Lindsay is a coach, author, speaker, and lifelong athlete. She is an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion, five-time World Cup medalist, and a National Rowing Hall of Fame inductee.

Lindsay lives in Florida, where she daily seeks to mentor, inspire, and improve the lives of others by sharing her knowledge of health and wellness along with her journey of self-discovery from ultimate defeat, to Olympic gold.

Think of any sport, and Lindsay played it growing up. She was a driven athlete, good student, and happy teenager. But when she went to college, everything changed. She quit basketball, gained weight, and skipped classes. Her drive was gone. 

After a sleepless night and fateful turn of events, Lindsay made the decision to become her best self. She discovered rowing, and the sport became her outlet for transformation. 

In just one year she became an NCAA Division-I All-American; in four, she broke a world record and won her first World Championship. 

Within six years, Lindsay won Olympic gold. 

In Better Great Than Never, Lindsay shows you how to seize your full potential by removing self-imposed limitations. She demonstrates how to embrace every step, good and bad, to find greatness. 

For Lindsay, life isn’t about winning. As long as you learn throughout your journey, you can never lose.

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.

Show notes

• Being based in Miami Beach Florida
• Working in Ocean Rescue
• Being an athlete and an educator
• Dreaming about the Olympics…
• Being very sporty from a young age and playing a whole variety of different sports
• Graduating from high school at 17
• Going to the University of Virginia 
• Stumbling across rowing in her junior year at rowing
• Not feeling confident at playing sports at college level
• Being tall at school and feeling awkward while growing up
• Falling in love with rowing 
• Why there is always something that you can be improving in
• What motivates Lindsay 
• How sports psychologists played a role in her rowing
• Learning from every opportunity 
• Being self reflective and being intrinsically motivated
• What does it take to achieve at these high levels
• What training was involved 
• Her first day or rowing practice
• Learning to be accountable to ourselves, our equipment and to one another
• Why sleep was the most important thing
• Wiring a book about her story and being able to reflect back on her journey 
• Staying injury free for 7.5 years
• Removing as much stress as possible 
• Keeping detailed training logs
• Sleeping for 10 hrs a night and taking naps during the day
• Starting rowing January 2002 and winning medals a few years later
• Even through it was hard, it was fun
• Knowing what her role was in the boat
• Being the connector 
• The Beijing Olympic Games
• Why it’s just another race
• Go out and do what you do 
• Doing extra deep breathing to relax
• What it was like sitting at the start line
• Why nerves on the start line are a good thing
• 6 mins - 6 secs
• Getting into a flow state and just feeling
• Reflecting back on the journey 
• the luxury of being an athlete
• Where you can find Lindsay on the Socials
• Having a middle name “Dare”
• Advice for other women who want to dare to be great
• Why her advice is Patience
• Staying Patience, Positive & Determined throughout the process
• Finding the one thing and to do well

Social Media

Website: www.lindsaydareshoop.com 

Instagram: @LindsayDareShoop

Youtube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCQEzWRsCnke6ws_wJTKg8uQ/about 

Book:  Better Great Than Never: Believing It's Possible Is Where Champions Begin 

• Who is Jenny?
• Growing up in Slough
• Being a journalist and an author
• Writing her 4th book - Everything Harder Than Everyone Else
• Being interested in the mental side of endurance 
• Her starting point for the book
• The link between addiction and endurance racing
• Asking the question - how far can I push myself
• Pushing your body to the extreme
• The anticipation of entering a race and the anticipation of getting a drug to get high
• Getting a sense of validation from other people
• Why balance is over rated?
• Having obsessions from childhood
• How her obsessions changed when she got into her teens and early twenties
• Finding kickboxing, and training 5x a week
• Finding a positive obsession
• Starting to research the book 
• Finding people who would trust her
• Why am I doing this thing - which puts a lot of pressure on my body?
• Super elite athletes and their link to past suffering in childhood 
• The Dark Side of Top Level Sport: An Autobiographic Study of Depressive Experiences in Elite Sport Performers 
• Suffering as an adult athlete and being able to push through the pain
• Why certain sports attract certain personalities 
• The rise of women taking up strength sports
• The feeling of POWER and women wanting to take up physical space
• Social Media Project - #YouLookLikeAMan 
• Her journey in kickboxing
• Taking on her first amateur fight
• What it was like being in the ring….
• The fear of getting back into the ring
• Wanting to be a threat in the ring
• The ability to suffer
• Learning How to Suffer with the Queen of Pain: My Conversation With OCR Super-athlete Amelia Boone
• Over exercising and using sport as a way to sanction diet and what you consume
• The Recovery I needed - By Amelia Boone 
• Book: Women of Substance: A Journey Into Drugs, Alcohol and Treatment 
• Self care?
• Knowing your Why 
• The next book!

• Introducing herself in Navajo
• Who is Verna 
• How the outdoors played apart of her life growing up 
• Loving sports but not being into running
• Why Verna got into running
• Signing up for her first Half Marathon in August 2009
• Struggling with her weight
• Falling in love with running
• How her running journey progressed
• Putting herself first and not feeling guilty
• Having a 4th child
• Becoming an early morning runner
• Waking up at 4.15am…. to go running
• Having female role models at the start of her running journey 
• Native Women Running - Founded on Jan 23rd 2018
• The lack of visibility for Native women runners
• Not seeing women who looked like her
• Using the power of instagram to create change
• How Native Women Running has evolved over the past 3 years
• Inter-generational trauma and the power of running to heal
• Creating a call to action - MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)
• May 5th - National Day of Awareness for MMIW
• Using running to heal trauma
• The murder of native children and finding the reminds of native children in residential schools
• Connecting with a running community
• Coping with the trauma 
• Being resilient and being in a leadership position
• Why it’s ok to detach yourself from social media
• Magical moments while running
• Deciding to run her first ultra marathon 50k in 2018
• Running a 50 miler in October 2019
• Why the ultra journey has been mental
• Seeing her little girl at the finish line
• Training and planning for ultra runs
• Meeting her coach via Instagram
• What a typical training week looks like
• Keeping motivated to go running when not in the right frame of mind
• Training for her next 100K (62 miles) race
• Mental tips and tricks for running an ultra
• Dedicating miles to lost love ones
• Teaching 2nd grade and how working for Hoka is becoming a full time job
• Advice for women who want to get into running
• The power of being patient with yourself 
• Taking the next step to running an ultra
• What hozho means
• Final words of advice from Verna

