Last week Zwift, the virtual cycling and running platform, revealed the line-up of its new Specialized Zwift Academy Tri Team – a handpicked group of age-group athletes targeting Ironman in Kona. Amongst them was 35-year-old former pro cyclist and swimmer, Bex Rimmington, from Lancashire.

Fresh from the news she’d won a place on the team, I quizzed the Ironman-in-training on her Zwift experience, pro cycling background and Kona training plan.

Last time I chatted to Laura Jones for Lessons in Badassery, she was two marathons in to her huge ICANRUN7 challenge to run seven marathons on seven continents within a year. Pretty remarkable for someone who dreamt up the challenge when she could barely run a kilometre without stopping!

Since then, Laura has completed her epic marathon running challenge and has finished some of the most gruelling marathons in the world – including the highest marathon on the planet, the Everest Marathon, as well as the brutal Yukon Arctic Marathon, which saw her compete in eyelash-freezing temperatures of -40°! After finishing her challenge with the Kilimanjaro marathon in March this year, Laura filled me in on her massive running journey.

After a successful 2017, which included scooping silver at the 70.3 Triathlon World Championship, pro triathlete and former duathlon world champ, Emma Pallant, is approaching the 2018 season with even more fire in her belly. But what does a typical day in her life look like?

Here, the former GB track athlete shares what a day as a pro triathlete and Team Dillon coach entails – from swim-bike-run training to writing coaching programmes.

Despite working a jam-packed 80-hour week, ultra-runner Jen Scotney managed to squeeze in enough training to comfortably scoop 3^rd lady at the 108-mile Spine Challenger race earlier this year. Now, the 36-year-old Peak District resident and Montane athlete is gearing up for an even bigger ultra-running challenge: to complete the Northern Traverse, a 190 mile coast-to-coast race from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay, next month.

Ahead of her race, Jen chats about how she’s training and preparing for this epic challenge, and reveals how double-run days are the secret to fitting in ultra-running training with the demands of a full-on job.

Three years ago, Alex Paske launched Mintridge Events with the aim to increase sports participation in school age children, support young athletes and use sport as a tool to inspire and empower. Fast-forward to today and Alex has a team of talented athlete ambassadors on board (including Commonwealth Games netball gold medallist, Ebony Beckford-Chambers), is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and has won the Women of the Future Award in the sports category. Phew!

Here, the sport-loving 27-year-old shares a little insight into her working day.

British-born Sarah Davis moved to Australia in 2003, found surf sports (and the podium!) and never looked back. With a successful racing CV, including coming third at the notoriously tough Molokai Challenge 2017 and taking age group gold at the 2017 Ocean Racing World Championships, the 44-year old is now gearing up for a world-first to kayak the length of the River Nile.

In this interview Sarah chats about her plans to paddle the 6583km distance, kayaking in shark-infested waters and being on expedition for up to 8 months.

American climber and The North Face athlete, Ashima Shiraishi. Image courtesy of The North Face

If you’ve been on social media or inhabit the outdoor community you’ll probably have heard about the new female-centred Move Mountains campaign from The North Face – a ‘global movement to change the face of exploration by celebrating and sharing the stories of adventurous and courageous female explorers’. It’s something that really resonates with me because it’s what Lessons in Badassery is all about – sharing the stories of women in sport and adventure to inspire others and raise the visibility of all the kickass women out there doing their thing.

When it comes to physical and mental limits, endurance adventurer Jenny Tough is pretty familiar with pushing beyond hers. Known for her challenging solo expeditions, the 29-year-old Canadian has covered thousands of miles under her own steam, both on foot and by bike, including running 861km across the Atlas Mountains unsupported in just 22 days.

Here, Jenny shares some of her endurance insights, her experience as a woman running alone in the Atlas Mountains, and how it feels to reach the very limits of your physical capabilities.

Inspired by her search for a caffeine hit without the crash during her Ironman training, entrepreneur Helena Hills and husband Simon hit on the idea to build a coffee brand formulated with precise caffeine measurements for improved sport performance. The result was TRUESTART.

Here, the 30-year-old co-founder and mum-to-be shares with me what goes on behind the scenes during an average day.

In a few weeks, 24-year-old adventurer Anna Blackwell will be packing up her kayak to attempt a world-first expedition with teammate, Kate Culverwell, as they Kayak from England to the Black Sea. No stranger to expeditions, in the last few years Anna has completed a solo 5-week trek of the Arctic wilderness with only reindeers for company; walked 1000 miles solo from France to Spain, and trekked Spain’s 500-mile Camino de Santiago solo.

I chatted with Anna ahead of her Kayaking the Continent expedition to see how she was planning and preparing, and found out about the highs and lows of her solo expeditions so far.