Tough Girl Podcast
Sarah Williams
The Tough Girl Podcast is all about inspiring and motivating YOU! I will be interviewing inspirational women from around the world, who’ve faced and overcome difficult challenges and situations, they will share their story, their knowledge and provide advice and essential tips for you to overcome your own personal challenges.
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Top 10 Tough Girl Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Tough Girl Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Tough Girl Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Tough Girl Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Kathy Elkind - 57, walking the 1,400 mile/2,286km Grande Randonnée Cinq (GR5) with her husband of 27 years
Tough Girl Podcast
09/23/21 • 38 min
In the spring of 2018, at the age of 57, Kathy Elkind walked the Grande Randonnée Cinq (GR5) with her husband of 27 years. The 2,286K (1,400-mile) journey starts at the North Sea in The Netherlands and goes through Belgium, Luxembourg, and the whole length of France through the Alps to end at the warm Mediterranean in Nice. Kathy always longed for an epic adventure, but the time was never right. Finally, her children had flown the nest, and she had shifted from a fertile body to a not fertile body – What could this new body do? It was the perfect time for a quest: to pause, reflect and explore. Could her marriage sustain and thrive on a long walk? After two months on the GR5, they entered the mighty Alps—five weeks of alpine views, mountain refuges, and exertion. Her walking became more than meditative; she fell into an ethereal pace where she became the air and the landscape. In her own words: “Life was not about me. It was about the beauty of the world. This truth was what I had longed for but did not know.” At home, she stepped into the last third of her Life, more in love with her husband, accepting the unknown, knowing her power, and brave enough to write a book one step at a time (she has dyslexia and did not learn to read until I was in 7th grade). Kathy has come to believe it’s necessary for women entering the last third of their life to experience a quest or challenge. It can be anything they love – going to 25 art museums, swimming or dancing 50 days in a row. There is a unique challenge for every woman. Kathy is an Eating Psychology Coach, a Teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion, and owner of Elkind Nourishment. Kathy helps women feel their emotions instead of eating their emotions and feel comfortable in their bodies. She is writing a memoir about her adventure. 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
- 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
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Carla is a Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors; adventurer, runner, endurance cyclist and lapsed climber based near the Peak District in the UK. She is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities taking up space in the outdoors and is a committee member with the awesome Peak Queer Adventures (PQA) based in Sheffield and member of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC). Carla’s love of the outdoors started from an early age, however gender roles and expectations sadly stopped her from fully embracing that love as a teenager. She reconnected with the outdoors and solo adventures after moving to North Wales to undertake her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in her mid-twenties, and hasn’t looked back. She was awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021, which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling and getting them to the start line of an ultra distance race, a typically overwhelmingly white and male niche of cycling. This amazing opportunity has been life-changing and she’s gone from not being confident at all in her cycling abilities, to cycling 500km off road from Edinburgh to Manchester, her longest, hardest ride to date. She’s met the most amazing people, grown in confidence and felt like she’s found her people. She started an Instagram account after winning the Scholarship, to document her journey from (almost couch) to 2000km with the hope of inspiring queer people and people of colour, particularly black womxn, to get on their bikes and enjoy nature. You can find her at @acurlyoutdoors; check out Peak Queer Adventures at @peakqueeradventures and the Women of Colour Cycling Collective at @wccc_uk. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and support. Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Carla
- What she loves
- Being based in the Peak District, UK
- Wanting to encourage others to take up space in the outdoors
- Her early years and growing up with a passion for the outdoors
- Getting to explore in the woods
- Her love of nature and wanting to protect the environment
- Not feeling comfortable in secondary school with her body and spending time in the outdoors
- Training to be a Clinical Psychologist in North Wales
- Going out early in the morning to avoid people
- Spending time in the mountains
- Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
- The Devils Kitchen - located behind Llyn Idwal nestled within Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia National Park.