• Who is Kathy and what she does
• Wanting to go on a big adventure
• Finding the right time to go travelling
• Wanting to take a pause in life
• Being married for 27 years 
• Stepping into the next phase of her life
• Being exposed to the outdoors from an early age
• Never having the guts or the time to do a big thru hike
• Struggling with overeating 
• Having trouble with reading and struggling in school
• Using food to numb emotions and to calm her nerves 
• Struggling with shame and food 
• Becoming a teacher and raising her kids
• Becoming an eating psychology coach
• Paying attention to the emotions underneath and learning to be with them
• Studying self compassion 
• Being mindful
• Placing your hand on your heart and chaining your voice
• The power of speaking to yourself and being gentle to yourself
• Learning how to be compassionate to yourself
• The GR5 Trail 
• Making the decision to go on the hike
• Going through menopause 
• Moving from running to walking 
• Planning and preparation before the trip
• Making the adventure your own
• Deciding to bike the 1st week in the Netherland
• Starting the GR5 at the end of April, beginning of May
• Doing a preamble in Italy for a few weeks before
• Wanting to slow down 
• Listening to her body and using her intuition 
• Learning how to sleep in a different bed every night
• Being concerned about hiking in the Alps and dealing with the elevation
• Staying mindful and being in the present
• Connecting the rhythm of your breath to your walking pace
• The magical moment and the beauty of the walks 
• The lessons learned from walking the GR5
• Ready to do some backpacking and camping
• Feeling strong and powerful
• Writing a book about her experience 
• The impact of the walk on her marriage
• Knowing each others strengths and weaknesses
• Daily Routine on the walk
• Top tips for taking on the GR5
• Adjusting back to normal life in America 
• Final words of advice for other women who want to go on an adventure 
• Why it’s never too late
• The power of brainstorming 

• Who is Houda
• Why sport is her life
• Coming from a sporty family
• Being inspired by Bruce Lee at 8 years old
• Getting into kickboxing at 11
• Falling in love with kickboxing
• Her journey in kickboxing
• Training for her first match
• Becoming the Dutch Youth Champion
• Becoming more confident 
• Wanting to prove a girl could fight
• Starting to wear the hijab at 14
• Going to study sports at college
• Being the only girls wearing the hijab
• “It was not easy, but I had the power to do it”
• Wanting to keep going with the kickboxing
• Being in a car accident at 21
• Spending a lot of time in recovery 
• Dealing with the first big disappointment in her life
• Having nothing else apart from sports
• Trying to figure out what to do next
• Working with young girls but wanting to inspire the whole family 
• Wanting to make a big impact in the world
• Having her own personal development program
• Working towards lots of goals
• Wanting to change the representation of girls and women in the media
• Being a teacher of resilience 
• Giving the children tools to help build resilience
• The power of being positive 
• Wanting children to believe in themselves
• Teaching children how to say no
• Why you attitude is very important 
• The power of having a growth mindset 
• How to deal with negative thoughts
• Planting seeds in young minds
• Having people believe in you
• The pressure on girls to look/act a certain way
• Needing the help and support from others
• Wanting to educate other coaches
• Being inspired by her mum
• Being 1 of 6 children
• How her parents support her dream
• Working with Nike - Made to Play Campaign
• Creating a play book for coaches to use to help them work with girls who wear a hijab 
• Starting a Youtube Channel 
• The importance of smiling and having fun
• “Your start says nothing about your finish”
• "If you have a dream and you want to achieve your dream, then you need to work for it and believe in it” 

• Who is Katie
• Why she raises money for clear drinking water
• Helping over 25,000 people
• The importance of service and giving back
• Studying environmental science
• Growing up around the Great Lakes
• Getting into swimming at young age
• Where her love of adventure comes from
• Keeping up with her 2 older brothers
• Role models
• Doing her first marathon at 18
• Wanting to do an ironman
• Not being competitive at school and doing the easiest gym class possible
• Setting a target to run 1 mile
• Joining the Coastguard in 2018
• Why running ultras is one of the toughest challenges
• Finding her limit….
• Doing endurance for fun
• Strategy for the 138 mile run across Maine
• Race your own race and be in tune with your body
• Fuelling her body during endurance challenges
• Getting her calories in via liquids
• Using Tailwind Nutrition 
• Taking a supplement called Sports Legs 
• Needing to get enough sodium in
• You’re going to hurt
• The mental challenges during the race
• Hating the first 5 miles
• Why it gets easier the longer you go
• Feeling best at 50/60 miles
• Getting into a flow state and moving on autopilot
• Needing to block out the pain
• Not wanting to do permanent damage
• Pain that is an injury and pain which is muscle fatigue
• Dealing with an Edema (swelling of the hands and/or feet)
• Rhabdo (Rhabdomyolysis) - Myoglobin is released from the muscles when they break down and is excreted into the urine. This can cause a red or cola colour of the urine.
• Book: Just Keep Rowing: Lessons from the Atlantic Ocean by the Youngest Person to Row It Alone  
• Being a different person after the Atlantic Row
• Having a strong enough why - you can figure out the how
• Dealing with setbacks and the low moments
• When the easy option is to quit
• Not wanting to live a lifetime of regret
• Finals words of advice and why it’s ok to feel afraid
• Why fears are welcomed

