Last month I wrote about my cycling session with Dr Barney Wainwright, applied sport scientist at Leeds Beckett University, who adjusted my bike position, introduced me to the benefits of pedalling effectively (you can read the post here) and armed me with some simple pedalling drills as my homework. There were gains to be made. And the fundamentals were pretty simple.

Here’s a quick update…

I came across Jacqui Furneux when her daughter sent me a press release about her book, Hit the Road, Jac! Seven years, Twenty Countries, No plan, which recounts tales of her seven-year adventure exploring the world on a motorbike, much of it solo. During her travels, which took her everywhere from Nepal to East Timor, Jacqui slept up trees, in police stations, brothels, toilets and at the side of the road. I loved the idea of Jacqui, at the time in her 50s, eschewing the norm and being so intrepid, so we had a chat and she regaled me with an account of some of her escapades. My jaw dropped (yours will too).

53-year-old surgeon and mountaineer, Ghazala Ahmad-Mear, is no stranger to adventure, climbing and expeditions – in fact, she met her husband (renowned Polar explorer, Roger Mear) at the summit of the Matterhorn in Switzerland! In January, Ghazala will be the only woman undertaking the South Pole Energy Challenge – the first polar expedition using only renewable energy.

Here, Ghazala explains more about the expedition, her love of climbing, and training for the 30kg sled pull.

When running shoe experts, Saucony, invited me to test their new Koa off-road running shoe range and learn more about running trails and fells in the Lake District, I jumped at the chance. Here’s what I learned (and rediscovered) as I got reacquainted with off-road running in the Lakes…

Photo Credit: Tony Jarvis

Sleep deprivation, mind games, freezing sea submersions and exhausting SAS-Style physical challenges. The Unknown is a brutal 36-hour test of fitness and mental resilience designed to push you to your limits. Here, 37-year-old Police Inspector, Georgie Newton, who has completed the Unknown twice, recalls just how deep you need to dig.

Whether you’re a wannabe runner, cyclist, or swimmer the chance to chat with an expert in your sporting field is a dream come true – especially when that expert is a sport scientist with the expertise to reveal how you can improve your performance, speed and energy conservation.

Regular readers may remember that I’m taking part in a case study for Wattbike’s new Pedalling Effectiveness Score (PES) function. Thanks to this, I was fortunate to have a cycling one-to-one with Dr Barney Wainwright, applied sport scientist and Research Fellow at Leeds Metropolitan University. Because the case study will document how improving my pedalling technique affects my performance on the bike, this session with Barney was essentially a lesson in the basics of cycling efficiency.

Here’s what I learned in just a few hours.

How do you know when the lingering fatigue you feel after training is more than just the after-effect of a sensibly tough workout schedule? Here, in a post that could also be titled ‘One Girl and Her Idiotic Training Decisions’, I talk about my personal experience with overtraining/underperformance syndrome. It’s long, but read to the end for expert advice from applied sport scientist, Dr Barney Wainwright, on how to spot and treat the symptoms of overtraining.

It’s one thing to summit Kilimanjaro as a hiker and battle altitude sickness and fatigue, but to run up it – and set a new world record in the process? That’s another level of crazy.

As yesterday saw ultra-runner Fernanda Maciel set a new women’s world record for the fastest Kilimanjaro summit and return (to the top and back in an amazing 10 hours 6 minutes), 29-year-old Sundried ambassador and ultra runner, Becky Shuttleworth, recounts what it was like to set her own Kili running world record two years ago.

Photo Credit: Mark Hoey

26-year-old Australian, Stephanie Langridge (aka Polar Steph) upped sticks from sunny Australia and moved her life to Iceland to be a Glacier Guide. Despite never having been to the country before the move, she’s never looked back. Here, she explains what a typical day in her life looks like.

Photo Credit: Magnus Egger
One of the biggest names in obstacle course racing, Karin Karlsson is a multiple Toughest Race winner, third in the world at last year’s OCR World Championship 15km course and second in the 3km event. The Swedish osteopath is one of the first athletes I saw compete in OCR and is known for her skill and strength on technical obstacles (I remember watching a Toughest Mini Tour final on my laptop and seeing her breeze through every obstacle. It was amazing.)

Here, Karin talks training, grip strength and goals for 2017.