Els Visser was 24-years-old and backpacking solo around Indonesia after finishing a medical internship in Bali when the small boat she was travelling on sank in the middle of the night with no signal, GPS or means to raise the alarm. After an eight-hour swim to the closest island Els and another passenger were eventually rescued.

The experience changed Els’ life and ultimately led her to take up triathlon. Below, the Dutch HOKA ONE ONE athlete shares a first-hand account of her shipwreck experience and reveals how her new-found resilience and approach to life helped her become an Ironman champion with a win in Maastricht last year.

© Robert Bösch

Regularly described as one of the world’s best all-round climbers, Barbara ‘Babsi’ Zangerl is known for her boundary-pushing versatility across trad climbing, big wall climbing, alpine routes, sport climbs and bouldering.

The 31-year-old Austrian was the first woman to climb an 8b grade bouldering route, the first woman to free climb El Capitan’s Magic Mushroom route (as part of only the second ever free ascent with partner Jacopo Larcher) and the first woman to nail the Alpine Trilogy of 5.14a sport routes.

When I got in touch with Babsi she was in Yosemite waiting for bad weather to clear up so she could climb The Nose on El Cap. During her downtime she was able to answer my questions on fear, free climbing and sending what at first seems impossible. Enjoy!

© Remy Whiting/220 Triathlon

When she’s not indulging her passion for open water swimming or running trails, today’s guest, Helen Webster, can be found interviewing the world’s top triathletes and testing the latest, greatest gear through her job as editor of 220 Triathlon, the UK’s biggest triathlon magazine.

With plenty of impressive open water swimming events under her belt (not to mention marathons, triathlons and some of the world’s toughest swimruns) you’d be forgiven for thinking that Helen’s enjoyed a life-long passion for endurance sport, but this couldn’t be further from the truth as she reveals in our Q&A. Plus, find out which kit she rates and what’s on her event bucket list.

© Tegan Blackford/roxy-uk.co.uk

Although just 14-years-old, Tegan Blackford is already winning surfing competitions designed to test the best English surfing talent under the age of 18. Most recently crowned U16 Short board National Champion and U18 Long Board National Champion, the Cornwall native is part of the English Junior Development Team and is also a Roxy ambassador – nice!

Here she chats about her surfing bloodline, swapping neoprene wetsuits for bikinis in Bali, and her hopes and goals for the future.

© Ian Corless

Swedish ultrarunner Elisabet Barnes is often referred to as desert running royalty. Both a coach and runner, the 42-year-old specialises in multi-stage races, particularly in desert conditions, with wins at the Marathon Des Sables (twice), the Oman Desert Marathon and Tunisia’s Ultra Mirage El Djerid to her name. As a result, she’s often the go-to coach for those wishing to take on their first MDS experience.

But her talents aren’t just limited to the desert. She has a fast road marathon running time, a love of fastpacking adventures (including a trip to Everest Base Camp) and last year came third at the 160km multi-stage Everest Trail Race, amongst other things. She also co-owns online running kit store MyRaceKit.com, so enjoys insider knowledge of the best gear for running, ultras and beyond. In fact, if you’re planning a multi-day desert ultra, check out Elisabet’s website for what to pack and how to prepare.

© Hokey Cokey Swimrun

Swimrun isn’t a new sport (it originated in Sweden more than a decade ago via ÖTILLÖ), but recently it’s exploded out of its niche sector, becoming popular in more mainstream endurance sport circles. Since I first wrote about swimrun in 2017 a lot has changed, with more events and brands on the scene in the UK and even a ‘solo’ option for competitors (historically it’s been raced in pairs).

According to Breca Swimrun, the brand that brought the sport to the UK, 45 percent of its field at the 2019 Breca Bay of Islands swimrun was female. So if you’re considering a swimrun, what do you need to know? Jude Palmer, experienced swimrunner and swimrun coach, fields my questions on the ins and outs of swimrun and shares her own experiences of racing and training.

As one half of an adventure writing husband-and-wife team, Jen Benson has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Britain’s best running trails and off-road adventures, having tested most of them at some point within the last few years.

The ultrarunner and mum of two is co-author (with husband, Sim) of some of the best-known trail running and adventure guides: Wild Running, The Adventurers Guide to Britain and Amazing Family Adventures, and has run more than 50 marathons and ultra events. Oh, and did I mention that in 2015 the family spent a year living in a tent, wild camping with their then 6-month-old and 3-year-old in tow? I quiz Jen on this crazy adventure, her ultras and a career in adventure writing below.

Where to start with today’s interviewee? Rosanna Kuit is an ultra-running, bike-packing, obstacle-running adventure lover who last year set a fastest known time (FKT) record running Britain’s 129-mile Greensand Way. She’s also a pretty accomplished obstacle course racer and has represented the UK at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championship (OCRWC).

On the bike, Rosanna’s cycling adventures have taken her to Chile twice where she’s ridden the Carretera Austral, which I quiz her about in this interview. She also spills the beans on her FKT experience, ‘ultra rage’ and blistergeddon.

© Marta Bacardit photographer

After a stonking 2018 race season where she was crowned Trail World Champion, Skyrunning Ultra Champion and overall winner of the Migu Run Skyrunner World Series, you could have forgiven Dutch athlete Ragna Debats for easing into her 2019 season. But instead she celebrated her first race of 2019 – the multi-stage desert ultra, the Marathon des Sables – with a decisive win, finishing nearly three hours ahead of the next female runner.

It was Ragna’s first experience running in the desert, and despite being sick and becoming dehydrated due to pain in her back (aggravated by a too-big backpack), the Merrell ambassador won the 250km race in 22 hours and 33 minutes. Lucky for me, I had the opportunity to chat to Ragna last week and hear first-hand about her training, preparation and Marathon des Sables (MdS) race experience.

© Dr Melanie Windridge

Scientist Dr Melanie Windridge is a plasma physicist and Vice President of the Alpine Club. Last year she summited Everest, filming her journey to the top to share the science behind her summit whilst also producing a YouTube series on it for the Institute of Physics.

Now busy writing a book about the science of summiting Everest, Melanie let me quiz her about her summit, the importance of acclimatisation, plus her training and kit (which for her Everest trip was sponsored by Montane). Scoot further down the interview to watch the film she made about her summit. It’s fascinating.