• Being born in Hong Kong 
• Being rebellious as a teenager and dropping out of sports
• Moving back to Hong Kong in 2012 
• Wanting to save money by cycling to work 
• Cycling in Hong Kong as a commuter
• Getting comfortable with the traffic
• Joining sports clubs to make friends
• Why the trails are concrete
• Getting introduced to trail running
• Changing from cycling to running
• Her first time running
• Being in so much pain, not being able to walk the next day
• Running her first 24k race
• Getting dressed up for races
• Being a smoker
• Loving the freedom of running
• Having the time to reflect on her life
• 2016 - her first 50k race
• Coming in last place and it taking over 12hrs
• Returning 3 years later and coming in 2nd place
• What changed over the 3 years
• Quitting smoking
• Running her first 100k
• Happy food
• Recovery after a big race
• Being humbled by a challenging 100k race which took over 24hrs
• Dealing with heatstroke in her first year of running
• Having 3 goals with regards to a finish time
• Working with a running coach in 2019
• What a typical training week looks like
• Getting up at 5/5.30 am to go training
• Running the same route over and over again
• Hating running downhill
• Managing the fear of running downhill
• Learning house dance
• The 9 Dragons Ultra Race HK 
• Being inspired by Magdalena Lewy-Boulet 
• How to follow Jcy online
• Final words of advice for other women who want to get into trail running
• Go out and enjoy the nature!

• Who is Nahla
• Her past adventures 
• Her most recent challenge in 2020
• The start of 2020 
• Making changes and adapting to a new plan
• Trying to find a new route in the UK
• Why connection is more important than money 
• Having to think outside the box
• How the new kindness challenge idea came about
• Figuring out the logistics of the journey 
• Making changes while out on the road
• Cycling 50 miles per day over 4 months
• Not having to have it perfect before the start
• What an ElliptiGO bike is
• Riding it for the first time
• Needing to practice!
• Going up hill on an ElliptiGO
• Emma Timmis - Riding an ElliptioGo across Australia
• Starting the challenge on 1st August 2020
• Training and getting fit for the challenge
• How it worked day to day
• Having a support vehicle to start with 
• Going solo
• Being supported by Hilton Hotels
• Organising accommodation as she went along
• Dealing with stress during a challenge
• “Well it is what it is” and needing to deal with it
• Breathing properly 
• Going back to her purpose and her reason why
• Getting on a vitamin plan to boost her health and wellbeing
• Show your support by doing an act of kindness for a stranger
• The power of kindness and the importance of kindness in society 
• Saying hello and connecting with people
• The message of Sunshine People
• Free Listening by Urban Confessional
• The Crisp Packet Project - https://crisppacketproject.com 
• Starting a podcast! The Culture of Kindness Podcast by Nahla Summers (New episodes every week on a Sunday) 
• Writing a new book! The Accidental Adventurer - Live in November 2021
• Social media being used for the best
• Kindness Day UK - November 13th 
• Advice for being kind to yourself
• Planning the next challenge - A World First…..

• Loving the outdoors
• Spending her summers outside
• Her dreams as a little girl
• Being a collector of skills and hobbies
• Her route to climbing 
• Going to university and finding climbing
• Studying English Literature 
• Trying to figure out what to do next
• Being a tomboy and exploring her feminine side
• The climbing culture in India
• What it’s like being a woman climber in India
• Connecting with other women in the sport
• The growth of climbing gyms in the last 5 years
• Arranging an all women’s climbing meet up which is now an annual event
• Feeling strong and powerful from climbing
• Planning to climb Mt. Denali
• Dealing with self doubt
• Having a shoulder injury and needing surgery
• Pioneering ice climbing in India
• The journey on becoming a professional guide
• Focusing on quality and skill development
• Her first expedition to a 6,000m peak
• Having the ability to push herself physically 
• Being able to handle the suffering
• Looking for new opportunities
• Wanting to become a well rounded climber
• Trying to get sponsored projects 
• Spending 5 winters creating an ice climbing community
• Wanting more people to try ice climbing
• Creating a new niche in climbing 
• Why complaining doesn’t do anything - you have to take action
• Future dreams for climbing
• Being inspired by other women
• Final words of advice for women who want to get into climbing and the outdoors
• Why you should do the things that scare you
• How overcoming fear can be empowering

• Who is Emma
• Her passion for the outdoors and adventure 
• Being into her cycling
• Focusing on having fun
• Her relationship to the outdoors
• Being afraid of heights at a young age
• Going on family adventures
• Exploring more of Wales on mountain bikes
• Growing up in Bristol and being able to escape the city
• Being inspired by her parents
• Making the transition to solo adventures and expeditions
• Being more into team sports such as hockey and ultimate frisbee 
• Pushing her limits and building resilience
• Making decisions for herself
• Heading to Wales to bike pack for the first time
• Concerns before the trip
• Feeling confident and prepared on the bike
• Why it was a case of getting on and doing it
• Why you should go on a solo adventure
• Trusting in her own capabilities
• The stories we tell ourselves
• Being scared?
• Feeling safe while on the road
• How the book came about and the process of writing it. 
• Having local adventures and creating new memories 
• The type of routes included in the book
• Getting practical advice
• Sleep systems for Bikepacking
• clothing layers
• Food while on the bike
• GPS and route planning 
• Will there be a second book?
• Why you don’t need to suffer on adventures
• Future adventure dreams
• Final words of advice to encourage you to get on your bike
• Look at the barriers that are holding you back
• Don’t apologies for being a beginner
• “You are so much more capable than you think you are”
• Roll with the bikepacking and see where it will take you

