Multi-sport athlete and adventure racer, Katherine Ross, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis a year ago. It could have sidelined her racing plans. It didn’t.

Here the 32-year-old Kiwi shares a candid account of what her diagnosis meant and how she’s planning even more epic racing, regardless. Big thank you, Kat, for your inspiration and positivity!

© SayYesMore

Mountaineer Jo Bradshaw has scaled five of the world’s Seven Summits, including Everest and Aconcagua, and has her sights on summiting the remaining two before the year is out. But she wasn’t always so gung-ho. In fact, rewind several years and Jo was a self-confessed ‘no-sayer’ who lived well within her comfort zone.

Here Jo writes about how, through experience, choices and failure, she was able to build a resilient mindset and go on to conquer her fears as well as the world’s most iconic mountains.

Hey guys,

Just a little heads-up that I’ll be tweaking my posting days and how often I post over the next couple of months, and will probably be alternating between one post and two a week for a while. Don’t panic, I’ll still be bringing you interviews with incredible women regularly, it’s just I need a bit of time to work on some other exciting Lessons in Badassery projects and also earn some money via my day job (always helpful!).

This week will be a ‘one interview’ week (starting tomorrow with the incredible climber Babsi Zangerl) and the following week I’ll post on Tuesday and Friday again.

© CBS/Million Dollar Mile

Today’s interviewee is all-round badass Orla Walsh: obstacle course racer, Broken Skull Ranch winner and, more recently, ‘defender’ on the US game show, Million Dollar Mile. Orla lives in Vermont where she works as a flight nurse, squeezing workouts and races into a busy schedule that includes tough nursing night shifts, yet she still managed to bag the title of Spartan Race Stadium Series winner.

I caught up with Orla over the phone to chat OCR, CrossFit and, diving a little deeper, overcoming adversity and how fitness and sport helped her through anxiety and depression following the death of her mother and best friend.

© Tarawera Ultramarathon

Following on from Tuesday’s interview with leading ultrarunner and speed record holder, Camille Herron, I’m back with part two, which is our chat about doping in mountain and ultra trail running.

Camille comes from a marathon running background where she was tested rigorously in and out of competition by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Since moving to mountain and ultra trail (MUT) running, she’s grown concerned about the lack of out-of-competition drug testing (unannounced spot testing) in the sport and was keen to chat about this, which is where we pick up below.

*N.B I am in no way an expert on anti-doping and have not contacted any governing body or company mentioned here for comment.*

© Jubilee Page

After years of successful marathon running (PB: 2:37:14), Camille Herron committed to ultra distances four years ago and has lit up the ultrarunning scene ever since. The 37-year-old American holds multiple world speed records, including the 100 mile record, 50-mile record and the greatest distance covered in 12-hours and 24-hours (162.9 miles for the latter). And she’s not done yet.

In this chat Camille tells me what fuelled her fire for the speed records, why she’ll never run long, back-to-back runs in training, and how she’s hoping to stay injury-free for Comrades (87km) and Western States (100 miles), which are her main bucket list races this year.

**Check back on Friday to read our chat about doping in mountain and ultra trail**

Last summer RAD Monika (aka Monika Sattler) made history as the first woman to ride the entire 3058km route of the one of cycling’s toughest grand tours: the Vuelta a España. Riding only a few hours ahead of the pro men, she covered all 21 stages and 49,337m of climbing in the blistering Spanish heat, her mission to inspire more people, particularly women, to get on their bikes.

Monika is one of the most upbeat, can-do people I’ve had the pleasure to chat with. She doesn’t put any limits on what she’s capable of and throws herself into life. Here, she chats about how she coped with the physical and mental demands of riding the Vuelta and reveals what a typical day during the three week ride entailed.

© Guillem Casanova Photography

It takes most ultrarunners decades of hard graft and consistent mileage to work up to completing a 100km distance race, but ultrarunner Lucy Bartholomew ran hers when she was just 15-years-old, alongside her dad, before she even realised the magnitude of the distance or her achievement in completing it.

Since then the Aussie, now 22, has enjoyed a slew of wins at ultra-long distance races, including the 100km Ultra-trail Cape Town and Ultra-trail Australia, and last year took on her first 100 miler in the shape of one of the world’s most notorious and respected races: the Western States 100, where she came third.

We cover this, lessons learned during last year’s Western States 100 and more, below.

© Richard Bullock

At the age of eleven, Lydia Philip fled harrowing conditions in war-torn South Sudan with her father and six siblings after her village was burned down and her mother abducted. After arriving as a refugee in Kenya, her talent for running 400m was spotted by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation (run by Kenyan former elite runner, Tegla Loroupe) leading Lydia to join the Athlete Refugee Team, a collective of international refugee athletes competing under one banner.

As a result, Lydia’s life changed completely. Now 17, she’s represented the team in the U18 Athletics World Championships, and earns a small amount of pocket money which she divides amongst her family for food and school items.

Honest, moving and inspiring, I’m humbled that Lydia has shared her story with me in her own words.

A huge thank you to On, sponsors of the Athlete Refugee Team in Kenya, for making this happen.

Just a heads-up that I’m taking a break from posting for a week while I’m away. Normal service will resume on Tuesday 9^th April.

Katie x