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Interview

Ultrarunner Anna-Marie Watson: “I adore technical running”

January 6, 2021 by badassery No Comments
© A. Watson

British ultrarunner Anna-Marie Watson has competed across Ironman triathlons and ultras for more than a decade and has a running resume that counts the CCC, UTMB and Marathon des Sables amongst its race highlights. She has a wealth of ultra-distance wins to her name, including Oman by UTMB, and most recently came second woman at the Coastal Ultra Xtreme. (Watch Anna-Marie in action at the CUX via Endurance Sports TV’s documentary The Ultra Mindset.)

Anna-Marie is a professional performance coach and in this interview, she provides insights into the mental side of racing, while revealing which elements of her former military career she carries over into her ultra race strategy and preparation.

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Interview

Inside ultrarunner Francesca Canepa’s training

October 7, 2020 by badassery No Comments

Last month I ran an interview with former UTMB winner and all-round ultrarunning badass, Francesca Canepa, where she admitted she runs ‘as little as possible’ in training because – shock! –she doesn’t actually like running that much.

This intrigued a lot of people (myself included) so today I’m back with more details about what Francesca’s training involves after she kindly offered to dive a bit deeper into it with me.

Thanks, Francesca!

N.B You can read our interview from last month here: Francesca Canepa: The UTMB winner who doesn’t like running.

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Interview

Alison Walker: ‘Hobby jogger’ to record-breaking ultrarunner

September 23, 2020 by badassery No Comments

© James Poole

After lining up for her first ultra less than two years ago, UK-based Malaysian ultrarunner Alison Walker leapt straight into 100+ mile distances with events such as the Samphire 100 and Tooting 24 – her first 24-hour race, in which she ran 185.9km and broke six Malaysian national records.

Having completed a 108-mile ‘quarantine’ backyard ultra this summer and several Fastest Known Time achievements, Alison eyed up a new challenge and just over a week ago, she became the first person to complete London’s continuous ‘Smog Graham’ round. An urban nod to the Lake District’s legendary Bob Graham Round, the challenge saw Alison bag every ‘peak’ in all 32 London boroughs – no mean feat at 302km and 3211m of elevation. Despite some navigational issues, she finished in 54 hours and 33 minutes.

From McDonald’s meltdowns and non-existent naps to borrowed shoes and blisters, the 32-year-old inov-8 ambassador shares the ups and downs of her ‘Smog’ with me in this Q&A, where we also chat about her 100-mile training weeks and the steps she takes to stay injury-free.

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Interview

Meet Sabrina Pace-Humphreys: Ultrarunner and Black Trail Runners co-founder

September 16, 2020 by badassery No Comments

© www.inov-8.com/ James Appleton

Rewind to 2009 and Sabrina Pace-Humphreys was looking for a way to get fit after her fourth child. Despite hating the idea of running, she gave it a go anyway, running for a minute then walking for a minute. Eleven years later, the British 42-year old mum of four and grandma of two is a Marathon des Sables finisher and has just completed her first 102-mile run on the Cotswold Way!

Sabrina is also co-founder of Black Trail Runners which was launched in July to create a safe, open community for black trail runners and campaign for greater access, skills and representation within trail running. We dive into this further in the Q&A below, where Sabrina also recalls her experience and preparation for the multi-day desert ultra, the Marathon des Sables (MdS), and her recent, epic Cotswold Way 100-miler (extreme nausea included).

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Interview

Francesca Canepa: The UTMB winner who doesn’t like running

September 9, 2020 by badassery No Comments

Italian ultrarunner Francesca Canepa was a podium-bagging professional snowboarder before switching to running at the age of 38. Despite not having run before, she came tenth overall in her first race. Incredibly, just two years later, in 2012, Francesca came second at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). And if that wasn’t crazy enough, one week after UTMB she won the notoriously gruelling Tor des Geants, an unimaginably tough race covering 330km with 24,000m of vertical elevation.

Since then the mum of two has gone on to win more of trail running’s most revered and challenging races, including Laveredo Ultra Trail and, in 2018 at the age of 46, UTMB – six years after she ran it for the first time.

Incredibly, for an ultrarunner, Francesca avoids running as much as possible in training – yes, you read that right. In this Q&A, Francesca, who is a trained psychologist, shares what her training actually involves, how she fuels her ultras and what’s got her through the toughest moments she’s faced in her racing career so far.

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Interview

Sara Svensk: Meet the fifth fastest IRONMAN pro

September 2, 2020 by badassery No Comments

©TRR Nutrition

Swedish IRONMAN athlete Sara Svensk’s journey into triathlon only began six years ago, but she quickly found she was a natural in the sport, going from a newbie in the 70.3 discipline to Swedish national champion in just a year – all whilst working fulltime as an intern surgeon!

More recently, in 2019, the TRR Nutrition ambassador came 10th at the 70.3 IRONMAN World Championships in Nice and clocked up the fifth-fastest women’s pro time (full IRONMAN) in history with her 8:34 win at IRONMAN Barcelona.  I got the lowdown on Sara’s background, training and the sessions she loves to hate, via email for this quick Q&A.