• Who is Vera and what she does
• Thinking of herself as a new adventurer 
• Starting to discover adventure
• Being a member of Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC) 
• Working to increase the representation of Black Women in adventure and engineering
• Growing up in Malawi 
• Not doing sports or physical activity after her gap year
• Coming to the UK for University 
• Moving to Cardiff for a Graduate Job
• Joining a work football team
• Doing a charity tandem cycle ride with her boyfriend (became future husband)
• Starting to cycle commute to work 
• Joining a cycling club and buying her first bike
• What to do if things go wrong
• The practical steps taken to overcome worries and fears
• Wanting to do a self supported race
• Looking for a new challenge before her 30th birthday
• Setting up her instagram account @pedalling.to.and.fro
• Learning about the Ultra Distance Scholarship 
• The brilliant start to 2021
• Training and planning for the race
• Having 6 months to go from zero to hero
• Being coached by Alison Wood https://www.veloqi.cc 
• Figuring out wild camping and sleeping outside
• Food and nutrition and fuelling for the race 
• Developing a stomach of steel
• Working with a sports psychologist 
• Dealing with negative self talk
• The start of the race
• Celtic or Celtic!
• Meeting Jenny Graham at the start
• Dealing with the rain and the challenge of getting out of the car
• Wanting to complete the race in 10 days and make the finishing party
• Getting warm, getting dry and eating food before making a decision
• Deciding to try
• Listening to your body and making the right decisions at the right time
• Magical moments from the race
• The amazing supporters and dot watchers
• Knowing by day 7 that she would be able to make it to the finish line
• “You’ve not come so far, to only come so far”
• Getting to the finish line and having mixed emotions
• Not reaching her limits and maybe there is more
• Adventure blues?
• Booking in another race ASAP
• Recovery afterwards
• How her body adapted during the race
• Documenting the ups and downs of her cycling journey 
• Final words of advice for other women 
• The power of setting a deadline and why you should sign up for something
• Can’t or won’t?

• Who is Angie
• Living in British Columbia, Canada
• Being a writer since 2006
• What Angie was like as a child
• Loving books from a young age
• Being a competitive swimmer and swimming for 4 hrs a day
• Learning the lesson of showing up every day 
• Setting an early alarm…
• Balancing swimming with everything else as a teenager
• Being in a serious car crash at 29
• The impact of that experience 
• Knowing it would be better to try and fail rather than never try
• Processing the aftermath of the crash 
• Journaling throughout her life
• Book - Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life By Natalie Goldberg 
• Book - The Artist Way By Julia Cameron  
• Writing down her goals
• How the wilderness played a part in her life
• Having a negative experience with social media
• The power of nature
• New Book - This One Wild Life
• Feeling guilty as a mum
• Her mother daughter relationships
• Her relationship with her daughter 
• The difference between a child who is introverted and a child who has social anxiety 
• How motherhood changed her life
• Having to make choices
• Asking herself what kind of mother does she want to be
• Being available for her kids
• Girls, confidence and social media
• Screen time for children
• The benefits of doing hard things
• Climbing a peak a week and how the goal changed
• The challenges of hiking with a child
• Learning from each other
• Learning how to be a leader and how to be confident in nature
• Where does her drive and ambition come from
• Doing a solo 12hr challenge
• Thinking about the car accident
• Reminding herself that life is a gift
• Being present on social media
• Listening to her body while using social media
• Stop doom scrolling and put the phone down
• Final words of advice for other women 
• Why there is always time for a 30 min walk outside

• Her full time job as a sports psychologist
• Having a focus on women empowerment
• Being a confident and active person
• Loving sports and being involved in multiple activities
• Doing her first degree in physical education
• Going to Canada to do a Masters in Psychology 
• Creating the MEPSS Concept
• Wanting to create a balanced human being
• Needing to put the concept into practice
• Being a mental training coach in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia
• Starting work as a lecturer
• Needing to go somewhere extreme to challenge her limits
• Coping with the cold
• Needed to put a plan in place in order to achieve this dream
• Needing to learn new skills for dealing with the cold
• Training 5hrs each day - both weights and cardio
• Needing to build her endurance
• Pulling tyres at night when it was cooler
• Doing her research 
• Going to Norway for training
• 2004 South Pole Expedition
• 1,127km in 22 days - from South Pole back to base camp
• Being a Muslim women in Antarctica
• Food and nutrition in a cold extreme environment
• Dealing with the cold
• The biggest challenge she faced while on expedition
• Why the North Pole was the most challenging expedition
• Dealing with frostbite on her face
• Telling her mum about her goals
• Needed to ask for a sabbatical from work
• Starting with Google 
• Creating a proposal with all the information 
• Working to inspire young girls and women
• Creating a time capsule
• Doing a talent search all over Malaysia
• Being called the “Ice Queen”
• Looking for 5 key qualities 
• Looking for good human beings
• Getting the team together to do the last degree in Antarctica
• Planning her online motivation program