- Gaining new skills and knowledge
- Feeling brave
- Thinking about becoming a Mountain Leader (ML) but not seeing herself represented and not feeling comfortable
- Recording good quality mountain days and keeping a track of what she was doing
- Getting new gear
- Looking for opportunities in the mountains
- Getting into wild camping, trail running and climbing
- Finding community and connecting with other people who are interested in the outdoors
- Enjoying spending time on her own
- Meditation through movement
- Getting into cycling and connecting with the cycling community
- The Ultra Distance Scholarship An initiative increasing diversity and representation within ultra distance cycling and racing
- Being inspired by Vera Ngosi-Sambrook
- The power of taking action
- The reality of taking on an ultra cycling challenge
- Focused training from November 2021 - August 2022
- Dealing with injuries and saddle sores
- Wanting to do long rides with other people
- Using instagram to reach out and connect with people
- Learning how to cycle off road
- The Pennine Rally - 100 riders, 500 kilometres and five days of testing off-road riding from Edinburgh to Manchester down Britain’s backbone.
- Fuelling as a vegan
- Outdoor Provisions make Natural Energy Bars & Nut Butters - Use code TRYOP for 25% off Starter Packs
- Accidental vegan food
- Being on the start line and what the rally was like
- Cycling approx 100k per day
- The impact on her confidence after completing the rally ...
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Amy Bushatz - Getting outside for 20mins everyday and how it’s changed her life. Plus going after a 100 miler mountain run!
Tough Girl Podcast
03/01/22 • 55 min
Amy Bushatz is an Alaska-based journalist and host of the podcast Humans Outside. Since September 1, 2017, she’s spent at least 20 minutes outside every day as part of an experiment to see how building and keeping a daily nature habit can change her life. What she found was benefits including making her happier, healthier and more creative while improving her relationships, making new friends and more. Since starting her outdoor journey Amy has also become an ultra runner, skier, backpacker, camping enthusiast and tried ice climbing, glacier trekking, snowshoe running, ATVing, cliff jumping, forest bathing, rock climbing, high-ropes courses and more. Amy and her family live in Palmer, Alaska with their two dogs. *Content Warning - there is mention of disordered eating during this episode, we don’t go into specific details. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday 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. Get your exclusive 15% discount code for inov-8.com by signing up HERE Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March. Show notes
- Who is Amy
- Her early years and not being outdoorsy
- Being married with kids
- Getting into running and fitness
- The benefits of spending time outdoors
- Working as a journalist for 20 years
- Deciding to move to Alaska without ever having been there
- The weather in Alaska and dealing with the cold
- Needing a goal and setting herself a new challenge
- Deciding to spend 20 mins outside every day for 1 year
- Creating the rules
- How it’s changed her life
- Spending time with her family and how it’s improved relationships
- Her running journey
- Connecting with the ultra running community
- Overtraining and dealing with injury
- Going straight for the Resurrection Pass 100 Miler
- Dealing with the cold and the elevation gain and loss over the race
- What she would do differently
- The mental side of the race
- Not putting on the layers
- Hoarding food and clothing and not being able to accept help
- Feeling emotional on the trail - walking and crying
- Having a scarcity mindset - even though it’s not reality
- Not joking about food
- Getting to 70 miles and mentally processing not reaching the 100 miles
- Knowing that she can do hard things
- Not wanting to train for another 100 miler
- Wanting to do the 50 miler
- Recovery from the 70 miles
- #HumansOutside365
- Final words of advice
1 Listener
Jo Moseley – Joy Encourager, Midlife Adventurer & Beach Cleaner who SUP 162 miles, Coast to Coast across Great Britain!
Tough Girl Podcast
05/19/20 • 53 min
Jo is known by her twitter and Instagram handle @HappyHealthy50 which is where I first discovered her. Jo is 53 years young and lives on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Jo is a single mum, after getting divorced in her early 40s and has two sons aged 21 and 17. In May 2014, after the loss of her mum, Jo decided to row a million metres and marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. For eight months Jo would head down to her local gyn and hop on the rowing machine. She would then row 10,000 metres. She would do this every other night after work - through her dedication and hard work, Jo raised £10,000 for charity. During this podcast Jo also shared more about her experiences with menopause and peri menopause and how exercise helped her both physically and mentally and how she began to incorporate more of it into her life. In September 2016 Jo picked up a paddle board for the first time and she had no idea where it would lead! Since that moment, Jo has gone on to become the first women to stand up paddle board (SUP) 162 miles /260km from coast to coast (Liverpool to Goole) across Great Britain. Jo talks more about self confidence, dealing with grief, living her dreams, joy and learning to be proud of herself. Show notes
- Who is Jo
- More about her family
- Her greatest joy at the moment
- Learning more about her childhood
- Growing up in North Yorkshire
- Her love of the sea
- What life was like in her forties
- Going through a divorce
- “I can’t do this anymore” - “I just want to sleep”
- Getting through the tough times
- Getting an old indoor rowing machine
- Starting to be able to sleep
- Fitting in the exercise
- Taking the first step
- Having no expectations
- Why fitness wasn’t a priority
- Raising money in memory of her mum
- Deciding to row 1 million metres and a marathon!!!
