Julie and Andy Russell. Kristen's parents! On raising kids, finding passion in outdoor activities, staying young.

05/15/22 • 87 min

Okay, so every episode is really special to us, but this one is particularly special for Kristen as there will be people who know these two based on their first and last names, but Kristen knows them as "Mom & Dad". This episode is for all the mums and dads out there with a passion to fill, and kids to raise. Being biased slightly, but would say that Andy and Julie are pretty amazing parents, and they even noted, "...there is no manual on this" and when raising kids, sometimes you just have to "...pick them up and run with it."

Both growing up in a similar area in the San Francisco Bay Area, Andy and Julie meeting each other young, have had quite some adventures together! From throwing the boat on the water on any given weekday to waterski, to driving up the mountains for a ski trip, Andy and Julie had it pretty sweet, and then the best thing ever came along - Kristen! (Can you tell who wrote this...?) We chatted with these two about raising kids as active parents and negotiating when they would fit activities in, and when to bring the kids along (even if it meant some kicking and screaming).

Now finding "home" again in the mountains, Andy and Julie live at the base of Mt Rose outside of Reno, Nevada as the kids have all gone off on their own adventures, these two have not slowed down by any means. Still out ski touring, mountain biking, running, hiking, golfing, and any other activity a friend invites them to - we get into it all in this episode! We talked about longevity in the athletic and adventure space, and competing with their own self over others.

These two are an inspiration to both Kristen and Sarah, and we hope that you draw as much insight as we did from the experiences that these two share together. As a particularly proud daughter, Kristen is extremely honored to bring you this episode.

In true adventure fashion, if you want to find these two on socials, the best place to look them up is their Strava accounts! : Andy Russell, and Julie Russell

As we mention in the introduction, Andy was not feeling well so Sarah recorded over Zoom, but we hope it does not draw away from the great conversation. Thanks as always for tuning in!

If you are keen to help keep the lights on for this podcast, you can support us on Patreon, or you can leave a review on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on like Apple or Spotify! Thank you for the continued support from all of our listeners and patrons - we love and appreciate you all! You are amazing!!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In true adventure fashion, if you want to find these two on socials, the best place to look them up is their Strava accounts! : Andy Russell, and Julie Russell

As we mention in the introduction, Andy was not feeling well so Sarah recorded over Zoom, but we hope it does not draw away from the great conversation. Thanks as always for tuning in!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

undefined - Sol Kamal. Turning everyday adventures into a full time career of kayaking, mountain biking, abseiling, quad biking, outdoor education, and more!

Sol Kamal. Turning everyday adventures into a full time career of kayaking, mountain biking, abseiling, quad biking, outdoor education, and more!

Welcome back for Episode 25! If you've ever been slightly curious about what it might be like to work as an outdoor guide and educator, we know you'll love this conversation. We are so pleased to present an amazing everyday adventurer, who has turned his passions into his career - Sol Kamal. Sarah and Sol have known each other almost 10 years now after Sarah went on a fateful kayak trip through Sydney Harbour Kayaks. After loving the experience, she explored the possibility of becoming a kayak guide herself - enter Sol!

From roots in Toronto, Canada as an archaeologist and museum curator, Sol decided before 'settling down' and setting up his own business (Adventure North), to take a trip to Australia where he found an amazing opportunity to make this wonderful country his home. Coming from Canada with a Level 2 Sea Kayaking Instructor, throughout his time here, Sol has been on plenty of his own amazing trips while also guiding hundreds of people through, for many, a lifechanging experience in the great outdoors. Sol talks about the ups and downs of making the adventure space his life, and shares how ultimately he believes he ended up where he is thanks to universal guidance.

Now, 16 years later after calling Australia 'home', Sol has his own sole trader business where he offers consulting, adventure guiding, and school programming for activites through kayaking, mountain biking, abseling, quad biking, and outdoor education and continues to love what he does. If you ever wanted an insider perspective of what it is like to work in the outdoor industry, this is the episode for you! We really appreciated Sol's candour, and know you can all take something away from this interesting conversation. If you want to have a chat with Sol, he's pretty elusive online but you can find him on Facebook @sol.kamal.7

Thanks again for listening!

As we mention in the intro, if you are keen to help keep the lights on for this podcast, you can support us on Patreon, or you can leave a review on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on!

Thank you for the continued support from all of our listeners and patrons - we love you all!!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

undefined - Maree Connor. Ultra runner, mother, wife, sister and ED Nurse on juggling these roles in life and crushing at Coast to Kosci 240km ultra marathon

Maree Connor. Ultra runner, mother, wife, sister and ED Nurse on juggling these roles in life and crushing at Coast to Kosci 240km ultra marathon

Thank you yet again for joining us for another episode of the Into The Wee Hours Podcast! So happy as always to bring you stories and voices of everyday adventurers, and this one is absoultely inspirational!

This episode brings you the voice of Maree Connor, an overall busy woman wearing many hats - only some being mother, wife, sister, ultra runner, and Clinical Nurse Unit Manager. (We also talk about the other hats she wears like craft beer drinker, dad-joke teller, and designated bike pusher for her kids.) We were lucky enough to steal Maree away for an excellent chat during Mother's Day, after her two young daughters had made her well-deserved breakfast in bed!

While wearing many hats, we mostly focused on Maree's ultra running achievements which include, but are not limited to, winning and lowering the women's record at Brisbane Trail Ultra (BTU) [watch her interview with Race Director, Shona Stephenson, here!!], winning Elephant Trail Race, completing (TWICE) and winning and lowering the women's record at Coast to Kosci, and as she so casually drops at the end of the conversation getting to Mount Everest Base Camp! We hear how Maree had serious back surgery and has incredibly come back stronger with a new lease on life, and takes advantage of her new situation to say "thank you" for this fantastic opportunity. Maree is so humble about her achievements, but it is clear that she puts in the hard work (while being self-coached!) to balance her life and juggle priorities to find success in so many aspects of her life.

Maree has a full plate planned ahead including Southern Sydney 24 Hour Ultra (a 24-hour track race) only 5 weeks before returning to Brisbane Trail Ultra again (because you have to do everything twice, right Maree?!). She tells us how she also hopes to one day hike the Anapurna Circuit with her husband and daughters!

We started to dive into a bit about Maree's nutrition and how she mostly uses Tailwind Nutrition before our call dropped out! So about midway through, we apologise for the disruption in recording, but we are so grateful for Maree's (and our listener's) patience with us through recording! We hope it does not take away from the quality of the conversation with Maree!

Follow along with Maree's adventures via Instagram @mareeconnor_.

If you are keen to help keep the lights on for this podcast, you can support us on Patreon, or you can leave a review on whatever platform you isten to podcasts on like Apple or Spotify! Thank you for the continued support from all of our listeners and patrons - we love and appreciate you all!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.