• Who is Jessica and what she does
• Being sporty at school and playing Lacrosse for Wales
• Being good at running, but putting too much pressure on herself
• Deciding to flee London and heading to Africa
• Partying, getting drunk and trying to snog boys!
• Finding regular work with the Evening Standard
• Celebrity parties and finding out the gossip
• Keeping costs down and running everywhere
• Running a Marathon in Kenya on a nature reserve
• Finding what she wanted to do
• Making the decision to move to Nairobi and why it was easy 
• Feeling lost after university 
• Not knowing many people at first
• Having savings and making editor connections before leaving
• Being enthusiastic and very determined
• Cycling 5,000+ miles across Africa for TUSK 
• The route through Africa
• Missing female companionship during the cycle ride
• Teaming up with Centre Point 
• Being under pressure to arrive at places
• Needing more downtime
• Spending 4 months on the road - cycled for 5/7 days visit a place and then carry on
• Meeting her husband on a trip to Somali 
• How her priorities changed
• Making the change to having babies and getting married
• Continuing to write and share stories
• Having her first baby and not being prepared
• Dealing with the loss of physical activity 
• Using running to stay sane
• Going for a swim in the River Dee in November
• Starting to feel more like herself again
• Balancing work and babies
• Focusing on your own physical and mental recovery
• Taking 2 years to feel strong again
• Giving women better information 
• Using words like vagina
• Not prioritising herself enough 
• Follow Kari Bo for Pelvic Floor Exercises
• Learning how to retrain the bladder
• All the stuff you shouldn’t do after having a baby
• Giving women the information they need to make informed choices
• Antony Lo 
• Supporting women with prolapse
• Cold water therapy and dipping in the River Dee 
• Final words of advice for women who have just given birth

• What Dr. Sarita Robinson does
• What her childhood years were like
• Being the daughter of 2 mental health nurses
• Struggling throughout her school years and feeling left behind
• Being diagnosed at 17 with dyslexia 
• Enjoying the more individual sports 
• Developing her own coping strategies
• Doing Psychology as an A’Level
• Going onto university 
• Being inspired by The Poseidon Adventure Movie
• Why some people are more likely to survive than others 
• The importance of having an optimistic outlook
• Fight - Flight - Freeze - How we respond to threats
• Being in a survival situation
• Spending 5 years on her PHD on Survival Psychology
• Being in a hotel fire in Turkey
• Needing to keep your brain in a good place - especially in longer term survival situations 
• CPU - Central Processing Unit of the brain
• Why people do unusual things during a life threatening situation 
• Why the brain falls back on pre-learned behaviours 
• Training for emergency situations
• The power of prepping and preparing for emergencies 
• Why trainings is important - “skills & drills”
• How training boosts your confidence and in turn your optimism 
• The power of “What If”
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and  Post Traumatic Growth (PTG)
• Practical steps to building resilience 
• The importance of building your body - exercise, sleep, hydration, nutrition
• The connection between the body and the mind
• Enhancing your optimistic thinking
• Moving away from learned helplessness 
• The power of social support and social networks 
• What toxic positivity is and devaluating what someone else is going through
• The poison of resilience and why resilience is not always the answer
• Why the resilient thing ca n be to walk away 
• Coping with the pandemic and how 2020 was
• Dr John Leach - Senior Research Fellow in survival psychology. Book: Survival Psychology (1994)
• Is there a difference between men/women gender (social construct) / sex (biological) in survival 
• Why more girls and women died during the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami 
• Why preparation is everything  

• Meeting Abbie 
• The goal of Spend more time in the Wild
• Sharing more bout her mental health journey and dealing with chronic pain
• Wanting to change lives
• Introducing Little Bobby (the dog!)
• Spending time in the outdoors when she was growing up
• Being passionate about the natural world
• Getting into film making at 13
• What palm oil is and why she wants to raise awareness about it
• Her mission to get palm oil labelled on products (which was made the law in the EU in 2015)
• Raising awareness about the damage being done by palm oil
• Producing her first film and speaking in the EU Parliament 
• Figuring out her purpose and being propelled forward
• Going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro after her A’Levels
• Struggling with her mental health and being in a dark space
• Training up as a Personal Trainer and identifying a passion for working with people
• Picking up the camera again in 2018
• Encouraging people to own who they are and their stories 
• Learning new language around mental health 
• Using the outdoors to tap into the best version of herself
• “I am not my mental health but it is a part of me”
• Creating “Spend More Time in The Wild” in 2016
• Wanting to backpack all of the UK’s National Trails
• Getting 3 National Trails in and having a realisation
• Identifying that part of her suffering was coming from lack of connection
• There has to be more than just nature
• Talking to the camera about how she was feeling 
• Being mentally unwell and needing to pull out of the National Trails Challenge
• Finding it hard to look back and struggling to remember what happened
• Not being able to connect memories to reality 
• Going backpacking with her mum
• 2017 - starting the year  being in a dark, depressive state
• 2018 - Having a shift in her energy and moving to part time work at the gym 
• 2018 was when WILD really happened 
• Struggling with her mental health everyday
• Learning to cope and finding her own ways of working with it
• Starting a WILD community challenge during Covid
• 2020 The year of community and connection
• Doing a Million Miles for Mind
• Forest for Hope 
• Getting up to speed of where Abbie is now
• Using the tools that she’s learnt
• Why mental health is not a weakness
• An exciting new cycling project!
• Deciding to cycle JOGLE via each National Park and walking to the highest point in each park
• A 2,000+miles journey to highlight the importance of getting outside
• Starting in September and planning to cycle for approx 50 days
• Being supported by Anna while on the road
• Wanting to go on a solo polar expedition
• Spring 2022 - A solo unsupported expedition across Greenland 
• Wanting to discover her human potential 
• Dealing with chronic pain from nerve damage in her shoulder
• Always being in pain
• You can’t apologise for who you are
• Turning the dark and difficult into something which manifests meaning and purpose
• Seeking help and trying to figure it out
• Planning for the bigger trips
• Having all the ideas!!!
• Having a friend, Craig do the project management for the JOGLE trip
• Number crunching, training and resting
• Paying for JOGLE and wanting to keep the costs down
• Meeting Anna at the beginning of 2020
• The Abbie & Anna Show 
• Final words of advice to encourage you to spend more time in the wild