- Rowing 10,000 every over night for 8 months (200 days)!!
- Dealing with her grief and needing to get it out of her body
- What is was like turning 50
- Jo’s experience of menopause and peri menopause
- Having to put herself on the priority list
- The power of exercise
- Doing stuff (exercise) that she love
- Learning how to say no to stuff
- Joy!
- Jo’s paddle boarding journey
- Rain or Shine 30 - getting outside for 30 mins everyday
- Paddle board the North - 162 miles coast to coast in Great Britain
- Putting her dream away
- Needing to have a big dream to pull her into the future
- To trust in the timing of your life
- The planning and preparation for the coast to coast challenge
- Getting the time off work
- Working backwards from the start date
- Facts make dreams possible
- Why it didn’t feel hard
- The physical challenges of the expedition
- Living her dream
- Picking up litter on the journey
- Having people question her ability while on the water
- The positive impact on self confidence and believe
- Being proud of starting the challenge
- Trusting in herself more
- Creating a short 1 min film
- Final words of advice for women around being brave
Dr Kate Edwards & Dr Blair Green - Go Ahead, Stop and Pee: Running During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Tough Girl Podcast
04/21/20 • 53 min
“Slow down. Stop running. Pregnant and postpartum women have heard this advice since the beginning of time. Many runners have no idea what they can and cannot do during pregnancy and postpartum, leaving them unsure, scared, and susceptible to injury.” During this podcast, we talk with Kate and Blair about their first book. Go Ahead, Stop and Pee: Running During Pregnancy and Postpartum. This book throws out all those old wives’ tales and proves that women can keep running—during and after pregnancy. All they need is the right information. More info about the book: Written by two moms and physical therapists who also have a passion for running, Go Ahead, Stop and Pee is a fresh voice that empowers women to maintain their running lifestyle during pregnancy and postpartum. Combining first-hand experiences as well as science. During this episode we discuss:
- Common myths about running pregnant and postpartum
- A few key exercises for pregnant runners
- What the pelvic floor is and why it’s so important
- The 4th Trimester
- Tips for running with a stroller/pram
- Meeting Kate and Blair
- Finding out more about their running backstories
- How running became a lifestyle
- Getting pregnant during triathlon training
- Myths around running while pregnant
- Myths around postpartum running
- Key things that pregnant women need to know about running
- Pelvic floor muscles
- The power of the breath
- What is the 4th trimester?
- Postpartum is forever
- The reasons for writing the book
- Kate’s story of returning to running after pregnancy
- Ending up with a stress fracture
- Being at a higher risk of stress fractures when you’re breast feeding
- Blair’s story of returning to running after pregnancy
- Dealing with a hip injury
- Taking years to be able to run without pain
- Having a plan to get back into running
- Top tips for new mothers
- Getting a pelvic health check done
- Running with a stroller
- Check out this Youtube video for running with a stroller
- Favourite exercise and where to start
- Barefoot training
- Final words of advice
Miriam Lancewood - Woman in the Wilderness: A Story of Survival, Love and Self-Discovery in New Zealand
Tough Girl Podcast
04/14/20 • 40 min
Miriam Lancewood was born in a loving home in a small village in the Netherlands in 1983. After completing her university degree, she worked for a year in Zimbabwe, and then traveled to India. And in India she met her now husband Peter Raine. Peter had resigned from his job as university lecturer in New Zealand and had moved to India to live like a ‘modern nomad’. He had lived five years in India when they met. Together they hiked over eight mountains ranges in the Himalayas, journeyed for years through South East Asia, including Papua New Guinea, and eventually they ended up in Peter’s home country: New Zealand. Miriam worked for a while as a teacher, then they decided to give up all their worldly belongings and move into the mountains with a tent and bow and arrow. They wanted to learn how to hunt and survive in the wilderness, and they wanted to find out what happens to the mind and body, when living in the beauty of the wildest nature on earth. Show notes - Growing up in Holland
- Wanting to be a sports teacher
- Heading off travelling at 21 years old
- Meeting her husband Peter and travelling together
- Climbing 8 mountain ranges in the Himalayas
- Deciding to live in the wilderness
- Making it to New Zealand and having to work as a teacher for a year
- Tramping in the mountains
- Deciding to spend a year in the mountains
- How to afford to live
- What it was like living in the wilderness
- Learning how to hunt...
