is a fully qualified VTCT Sports Massage Therapist, LiRF Run Leader CiRF Trail/Fell Running coach. Nikki is currently working towards her Mountain Leader qualification and finalising a diploma in sports nutrition all along side founding and building The Adventure Running Company.
In 2017, Nikki was a founder of the Neverest Girls who went out to inspire girls into trying their hand at challenges that they may have never thought possible.
Show notes
Social Media
Website - www.theadventurerunningcompany.com
Facebook - @theadventurerunningcompany
Instagram - @theadventurerunningcompany
Twitter - @adventurerunn
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