• Who is Adya
• Living in the Wirral, North West of England
• Falling in love with waterspouts
• Being a qualified Kayaking and Canoe Coach
• Being involved in getting more women in kayaking and canoeing
• Focusing on happiness and finding her joy
• Getting into water-sports while working in Stockholm in 2014
• Being convinced to give it a try
• Starting to go on weekly trips
• Working as a research scientist
• Deciding to make a change from research into publishing 
• Self sabotage…
• The process of getting qualified in kayaking and canoeing
• Not being supported by the club, needing to find her own opportunities and struggling with the process
• Not being able to find a mentor and having to figure it out for herself
• Making a commitment to attend the club on a regular basis 
• Needing to make a persistent effort
• The difference between kayaking and canoeing
• Loving canoeing
• Heading out in winter….
• Keeping warm while being out on the water
• Group multi-day trips and making the transition from a 2hr journey during the day to an overnight trip
• Needing to build up stamina for longer trips
• 5 day kayaking trip in Greece going on a multi-island adventure 
• Not liking going to the gym and feeling intimidated
• Living on the Wirral and what the watersports are like 
• Getting into SUPs in summer 2019
• Getting her own SUP board
• Paddling in the Albert Docks, Liverpool
• Dealing with lockdown and following the stay at home message
• Missing friends and company on the water and noticing a skills decline
• Being a British Canoeing #ShePaddles Club Champion - what it is and what’s involved
• Wanting to improve things at the club level
• Planet Patrol (previously Plastic Patrol)
• Not having many role models in the sport
• Being inspired by Jo Moseley 
• Discrimination and inclusion: where is the line blog post 
• Advice for women who want to get into watersports
• Why you should join a club and/or sign up for lessons
• Future kayaking and canoeing dreams
• Liking doing local adventures 
• Advice for planning a local day trip
• Safety while out on the water
• Going out to sea - Personal Locator Beacon 
• App - Paddler Loggers 
• Magical memories from being out of the water
• Why you should take a leap of faith

• Living in Exmoor with her son and partner
• Her passion and love for adventure
• Wanting to rebrand adventure
• Speaking to Belinda on the Tough Girl Podcast in July 2016
• The big changes over the past few years..
• Having a baby and finding a different way of living
• Lockdown and having the chance to stop
• Finishing her book after 7 years of researching and writing
• How having a baby has impacted her views on adventure 
• Dealing with sleep deprivation and how her life has changed since
• Having a new opportunity to live differently 
• Being in survival mode for the first few months and years
• Wanting to take her son on adventures
• Taking her son, Jackson on a Kayak 
• How adventure changed her at 18 and impacted on other areas of her life
• Why adventure is so essential for us
• Sharing stories of transformation  
• Wanting to understand the WHY
• Wanting to effect public policy 
• The Adventure Effect
• Why adventure matters 
• The story of Alice 
• The multiple benefits of adventure 
• How adventure can change your life
• What else are we able to do…
• Stretching and growing as people
• The story of Sam
• Surfing as Therapy
• The Wave Project  
• The power of small adventures 
• The Adventure Mind Conference held in Feb 2020 - to explore the benefits of adventure on well-being
• How adventure can be implemented in societies and our everyday lives
• How adventures helps us to be the best we can be
• Wanting to see adventure and outdoor education back in schools
• Wanting to see more Doctors prescribing adventure 
• How to connect with Belinda and get copies of her new book
• Hoping to go on a big family adventure to Canada

• Promote diversity within outdoor spaces & improve access for those lacking ability, representation, or opportunity 
• Increase the physical & mental well-being of our participants 
• Normalise the visibility of Black & Brown faces within outdoor activities 
• Support participates to eradicate any fears & stigmas associated with the outdoors 
• Provide fun & therapeutic experiences in nature 
• Create communities of outdoor enthusiasts & equip them with the skills and knowledge required for outdoor activities to become a recreational part of their lives 
• Create more environmentally friendly communities 
• Through outdoor activities create spaces to build healthier, caring, and open-minded communities.   

• Founder of Steppers UK
• What Steppers UK does
• Working with young people as a youth worker
• Not having much experience with the outdoors when growing up 
• Finding out that she likes spending time in the outdoors 
• Being sporty and enjoying basketball
• Climbing her first mountain and her first WOW moment
• Taking the next steps to spend more time in the outdoors
• Finding a love for Reggae music 
• Spending time as a volunteer in Jamaica and Malawi 
• Working with young people as a youth worker
• Encouraging teenagers to step outside their comfort zone
• Launching Steppers UK in 2020
• Leading walks for Black Girls Hike
• Black Lives Matter Movement
• Where the Steppers name comes from 
• Sharing the walks via social media
• Starting her own personal challenge 
• Being filled with joy from going on these walks
• Walking as a solo woman
• Wanting to be present while out on walks
• Experiences the benefits from walking and spending time outside
• Gear for beginners
• What can you do with what you’ve got
• What can you do with normal grip trainers
• Investing in gear when you find out if you like the outdoors or not
• Role models in the outdoors
• Learning about the outdoor industry
• Future plans and dreams for Steppers UK
• Wanting to encourage young people to use nature as therapy
• Dreaming on a mini bus 
• The power of going on one walk
• Making the outdoors fun
• Funding of walks and Steppers UK
• Frequency of walks
• Wanting to get qualifications in the outdoors
• Taking on a new challenge to visit all 46 Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England & Wales
• The challenge of leading groups 
• Limiting the groups to around 20 people 
• The Nature Fix Project 
• How to connect with Cherelle and Steppers UK
• Top tips and advice
• The benefits of starting small
• “Don’t underestimate the power of nature, and nature is truly healing, and it's freedom”