- Deciding to catch possums
- Not knowing what to do
- Learning the art of doing nothing
- Walking the Te Araroa Trail, 3,000km from the North to the South
- Keeping clean and healthy
- Dealing with periods
- Keeping in contact with friends and family
- Not taking anything for granted
- Her relationship with Peter
- Deciding to write a book about her life
- Having to find a house
- Stress and anxiety in the wilderness
- Thinking short term to not get overwhelmed
- Lessons learned from living in the wilderness
- Walking the Lycian Way in Turkey
- Second book on it’s way with plans to release it in October 2020
- Plans for the future
- Attending writers festivals around the world
- Learning how to cook and skin the animals
- The roles in the relationship
- Why you should read the book and how it will inspire you
- Not understanding social media
- Final words of advice
- The power of sleeping
Gina Johansen - Walking 3,000km the length of Norway, plus a solo crossing of Lake Baikal in Siberia!
Tough Girl Podcast
04/28/20 • 36 min
Gina 28, from Sweden has a passion for travel and adventure, and for pushing herself outside of her comfort zone. Her goal is to “Escape the Ordinary”. Over the past few years, that is what Gina has done! On May 14th 2016 Gina left Sydney on a bicycle, with everything she would need to be self sufficient as she cycled 2,700km up the east coast of Australia to Cairns, where she stayed for 2 months. In early 2018 Gina decided to take on her first big solo winter expedition, skiing 60 days from North Cape to Jäckvik in Sweden, having never skied before. Since then she has gone on to cross Lake Baikal in Siberia (Russia), 692 km over 14.5 days - Going solo from South to North and most recently she did the NORGE PÅ LANGS a 3,000km walk over 3.5 months, from the southernmost point in Lindesnes to North Cape the northernmost point of Norway. During this episode, Gina shares more about her early life, how she got into adventure, how she picks future challenges and what she has learned on the way. Gina also provides top tips and advice to motivate and inspire you as you go after your next challenge. Show notes
- Who is Gina
- Growing up in Sweden around horses
- Why she decided to enter the world of adventure
- Leaving school at 16 and starting to work with horses in a professional capacity
- Getting into Thai boxing and trail running
- Being inspired by podcasts
- Not being excited by work anymore
- Starting to look for a new challenge in her life
- The process behind getting more adventure in her life
- Deciding to cycle the East coast of Australia with her now ex boyfriend
- Spending 3 months living in the mountains
- Dealing with injury
- Starting to be scared when riding horses
- What she would do differently on a big cycle trip
- Where the idea came from for the ski expedition
- Wanting to see more of her own country
- Having no experience in skiing
- Deciding to start at North Cape - the northern most point in Sweden
- Starting 3 week later than planned due to delayed equipment and bad equipment
- Doing the challenge solo and unsupported
- Walking for days in a whiteout
- Not being able to make any mistakes while in the extreme cold
- Think 3 x before you act
- How this challenge changed her life going forward
- Thinking about happiness
- Moving back to Norway
- Meeting a new man!
- 2019 - Hiking across Lake Baikal in Siberia
- Dealing with the extreme cold in Siberia
- The importance of good quality gear
- Getting to the start of Lake Baikal
- Dealing with feelings of loneliness
- Deciding on the next big challenge
- Travelling with her partner and a dog!
- The amazing moments
- Dealing with winter storms
- Final words of advice
03/10/20 • 57 min
In 2016 Sophie Rooney set off with the bold intention of becoming the first woman to run the length of Scandinavia. From Nordkapp (the northernmost point of mainland Europe) to the German border with Denmark (3000 km south) carrying everything she needed on her back.
