Kickass Midlife Method

In the fifth episode of our special Break the Bias series, I chat to Kate Jayden, who has just finished runnnig 101 marathons in 101 consecutive days. 

Kate set off on New Year's Day 2022, and has raised over £27,000 to help refugees with food, hygiene products, and mental health support.

The distance of 100 marathons, is the same distance that a Syrian refugee would travel to come to the UK.

But this is not her first ultra enduran...

Endurance cycle coach, Alison Wood challenges bias in so many ways, and has done throughout her life. 

Of mixed race heritage, she was raised in Essex/London by a white mother within a stones throw of the British National Front headquarters.

We chat about her upbringing and experience of always being the non-white face in her family and enviromment. 

Her grandmother wanted her to be a dancer, which she did until her twenties. 

Perh...

On the 3rd year anniversary of Black Girls Do Run UK, a community to inspire, encourage and motivate more black women to run,  I spoke to Tasha about what inspired her to set up the community.

She discussses fear of 'the sugars', the term used for diabetes which was prevalent in Jamaica where her parents were from. 

I first interviewed Tasha two years ago for the GRTW podcast, just as the Black Lives matter movement exploded, a lot...

Vera Ngosi-Sambrook grew up in Malawi and moved to the UK to study mechanical engineering. From the very start of her adult life, she has challenged bias in her choice of career. 

It was after meeting her husband that she first tried cycling, on a tandem, on the promise of being able to just leisurely cycle.

Five years later, she was awarded a scholarship The Ultra Distance Scholarship, with her own coach to train for the Pan Celti...

Elle Linton started cycling as a way of commuting to work in London.

So when a friend suggested they cycled to Richmond Park just to 'cycle round and round,' she thought it was a crazy idea. 'Why ride round in a circle?' 

Despite the punctures enroute, she discovered a love of cycling for the community, being able to explore and a way of getting fit.

So much so, she set up her own women's cycling group to inspire others - and so sh...

Over twenty years ago Claire Smith (@brutalclaire) started running, pushing her baby in a buggy in a bid to lose weight.

This August, she was back to pushing a baby stroller but this time, it carried everything she needed to run the length of the UK without any support from John'O Groats to Lands End.

She certainly has form. This is the endurance athlete who has also completed 20 back to back Ironman distance events.

So, if you're ...

If you feel dissatisfied with your life, have you done anything about it? No? Then you may want to listen to this podcast for inspiration. 

A bit fed up with her life and work trajectory, Laura Kennington turned her life upside down and decided to kayak down the River Volga in Russia on her own simply after hearing about the river during a pub quiz.

She had no experience of kayaking. Or travelling solo in far flung destinations. 

I...

Beth Pascall, 32 is a true trail blazing ultra runner. 

Even as a young girl, there was something about exploring the outer edges of comfort and challenging herself that appealed. 

From begging her dad and brother to let her go on a long bike ride when she was young, this love of exploring the world we live in and the extremes to which the human mind and body go motivates her in all she does. 

Listen for more on what motivates her ...

Like many women, Jevid Majid started running through doing Parkrun in then home town of Nottingham in 2017. 

As a way of getting fit, and finding time for herself, the mum of two says, 'It's the most liberating feeling to be on your own and having that escape, processing the day and in turn it benefitting your physical and emotional health.'

But her running took her further than just races. As a Muslim woman,Jevid wanted to encoura...

Life often takes unexpected turns and that is particularly true for Australian born Lucja Leonard whose life has been changed by a dog.

After starting to run to lose weight, she and her husband, Dion, started running incredible ultras all over the world. 

It was in China when her husband came across Gobi, now immortalised in the book, Finding Gobi. 

It has taken her from the UK to Chamonix and now to the US. 

Here, she chats about ...

Tahsa Thompson, 43, from London is the founder of Black Girls Do Run UK.

Established in 2019, she set the online community up to help inspire women of colour to run for their health, fitness and mental well being. 

A runner herself for over 20 years, this mum of two describes how, when she first started running 10km and half marathons, she was the only black face in the race photographs. 

But what is STILL preventing black women in...

Like many women before her, and many who will come after, Taz started running as a way of getting fit and having some me time from her three sons. 

But she would go out before sunrise, initially worried about how the Muslim community in her area would react to a woman running. 

She soon learned that her community, along with most of the running community that she has since become part of have been welcoming. 

Now an ambassador for ...

Iran's first female triathlete, Shirin Gerami took part in the World ITU Championships in London in 2013 in a body suit, inspiring women the world over that your cultural background should not inhibit your right or ability to take part in triathlon. 

She followed this with completing the Ironman World Championship in Kona in a full body suit. 

We caught up with her as she returned to London after living on a farm in Norfolk during ...

'I've never seen another black woman racing in any triathlon events that I have done.'

We speak to Kelsie Johnson, 25, (@kelsieolivia94) a personal trainer, triathlete and PhD student about race in triathlon.

Kelsie took up triathlon a few years ago and is part of the new Facebook community, Women Who Tri for Justice, set up following the decision by Ironman to close their own women's group, following controversy over the removal o...

Vegan runner, Ruth Farnell, 58, decided to take on 12 marathons in 12 months in 2019. 

Her goal? Just to see if she could do it and to explore the world she lived in through her races.

Here she talks about mental resilience and what she learned, plus nutrition as a vegan runner - and beating her PB. 

 

**Some audio is poor on t...

Nowadays, it's common for women to be running marathons and beyond - and posting impressive times.

 

So what happens when you fall pregnant and you want to keep running? And what about post pregnancy performance? 

We chat to inspiring marathon runner and mum of one, Gill Bland, 36 whose PB before she had her son was 2.53.25 and no stands at 3.10 about attitudes towards running when pregnant and wanting to compete after having a bab...