India in her own words:
“I am India Cook, an avid Atlanta-based runner, marathoner, race announcer, YouTube vlogger, podcast host, and RRCA-certified run coach. I have a love for running and road racing, but I also have a passion for encouraging and guiding runners and those who aspire to become runners. I advocate for all paces and body types in the space of road racing.
My running journey started in 2008 on the quest to lose weight and also engage in a healthy social activity. Since 2008 I have completed distances from 5K to marathons.
Throughout my running journey, I observed that there were limited running resources created by women of color to help individuals get into running or resources for those already engaged in the sport.
Therefore, I developed a vlog “Miles From India” on YouTube. The vlog’s purpose is to educate, inspire, and motivate runners. Viewers can find tips and how-to videos that aid in helping runners navigate running effectively. Within the running community, I also find it important to ensure diverse running experiences and stories are highlighted.
In 2018, I became a podcast host of, The Run Duo Podcast, with my co-host, Tommy Mitchell. On our bi-weekly podcast, we talk all things running as we educate and entertain our listeners and also interview casually to elite runners.
In addition to content creation, I am also a race announcer and event emcee. I am the amazing voice that you hear at the start and finish line of a race that motivates you to keep going and cheers you in at the finish. As a fellow runner, I find it important to feed positivity and love during all points for racing and I am your fun energetic voice that does that.
On the coaching side of the sport, I have a focus on helping ladies run confidently in any phase of their run journey, my background in mental health not only allows me to have a positive and healthy relationship with running but also enables me to help athletes build a similar relationship as well. I find it essential to make the sport of running less intimidating and relatable for all levels.
My goal is to make the sport of running more diverse, inclusive, and less intimidating to my listeners and viewers.
I will continue to use my training, experience, and voice to guide others in the community of running through coaching.
I take the approach that everyone's journey is unique, and we should celebrate every step, stride, and mile. I believe that running not only boosts physical health, but it also rejuvenates your mind and fuels confidence”
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Website: www.milesfromindia.
Instagram: @i_of_endigo_runs
The Run Duo Podcast: https://linktr.ee/Therunduo
Link to all places: https://linktr.ee/
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/c/
Maddy is a 72-year-old runner, cyclist, mother of four, and grandmother to three. Her goal is to fight aging and show that we can do things long after we thought we couldn't.
Maddy has always enjoyed being outside since she was a child. At school, she enjoyed sports and spent a lot of time swimming with her brother.
Maddy has been running for more than four decades. She began running in 1977 at the age of 26. She was working for the military in a child guidance clinic in Munster, Germany.
Maddy was just running for pleasure, and prioritises her children after work. She was a social worker before becoming a teacher. She joined the Harriers in the 1990s and began running seriously in 1997–98. She has competed in every imaginable race, as well as loads that no longer exist.
In 2017, Maddy competed in over 30 races, winning the majority of them in her age category (V65). From 2004 to 2018, she ranked in the top 50 in the UK for her age group at distances ranging from 5K to marathon. She finished 14th among V65 women in the UK in the half marathon in 2017.
Maddy also finds time to coach and support other runners, and she has helped organise local parkruns. She set up Mansfield Runners in 2012 with Sue Bellingham's help. They started it when Run England was promoting beginner's groups. It is now a RunTogether group.
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Instagram @collingemaddy
Amy Rusiecki is a full-time engineer with a passion for ultrarunning.
Amy, who has been running her entire life, started out with orienteering when she was only six years old before moving onto cross country running and then transitioning to road racing (during which time she escaped to the trails to train).
During her ultrarunning career (Amy has completed 82 ultras and has won 33 of them), she has found confidence, joy and her husband.
She is the Race Director for the Vermont 100 and coaches other ultrarunners through The Run Formula.
She is a three-time member of the USA Trail Team, and is sponsored by Inov-8 and Drymax.
Amy, her husband and their kitty live in western Massachusetts and mainly race throughout the East Coast.
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Seven Sisters Trail Race - 12 miles of technical, single track trail on an out-and-back course with over 3,500 ft. elevation gain
Vermont 100 - 100 mile race
Vermont Adaptive: www.vermontadaptive.
Beast Coast Trail Running: www.facebook.com/
Ingrid has loved competitive sports since a young age. Originally swimming was her passion and she began swimming competitively at 6 years old, she swam throughout high school and attending UCLA (a division 1 school) where she swam competitively for 2 years, while studying Sociology.
After leaving college, Ingrid made the transition from swimming to running and also decided to become an actress. Played lifeguard Sheryl Whelan, on Baywatch as well as having roles on Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, and Parenthood, to name a few!
At the age of 47 after running her fastest marathon ever, 2hr 48 mins in the 2019 LA Marathon.
Ingrid was feeling the strongest and fittest she’d ever been.
However, while training for her next challenge, she started to not feel well and after seeing her doctor was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ingrid underwent a double mastectomy, and continued to run while undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy as well as radiation.
Ingrid is a member of Janes an elite women’s running group based in LA and in 2021 Ingrid was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame.