Initially accompanied by a fellow trail runner, Sophie finds herself thrown into a solo adventure running through some of the most rugged scenery Europe has to offer.
Heading out to Norway, bears are top of Sophie’s worries. However, she is soon to find that these big grizzly creatures would be the least of her concerns.
In the first month alone having to battle extreme fatigue, dehydration, relentless bog, hunger and eventually illness, the odds are quickly stacked against her.
However, not willing to give in Sophie pushes on, often against the advice she has received from people back home. In doing so she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery which creates memories that will last a lifetime.
Listen to Sophie on the Tough Girl Podcast as she shares more about this incredible journey.
Show notes
- Her olympic dream
- Growing up with 6 siblings
- Starting swimming from a young age
- Wanting to do everything properly
- How her swimming evolved into kayaking
- Being inspired to do a big running challenge!
- How the run challenge evolved
- Having 5 months to plan and prepare
- Flying off on the 1st August
- Having a good level of base fitness
- What training looked like
- Building up a kit list
- Funding the trip
- Deciding how to share her story
- Getting into blogging
- Struggling at the start
- Being scared of being left on her own
- Knowing that she could do it solo, but needing to be brave enough to make that decision
- Deciding to switch to the road
- Not feeling ready when starting the run
- Dealing with the fears and how they never went away
- Starting to get really really tired
- Having to call a doctor
- Carry on or go home?
- Building her own self confidence
- Daily routines while out running
- Turning her blog posts into a book in 2019
- Don’t over think things
- Supporting Mimi Andersons’s run across the USA
- Dealing with the disappointment of failure
- Doing a relay race from Lands End to John O’Groats
- Moving to the Lake District and plans for 2020
Social Media
Blog - DaringMightyThings.Blog
Facebook @thesophierooney
Instagram @rooneysophi
Twitter @thesophierooney
Book: Rundinavia: Running 3000km through Scandinavia
Sonya Richmond - 42 year old Canadian who is currently hiking across Canada on The Great Trail - 24,000km!
Tough Girl Podcast
03/03/20 • 41 min
Sonya is a 42 year old Canadian who is currently hiking across Canada on the longest multi-use recreational trail in the world with her partner Sean.
The 24,000 km long Great Trail stretches from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, and from Edmonton, Alberta to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories.
They began their journey in Cape Spear, Newfoundland on 1 June 2019 and hiked just over 3,000 km to Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec before the winter arrived. They will head back to the trail in spring, and estimate they will complete their journey in fall of 2022.
Sonya's love of hiking, camping, and the outdoors began as child during multiple school trips into the wilderness. She built on these experiences in university, where she studied Conservation Biology and Forestry, and spent as much time as possible outside, doing field research on forest songbirds.
Her love of long-distance hiking began with Ontario's 900 km long Bruce Trail, and grew when she hiked the 800 km Camino Frances in Spain with Sean in 2016.
Together Sonya and Sean hiked across France on the Via Podiensis (GR 65) in 2017, and along Newfoundland's East Coast Trail in 2018. After that they decided to make hiking a more central part of their lives, and after selling the house, donating most of their possessions, and leaving behind Sonya's desk job, they did a warm-up hike along the Camino Portuguese in early 2019 and then began their adventure on the Great Trail.
As they hike, their goal is to share positive images and stories of their travels across Canada to showcase the amazing and diverse people, places, history, and landscapes that make up this country.
By sharing their passion for birds, hiking, and nature in person, on their blog, and through social media they hope to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds, but especially youth, to get outside, explore, and connect to nature through birding and Citizen Science.
Show notes
- Who is Sonya
- Growing up in Canada
- Getting into hiking and nature
- The Bruce Trail, Canada
- Accommodation on the Bruce Trail
- Walking the Camino’s in Europe
- GR65
- Her love of hiking
- The Great Trail in Canada - 24,000 km
- Their reasons for walking the Great Trail
- Planning to hike the trail
- How long would it take?