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Vanessa Foerster: How to build a kickass mindset

August 26, 2020 by badassery No Comments

As a mental endurance coach Vanessa Foerster equips her IRONMAN triathletes with the game-changing mental skills to help them race their way to the ultimate IRONMAN event: the World Championship in Kona, so I am super excited to have her here to share her knowledge on how to improve your performance by training your mind.

Vanessa, who lives in Montana, USA is an IRONMAN age group athlete herself (with a Kona qualification, no less!) and revolutionised her performance and race success using the same coaching techniques she teaches her clients. In addition, she recently set up The Diversify Triathlon Movement in a bid to help change the landscape of what is a predominantly white sport and introduce more black, indigenous, and people of colour to triathlon. Read on for more on this, plus insider mindset tactics Vanessa uses to train her brain to endure mental discomfort and perform at her best.

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Interview

Perrine Fages: Ultracycling Lake Baikal and the Himalayas

August 11, 2020 by badassery No Comments

Regular readers will remember I last interviewed French lawyer Perrine Fages back in 2018 when we chatted about her incredible Arch to Arc world record, which involved running 87 miles from London’s Marble Arch to Dover, swimming the English Channel and then cycling 181 miles to Paris (I know!). Since then, Perrine hasn’t stopped – she took the crown of the BikingMan Ultra 2018 women’s champion, ran the Oman by UTMB ultra, gravel biked the Annapurna route self-supported and last week completed a relay swim of the English Channel in a swimsuit.

In March this year, Perrine joined fellow ultracyclist Steven Le Hyaric in attempting a crossing of Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal by bike. Their 635km ride, which took place in -30°C temperatures, was cut short due to the unusually snowy conditions (it’s usually ice, not snow) which delayed their journey and risked Perrine missing her flight home for work. To find out more about this and Perrine’s Himalayan cycle adventure, I put some questions to her via email.

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Interview

Nique Miller: “I want to pave the way for minority surfers”

August 5, 2020 by badassery No Comments

© Yoshi Tanaka

I’m thrilled to have American pro surfer Nique Miller as today’s Lessons in Badassery interview. Nique resides in Waikiki, Hawaii (check out her Instagram handle for crystal clear turquoise ocean shots) and is self-taught in both longboarding and stand-up paddle surfing. She competes in both and reached a ranking of fifth in the world in stand-up paddle surfing in 2018.

To find out more about Nique’s surfing, I caught up with her via email where she shared details of her pro career so far, including the reality of choosing between entering a contest or paying rent, and the sponsorship challenges of being an Afro-Latina surfer. Nique also reveals her typical day in Waikiki and her aspirations to pave the way for minority surfers as she moves towards her first world title win.

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Brittany Peterson: Meet the FKT-holding ultrarunner

July 29, 2020 by badassery No Comments

© Skyrunner World Series

American ultrarunner Brittany Peterson is on fire. Last year, the 34-year-old moved from short, technical Skyrunner World Series races to the ultimate benchmark of the 100-mile distance: the Western States Endurance Run, where she battled it out with eventual winner Clare Gallagher to place second and record the fourth-fastest women’s time in history.

Then, in June of this year, Brittany and her ultrarunning partner, Cody Lind, set a new fastest known time (FKT) on Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail, a super-gnarly, 300-mile route that accumulates almost 40,000ft in elevation gain. It took the couple four days, 9 hours, 27 minutes and 18 seconds, and at one point, due to 94 per cent humidity and an electrolyte issue, Brittany was peeing blood for six hours. Gulp.

As you’ll see from this email Q&A, Brittany is a total badass and I’m thrilled to have her on Lessons in Badassery.

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About My Blog

Mountain View

I'm a sports/adventure journalist and copywriter, and I LOVE reading about badass women in sport, fitness and adventure. So I’m on a mission to find them, share their stories, and quiz them about their training, their motivation, and insider tips (totally hoping some badass magic will rub off on me along the way!). Plus I’ll bring you how-tos, must-have kit and tales of epic from some of the coolest and toughest events on the planet.

Email Me: katie@lessonsinbadassery.com

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Posting update and festive wishes

Posting update and festive wishes

December 14, 2022
‘Riding to prove that we can’ – meet the mountain bikers challenging MS stereotypes

‘Riding to prove that we can’ – meet the mountain bikers challenging MS stereotypes

November 16, 2022
Adelaide Goodeve: Performance psychologist and Ironman athlete

Adelaide Goodeve: Performance psychologist and Ironman athlete

November 2, 2022
Amy Robitaille: Outright winner of Ultraman Canada

Amy Robitaille: Outright winner of Ultraman Canada

October 19, 2022
Dr Dina Altayeb: Trailblazing Ironman triathlete

Dr Dina Altayeb: Trailblazing Ironman triathlete

October 5, 2022

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  • Posting update and festive wishes
  • ‘Riding to prove that we can’ – meet the mountain bikers challenging MS stereotypes
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  • Dr Dina Altayeb: Trailblazing Ironman triathlete

lessonsinbadassery

Hello! Christmas is almost upon us, so I thought I Hello! Christmas is almost upon us, so I thought I’d combine my usual Crimbo message with a posting update. Regular readers might have spotted that a new interview is overdue (sorry, peeps!). Unfortunately, five of my athlete interviews agreed before summer haven’t materialised, so I’ve been left with a gap in posting.