RUNNING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2014 3rd Place Masters Female Chicago Marathon
2014 2nd Place Female Overall Orange County Marathon
2016 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championship: 5th place Masters Woman Overall
2021 2nd Place 50+, 12th Overall USATF Masters XC Club Nationals Tallahassee,FL
2022 1st Place 50+, 8th Overall USATF Masters XC Championships Mission Bay, CA
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Instagram @ingridwalt
Janes Elite Racing - www.thejanes.net
A Swiss-born ultrarunner, Luzia Buehler now lives in the mountains, trying to live a good life while protecting what is most important to her.
Luzia has always been an athletic person since she was a child because of her great love for the outdoors and the mountains. Luzia discovered her passion for trail running when she was about 20 years old, and she has since competed in all of the most important international races.
In 2016, Luzia competed in the Western States 100 race for the first time, finishing 27th (27hrs 03mins) and 11th (20hrs 23mins) in 2019.
Having run this race twice, which has greatly prepared her, Luzia, 40, has rocked the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race, the Western States Endurance Run, by becoming the 4th place women's finisher in a time of 18 hours, 08 minutes last year.
Luzia is also a social worker who enjoys skiing and snowboarding during the winter.
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Instagram @luz.s.y
Allie spent a lot of her life seeking approval from people she thought were cool, believing that in order to be successful, you had to act a certain way. For her, success is seeing someone who doesn't believe they can do something transform into someone who does.
After working for major record labels for 12 years, Allie realised that music, which she had once loved, was slowly killing her. Her dream career had turned her into a nightmare, and she was completely lost. Allie has struggled to find her place and suffers from depressive demons, anxiety, and existential misery.
After taking part in the inaugural Rat Race Test Pilot trip to Mongolia in 2018, she realised it was the first time she had truly had time to stop, think, and be completely at peace. Fast forward, after three and a half years, numerous journeys, a pandemic, some questionable decisions, and a lot of planning and running, Allie is now coaching other people to do amazing things.
Allie holds several world firsts to her name, including running across Mongolia's Lake Khovsgol and crossing the Namib Desert twice. Allie is the first woman to run the entire length of the Panama Canal. She has also run the length of the Outer Hebrides, crossed Scotland on packraft and foot several times, and completed over 100 marathons and 60-70 ultramarathons, including nine 100-mile plus races.
Allie started running 10 years ago and have only being doing the ultra thing for 6 years, but she absolutely love it. It's a game changer. Allie believes that it is something that anyone of any age and from any background can participate in.
Allie has been extremely lucky to have discovered something she truly enjoys doing, and her favorite thing in the entire world is seeing people achieve things they never thought were possible
"There's nobody funner than an Ultrarunner" - Allie Bailey
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
* We have previously spoken with Allie on 18th Dec 2018 - Listen here
FYI marked as *Explicit - as there are a few little swear words!
Show Notes
Social Media
Website www.alliebailey.co.uk
Instagram @ab_runs
Twitter @AllieBailey
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/user/
Rav is a mum of 3 teenagers and works as a management consultant.
Rav only found running later on in life when she was in her late 30’s. She started running to prove a point to someone who said she couldn’t run. Rav soon realised that fitness initiatives such as Park Run and races just weren’t for her.
Her joy for running came from the solitude and peace she found while on an empty trail or a calm street.
Rav now runs for fun, for her mental well being and to keep fit. In 2022 she completed a goal she had had for 20 years - running the London Marathon.
Rav is currently on a run streak where she has been running outside every day for almost 5 years. She is also training for her next challenge: a 32 mile / 52k Ultra Marathon in the Peak District taking place in the Summer of 2023!
“Find what makes you happy. Do more of it”
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show Notes
Social Media
Twitter @ravbillan
Instagram @ravbillan
Grace in her own words:
“I’m driven by the need to inspire other people of colour on to the trails.
I want to increase diversity and participation in endurance running.
I’m also tired of being the only Black person at endurance events and feeling like I don’t belong.
I’ve run 70+ marathons including ultras, and I’m still going.”
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live in March every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show notes
Social Media
Instagram @marathongracefully
Keri Wallace is the founder & guide at Girls on Hills, the UK’s only trail, fell and skyrunning company for women. After her second child, Keri decided to quit the desk-job and find a way to combine her passion for mountain running with flexible working, so that she could fulfil a life goal and be mum to two toddlers at the same time.
Keri in her own words:
“I started Girls on Hills with my colleague Nancy Kennedy in 2013, as a way to encourage more women to try trail and fell running. It was a terrifying leap of faith and a dream-come-true rolled into one. It felt like the opposite of a mid-life crisis though; like I’d finally found the confidence to stand up and do something I should have done a long time ago. But I had no idea whether it would take off!
We only ran a handful of courses the first year but it soon became clear that there was a real appetite out there for the kind of freedom and empowerment that comes with this type of running – across all ability levels.
I love guiding women around the rocky hills of Glencoe, helping them build the confidence and skills they need to become more independent in the mountains (usually a simple case of revealing how much they are already capable of!) Mountain running is such a multi-faceted sport, with benefits that reach out and touch all other areas of your life.
As Girls on Hills has grown over the years, we have learned more about the barriers that many women face, across all levels of our sport, from beginner access, right through to elite-level racing. Today we advocate strongly for equity and inclusivity and seek to increase female participation in technical and ultra-distance events, where the gender gap is greatest.”
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live in March every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Show notes
Social Media
Website www.girlsonhills.com
Instagram @girlsonhillsuk
Facebook @GirlsOnHills