- Starting in the East
- Breaking it down into sections
- Time and money
- Walking for a cause
- Having a passion for birds
- Selling their home
- Being ready for a change
- The reactions of friends and family
- Concerns before the start
- Dealing with Hurricane Dorian
- Problem solving while on the trail
- Day to day life on the trail
- The highlights so far
- Bird watching on the trail
- Getting fit for the trail
- Taking it slower at the start
- Budgets and accommodation
- Stating section 2 in March 2020
- What happens during the winter months
- Advice and tips for you to undertake your own challenges
- Why you need to try things out first
Social Media
Website: www.comewalkwithus.online. (has links to blogs for our hikes across Canada, the Camino Frances, Via Podiensis, and East Coast Trail)
Facebook: @WalkWithUsAcrossCanada
Twitter: @TransCanadaWalk
Instagram:@comewalkwithusonthegreattrail
Alyssa Azar - Mountaineer - Youngest woman to Summit Mt Everest from both the North and South sides at 21 years old.
Tough Girl Podcast
04/07/20 • 49 min
Alyssa is the youngest Australian to Summit Mt Everest which she did at 19 years old on the 21st May 2016. Alyssa is also the youngest woman to Summit Mt Everest from both the North and South sides after successfully reaching the summit of Mt Everest from the North Side (Tibet) on the 19th May 2018 at just 21 years old.
Alyssa began trekking in 2005 with her first challenge, crossing the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. Alyssa then trekked in Nepal, completed treks such as Everest Base Camp and Kokoda numerous times, Mt Kosciuszko in Australia, the Aussie 10 (the 10 highest peaks in Australia), Mt Kilimanjaro.
After completing Mt Kilimanjaro in 2011, Alyssa began climbing by doing a mountaineering course in NZ. Since then she has climbed in South America, Russia and Nepal on various expeditions to different peaks including: Ama Dablam, Aconcagua, Manaslu, Elbrus and four Everest Expeditions.
Alyssa was on Everest both in 2014 and 2015 when the Avalanche and the Nepal Earthquake occurred and closed the mountain. She returned in 2016 to make her first successful summit of Mt Everest.
After taking one year off Everest Season in 2017 she decided to go back in 2018 and make her successful north side attempt via Tibet.
Show notes
- Who is Alyssa
- Her relationship with her family
- Finding her passion
- People not understanding her goals
- Climbing Kilimanjaro at 14
- Deciding to go and climb Mt Everest
- Struggling in school socially and feeling like an outcast
- Setting the goal
- The lack of female role models growing up
- Being surrounded by like minded individuals
- Her 5 year journey to the summit of Mount Everest
- Doing a climbing course in New Zealand
- Working with a coach to get physically fit
- Having mentors
- Putting her training to the test and making sure progress was being made
- Doing a climbing expedition to the Andes in South America
- Trekking into Everest Base Camp
- The challenges in 2014 and 2015 at Everest
- Trying to decide what to do next?
- Going for her 3rd attempt in 2016
- Dealing with her emotions
- Perfect Performance Line
- Keeping focused while dealing with set backs
- Paying for the adventure
- The team dynamics on Everest
- Caring what other people thought
- Why the goal to climb Everest was the most important thing
- What summit night was like
- 20 mins at the top!
- The biggest challenge of climbing Everest
- Life after Everest....
- Going to uni to study Psychology
- Goals and dreams for the future
- Final words of advice to help you achieve your dreams
Social Media
Website - https://www.alyssaazar.com.au
Instagram - @alyssaazar
Facebook - @AlyssaAzarAdventurer
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FAQ
How many episodes does Tough Girl Podcast have?
Tough Girl Podcast currently has 782 episodes available.
What topics does Tough Girl Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Motivation, Society & Culture, Women, Personal Journals, Adventure, Podcasts, Inspiration, Self-Improvement, Education and Advice.
What is the most popular episode on Tough Girl Podcast?
The episode title 'Kathy Elkind - 57, walking the 1,400 mile/2,286km Grande Randonnée Cinq (GR5) with her husband of 27 years' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Tough Girl Podcast?
The average episode length on Tough Girl Podcast is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of Tough Girl Podcast released?
Episodes of Tough Girl Podcast are typically released every 5 days.
When was the first episode of Tough Girl Podcast?
The first episode of Tough Girl Podcast was released on Aug 4, 2015.
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