• Who is Ursula? 
• Being based back in mid wales with her brother
• Spending time with family and meeting her new nephew
• Being ready to stop walking
• Missing the feeling of open outdoor space
• First speaking with Ursula in May 2020
• Making the decision to continue on with her journey 
• Thinking short time and focusing on where to stay 
• Going through lockdowns in France and Spain
• Walking the HRP - Pyrenean Haute Route 
• Not being able to access indoor space due to restrictions
• Having to make the decision between going into France or Spain
• Making the decision to enter Spain to continue her journey to Santiago 
• The egotism of adventuring 
• Spending Christmas in Pamplona with 2 takeaway pizzas and movies
• Being accepted and welcomed while walking on the camino
• Only seeing a few other walkers
• Making connections and friends on the Camino
• Reaching Santiago and feeling sad
• 2021 - A Holy Year on the Camino 
• Processing her feeling of the journey 
• Reaching Finisterre and seeing the sea
• Going bed for 9 day rest and feeling broken 
• Losing all her energy and needing time to recover
• Climbing a spiritual/holy mountain 
• Knowing it was time to get back walking
• Not allowing herself to relax
• Why it is about the journey 
• Making the transition from walker to writer
• Getting organised and the first step with writing
• Getting home and what the final section of the journey was like
• Deciding to do a mini challenge in January 2022
• Final words of advice and key lessons from this challenge/experience.

• Who is Nadhira
• Coming from a big family
• Not being that active when she was younger
• Deciding to climb Mt. Everest in 2017
• Telling the youth to try new thing and to be open minded for new experiences
• Having 9 brothers and 6 sisters
• Not having children
• Having 32 nieces and 28 nephews
• How her family have accepted her hiking and supported her
• Where her idea to climb Mt. Everest came from
• Why it was her destiny to climb Mt. Everest
• Meeting Khalid al-Siyabi, the first man from Oman to climb Mt. Everest
• Keeping her dream a secret from her friends and family 
• Being coached by Khalid al-Siyabi and starting to hike and climb in Oman
• Paying for Mt. Everest and managing to get half of the trip sponsored
• Meeting the Ambassador of Nepal
• Deciding to invest in herself 
• When her family and friends found out 
• Not caring what other people think
• Dealing with the negativity and the risks
• Knowing that her mum was praying for her on the mountain
• What happened during 2017 and 2019
• Making her training the number 1 priority 
• Hating running but knowing she needed to for her stamina
• Running 400K and doing the UTMB Oman 
• Learning more about her body and figuring out her nutrition and hydration
• The mountains in Oman 
• Getting to Everest Base Camp in 2019 and not knowing anyone else
• Being very quiet and keeping to herself at the start
• Living there for 50 days
• Putting herself first and being her own best friend
• The mental side of the challenge and pushing herself hard
• Learning that her coach and mentor Khalid al-Siyabi died while at base camp
• The final push to the summit and making her dreams come true
• Climbing Ama Dablam, in Nepal, (6,812 metres /22,349 ft)
• Working with young people to inspire them
• Final words of advice 
• Why you have to work hard to achieve your dreams

• Leading a double life of adventure and engineering
• Feeling as though she’d missed out on adventuring 
• Getting into adventure in her mid thirties
• What changed in her mid thirties 
• Growing up in Cumbria
• Starting to meet up with a friend in the Peak District
• How Rando Girls came about
• What Rando Girl means…
• Developing her outdoor skills from navigation to map reading
• How discovering the Tough Girl Podcast helped
• Getting into climbing and joining the Chester Mountaineering Club 
• Enjoying the learning process
• Hill and Moorland Leader Qualification  
• How long it took to get the qualification
• Balancing the training, gaining the knowledge and having a life!
• The dream to go to Svalbard, Norway
• A cold adventure! North, South or going High
• 42 - “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.”
• Being interested in human powered adventures
• Being inspired by Adelaide Goodeve
• Training expedition to Svalbard with Newland Expeditions
• Instructor - Helen Turton
• Having everything cancelled because of Covid
• Fingers crossed that it will go ahead in 2022
• Being in the proper cold and learning how to ski
• Approach to fitness and keeping motivated during local lockdown
• The Cheshire Challenge - to walk all 25 long distance paths in Cheshire totalling 1,500km
• The The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) 
• The 12hr Challenge (Inspired by Rae Red - Tough Girl Tribe)
• The Wirral Circular Trail 
• Wanting to hit 42km…. in 12hrs!
• The toughest moment on the 12hr challenge
• Not wanting to get injured
• Having fun on the challenge 
• Final push….. Final push!!!
• Roller skiing on Skikes 
• Tyre pulling with Evil Edna…
• Final words of advice

