Preet in her own words:
“I’ve always been ambitious and enjoyed pushing my boundaries. I had limited knowledge of polar travel when I decided I wanted to do a solo Antarctic expedition.
I wanted to inspire people to believe in themselves. Nobody starts as an expert, everybody starts somewhere, you learn as you go and the more you learn, the closer it brings you to your goal. I started on google reading about polar expeditions and now I’ve completed training and expedition in Norway and Greenland, ready for my next step to Antarctica.
I’m an Army Physiotherapist and I love adventure and finding new ways to push my limits.
After playing tennis full time as a teenager training in the Czech Republic, I moved back to England at 19 to pursue a different path and to gain my degree in Physiotherapy. This will remain one of my biggest achievements as I came back to the UK with minimal GCSEs and no A-levels.
I completed my first half marathon at the age of 20, this progressed to ultra marathons and I’m now training for a 700 mile solo, unsupported expedition in Antartica.
This expedition will make me the first Asian female to complete a solo journey on the continent.
Hopefully it will inspire so many other people, it aims to inspire future generations in achieving whatever they desire and pushing boundaries. It is a solo expedition but i want to bring as many people on the journey with me as possible.”
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Show notes
- Who is Preet?
- Seeing an advert for the army and deciding to sign up
- Playing professional tennis from 14 years old
- Not enjoying tennis anymore and deciding to leave the sport
- Feeling as though she was behind all her peers at 19
- Making the decision to go to university
- Getting advice from a variety of different people
- Female role models
- Not feeling very academic
- Wanting to inspire her 9 yr old niece
- Her progression in running from a half marathon to ultra marathons
- Doing a 30hr endurance event
- Spending time in South America
- Doing Marathon des Sables
- Mental resilience and mental grit
- Focusing on what she can control
- Talking to friends
- The power of writing things down
- Where the dream of going to Antarctica came from
- Starting with the research, getting on google and reading blogs
- Connecting with Louis Rudd MBE (record-breaking polar adventurer)
- Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions
- Needing to gain more winter experience
- Deciding to book a trip to Iceland to get glacier experience
- Booking onto a polar training course
- Money and paying for trips
- Asking people for help
- Team Army
- Getting her first sponsor
- Dealing with cultural norms and pressures of expectation
- Being labeled a rebel
- When are you getting married?
- The power of eduction
- Wanting to break down barriers
- Following a physical training plan and working with a coach
- Being sensible with her training and not wanting to peak too soon
- Final words of advice to encourage you to step outside your comfort zone
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