I usually like to work around 6 weeks in advance, so I know I’m nice and organised with my interviews (as they often involve going back and forth for weeks and require images etc.), which I do around my day job and family. However, the reality of running a non-monetised blog is that sometimes interviews are agreed upon and questions sent, only to fall through up to a year later.

Thankfully, I have two new athlete interviews in the pipeline now with two incredible women, so I hope to be back up and running in February if you can bear with me that long 😉.

In the meantime, a big thank you for your support in 2022 and a huge thanks to the brilliant athletes who have taken time out of their busy schedules to let me pester them with questions this year. You rock!

Muchos love and festive happiness to you ❤️

Katiex

#lessonsinbadassery #womeninsport #womeninadventure #endurancetraining
Can you ride an epic MTB race after a multiple scl Can you ride an epic MTB race after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis? @paddle_kat and @sargar83 (who both have MS) teamed up to ride the 4-day Cape to Cape race in a bid to raise money for MS charity and create a positive narrative around racing in multi-sports after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis💥 They both tell me all about it on Lessons in Badassery today.

⚡️Read via the link in my bio or visit Lessonsinbadassery.com ⚡️ 

📸 @capetocapemtb
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#msdiagnosis #multiplesclerosis #MSathlete #mssociety #livingwithms #cape2cape #mtbracing #womenscycling #multisportracing #womenssport #mtblife #singletrack #multistagerace #endurancewomen #endurancetraining #lessonsinbadassery #msinspiration
We deep dive into the mental side of training and We deep dive into the mental side of training and racing in today’s interview with performance psychologist and Ironman athlete @adelaidegoodeve 💥 

Get the lowdown on how your language affects your performance (and how to use it as a performance enhancer), what NOT to say in your self-talk, why time-based race race goals can derail your performance, and why running on a treadmill opposite a wall isn’t a smart way to build mental resilience. 🤩 Thanks, Adelaide!

⚡️ Read via the link in my bio or visit Lessonsinbadassery.com ⚡️

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#ironman #ironmanathlete #ironmatraining #triathlontraining #swimbikerun #braintraining #mentalstrength #positivemindset #sportspsychology #athlete #adventure #womenscycling #womensrunning #mentalstrengthtraining #goalsetting #trainsmart #womenssport #lessonsinbadassery #endurancetraining #brainendurancetraining #resilience
Instagram didn’t save the web link to my intervi Instagram didn’t save the web link to my interview with the brilliant @honesttriathlete (overall winner of Ultraman Canada this year), but it’s up now! If you haven’t read Amy’s Q&A, head over to it now (link finally in my bio 🙄) or visit Lessonsinbadassery.com 💥 

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#ultraman #ultraathlete #ultrarunner #ultratriathlon #ironman #ironathlete #ultracycling #womenscycling #triathlontraining #swimbikerun #womensrunning #womenstriathlon #ironmantraining #lessonsinbadassery #bricksession #intervals #endurancetraining #endurancesport #endurancewomen #ultramancanada #ultramanworldchampionship
I’m thrilled to have outright winner of Ultraman I’m thrilled to have outright winner of Ultraman Canada, Amy Robitaille (@honesttriathlete), answer my questions on Lessons in Badassery today. We cover Amy’s training, and how it all went down during the three-day event, which included a 10K swim and 145K bike on day one, a further 275K bike on day two, and an 84.4K run on the final day. 😳
Amy is also an Ironman finisher, holds an FKT (fastest known time) and has completed a virtual Everest on Alpe du Zwift. 🙌🙌🙌

Read via the link in my bio of visit Lessonsinbadassery.com 💥 

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#ultraman #ultraathlete #ultrarunner #ultratriathlon #ironman #ironathlete #ultracycling #womenscycling #triathlontraining #swimbikerun #womensrunning #womenstriathlon #ironmantraining #lessonsinbadassery #bricksession #intervals #endurancetraining #endurancesport #endurancewomen #ultramancanada #ultramanworldchampionship
*New Q&A!* Dr @dina.altayeb was the first Saudi to *New Q&A!* Dr @dina.altayeb was the first Saudi to complete a full Ironman triathlon and the first Arab woman to compete at the Ironman World Championships in Kona - where she is right now, about to race for the third time 🎉👊

Read Dina’s Q&A via the link in my bio or visit Lessonsinbadassery.com 🔥

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#ironmanworldchamps #trilife #ironman #ironman2022 #ironathlete #ironmantri #triathletelife #triathlontraining #swimbikerun #roadtokona #womensrunning #womenscycling #womenstriathlon #ironmantraining #lessonsinbadassery #bricksession #intervals #ironmanworldchamps22 #ironmankona22 #kona2022
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