• Not using a surname
• Living in Delhi and working as a member of the ground staff at the Delhi International Airport for 10 years
• Leaving her job in 2018
• Wanting to make a change in her life
• How her job was affecting her health
• Getting into running in 2017
• Taking part in marathons and wanting to explore more places
• Running her first ultra marathon 52km
• Running The Golden Triangle which connects 3 main cities of India (Delhi, Agra and Jaipur)
• 2018 - “Run for Humanity and Run for Peace” - spreading good vibes and positivity
• Not coming from a sports background
• Deciding to run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 2019 in 87 days
• Having to choose between her job and running - choosing running!
• Not being financially strong and starting crowd funding
• Defining HOPE - (Humanity, Oneness, Peace, & Equality)
• 2021 - Running the Indian Golden Quadrilateral Road
  (6000 km in 110 days, 23 hours)
• Why running is like meditation
• Running as a woman in India 
• Getting lots of support from the local people 
• Being very positive
• Being inspired by her parents
• Being inspired by Michelle Kakade who ran the Golden Quadrilateral in 194 days 
• Logistics of The Great Indian Triangle Run
• Running on a small budget 
• How her body coped with running 45km everyday
• Feeling tired and exhausted
• Not having a coach and not being strong
• Dealing with an IT Band injury
• Doing yoga and meditation and working on having a positive mind
• Paying for her running and lifestyle
• Struggling to get sponsorship and dealing with financial problems
• Having 6 months to train for the Kashmir to Kanyakumari run (4,000km)
• People helped by the people while on the road
• Dealing with a collapsed lung and ending up in the hospital for 5 days
• Not being able to stand up
• Dealing with bad traffic, pollution and construction works
• Why it was more than running and a world record
• Her mission and message of HOPE - (Humanity, Oneness, Peace, & Equality)
• Wanting to contribute to her country 
• Nutrition and not following a proper diet while on the run
• Eating the local food and taking protein powder, and BCAA during expeditions
• Running in the heat and the humidity of India
• Feeling happy with her life and the decisions she’s made
• Planning a big project for 2023/2024 - Running around the world and planning the route
• Hell Race - running 500 km in 5 days at elevation
• Needing to acclimatise her body and spend time in the mountains
• Being active on social media
• Filming all of her runs and sharing them on Youtube
• Final worlds of advice to motivate and inspire you
• The power of believing in yourself

Vici is a University administrator who finds her happy place in a pair of running shoes. She's been running for over 10 years, sparked by the dream to join the thousands of people at the start line of the London Marathon. She finally got her London medal in 2016 and has been inspired to push her limits even further with ultra distances and tackling trail in the hills and glens of Scotland.

Vici wants to inspire the everyday woman to lace up and get out the door to feel those endorphins and appreciate how incredible the human body is, and how a strong mind can help you to unlock your potential.

On Vici's office wall, you'll find countless race numbers and medals to remind her of the many happy memories she's made whilst both chasing personal bests and just having a good time, enjoying the scenery.

As well as running, Vici has also walked the West Highland Way (with her husband) and the Great Glen Way (solo) and is planning an epic adventure exploring some of Scotland's most beautiful islands.

Vici is learning that it's totally okay to give time to self-care, and putting herself first.

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.

Show notes

• Living in Glasgow and turning 30!
• Running for 10+ years
• Chasing personal bests and running for fun
• Life before pre-lockdown
• Walking the West Highland Way and the Great Glenn Way
• Growing up in Yorkshire and not being sporty
• Starting to want to explore more of the world
• Being inspired by the Olympics and runners in the London Marathon
• Training for the London Marathon 
• Race to the Castle 
• Wanting to do a new running adventure and deciding on a 100K/62 miles 
• Telling friends and family about her goals
• Inspiring her friends to get into running
• Having an event to help with motivation
• Her passion and love for running
• Working with running coach Jen Scotney
• Making the transition from running a marathon to an ultra marathon
• Tailoring run training to her menstrual cycle and heart rate
• Making the transition from running a marathon to an ultra marathon
• The benefits of going down the coach route
• What a typical training week looked like
• Recovery after runs
• The mental side of the challenge
• Approaching each run as a good day out
• Taking it one checkpoint at a time
• Breaking the challenge down 
• Having a plan on what to do at each checkpoint
• What to do when you don’t feel like running
• Being inspired by Sophie Radcliffe
• Feeling tired during taper time
• Thoughts on how the race will go
• Thinking about the finish line 
• Having a mantra!
• “I am strong - I can do this”

• Arriving at the start line at 8.30am
• Going off 1 by 1 and having to get in the queue….
• Wanting to just start the race
• Feeling relief once starting
• Starting out really well
• Dealing with a lot of hills at the start
• What the terrain was like
• Breaking the race down into the checkpoints
• Having a plan for the checkpoints
• Counting up and down from 20
• Starting to get hard at the 40km mark
• Dealing with rubbish weather, mud and bottle necks at styles
• Having an internal mental battle 
• Not drinking enough water and eating too many cereal bars….
• Having positive moments in the dark moments
• Having stomach problems 
• Going past 26.2 miles
• Feeling super strong and amazing
• Reaching the half way point
• Deciding to pull out of the race
• Feeling broken
• 14k to the next checkpoint
• Feeling heartbroken
• Needing to make a decision which was right for me
• Process the DNF
• Feeling proud of the training that’s been done
• Returning the kit
• Why time is a great healer
• Running 57.7 km
• Advice for women who have a fear of failure
• Why failure is not a dirty word
• Using a What If List
• Anna McNuff - Ted Talk - What if I Fail? 
• Advice for women who want to get into ultra running
• Choosing a challenge that makes your heart sing
• Going public with her goal and the lessons learned
• The Dramathon - Running for Whiskey!!
• Future plans and races 
• Final words of advice - “Do more of what makes you happy”

Social Media

Blog: vicidoesstuff.blogspot.com

Instagram: @vicidoesstuff

Twitter: @vicidoesstuff