As Co-owner of the OCR community’s favourite hangout, The Camp at Mike’s Gym in Marbella, training and racing with Europe’s leading OCR athletes is all in a day’s work for Sorrel Lewis. When she’s not putting athletes through their paces or racing them through the notoriously tough course, she’s flipping tyres and raising atlas stones in the dedicated combat area. Phew!

For an insider peek behind the scenes, I persuaded the OCR athlete and trainer (who has competed in everything from Europe’s Toughest Mudder to the OCR World Championship) to share a typical day in her life.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the Commonwealth Games? Soigneur, massage therapist, and founder of Roadside Therapy, Tierney Maude, was part of the team treating and supporting the Team England mountain bike athletes during their medal-winning performances at the Gold Coast this year.

Here, Tierney shares an insight into what a typical day at the Games involved.

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.

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.

Photo: INOV-8.COM/LEE PROCTER

Last Friday I went to a talk by fell running legend Nicky Spinks (read my interview with Nicky from earlier this month here) at Katie Bell Physio in Sheffield. Having completed a raft of staggeringly difficult races and events (including, famously, the Double Bob Graham round) Nicky is a wealth of ultra-running insights.

Here are some of the nuggets of information she shared with us.

Fancy dipping your toe into the virtual cycling world of Zwift, but not sure where to start? British pro triathlete and Ironman 70.3 World Champion 2016, Holly Lawrence, shares her top tips for getting started.

Photo: Tracy L Chandler

Retired pro cyclist, activist, author and documentary-maker, Kathryn Bertine, is on a mission to combat inequality in women’s cycling. A driving force behind the launch of La Course, the women’s race from Le Tour de France, and the brains behind the Homestretch Foundation, a non-profit where pro female cyclists can stay and train rent-free, she’s already changing the game. But there’s more work to be done.

Here, Kathryn chats with me about juggling jobs as a pro rider, supporting women at Homestretch, and how she believes a two-tier system with base salary is the game changer women’s cycling needs.