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Lessons In Badassery - Badass women in sport, fitness and adventure
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    Triple Triathlon World Champion
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    Triathlon LEGEND
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    Surfing The Waves
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    JODIE STIMPSON
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    Skiing Antarctica Coast-to-Coast
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    CrossFit and the Olympics
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    Cliff Diving Champion
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    Mountain bike legend
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fitness

Christal Clashing: History-making rower, freediver and Olympian

July 28, 2021 by badassery No Comments

© Paul Calver

Christal Clashing fell in love with the ocean whilst growing up in Antigua and quickly found she had a talent for swimming. At the age of 14, she represented Antigua at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Fourteen years later, she swapped swimming for rowing and made history as part of the first all-black rowing team to cross the Atlantic. Since then, Christal, who is a water coach, adventurer and writer, has switched her focus to freediving and hopes to set a national record.

In her twenties, Christal was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severely debilitating form of premenstrual syndrome which affects 2-10% of women. In this interview, we cover Christal’s rowing and freediving but check back next week to read about her journey to Olympic swimmer and learn more about her experience living with PMDD.

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Martina Valmassoi: 24-hour Uphill Ski World Record Holder

July 7, 2021 by badassery No Comments

© Philipp Reiter

If you follow the international trail running scene you’ll no doubt recognise Italian athlete Martina Valmassoi’s smiley face. A true all-seasons mountain athlete, Martina is a ski mountaineer foremost but has enjoyed many high profile ultra-trail running podiums alongside her skimo accolades, which have seen her represent the Italian national team and win team races such as the legendary Sellaronda Ski Marathon.

In March this year, with a bounty of snow on her doorstep in the Dolomites, Martina set a new women’s world record for the most vertical elevation accumulated on skis in 24 hours. After organising the entire attempt herself, she clocked an incredible 17,645m (57,890 feet!) on a slope in Auronzo di Cadore, Italy, eclipsing Rea Kolbl’s world record set a week prior.

At the time of our phone chat, Martina was preparing for the 80km Lavaredo Ultra Trail race, which she went on to win – congratulations, Martina!

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Ruth Mwandumba: Meet the GB Rifle Shooter and former English Champion

June 23, 2021 by badassery No Comments

© Paul Cooper

British-Malawian rifle shooter Ruth Mwandumba discovered she had a talent for shooting whilst in the Army Cadets at the age of 13, but it wasn’t until she joined a shooting club during university in London that she began to take it seriously. At the age of 22 she started competing and within the year was crowned 2018 English Champion. Now, Ruth is part of the GB rifle Talent Academy, competing in Air Rifle and 0.22.

Ruth’s is completely self-funded (hop to it, sponsors!), and when she’s not training, the 25-year-old from Liverpool is studying for a PhD in epidemiology. Below she talks through the basics of shooting, how she trained at home during lockdown, and the mental side of her performance.

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Sarah True: “The biggest tool I have is resilience”

June 9, 2021 by badassery No Comments

© Zwift

American triathlete Sarah True is a two-time Olympian and an ITU Triathlon World Champs silver and bronze medallist. In 2018, Sarah switched to long-distance triathlon, taking fourth place at her IRONMAN World Champs debut in Kona the same year. All in all, she’s pretty well qualified to be a mentor to the Zwift Academy Tri team, alongside fellow triathlon legend Tim Don.

Right now, Sarah is taking time out from racing as she prepares to welcome her first child next month. I caught up with her via email to ask about her own triathlon training, mental strategies, and her role as Zwift Academy Tri team mentor. 

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Vicky Hogg: Running 30 miles a day for 30 days

May 26, 2021 by badassery No Comments

Earlier this week, 35-year-old support worker, Vicky Hogg, set off to run the length of Great Britain from John O’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall, a 900-mile journey that will see her run 30 miles a day for 30 days! Vicky is no stranger to endurance challenges, having run coast to coast last July (137 miles in 5 days) and completed a mountain bike John O’Groats to Land’s End ride (1200 miles) in 2018.

Vicky tackles her many endurance challenges for charity and will be raising money for Dementia UK with her JOGLE run, inspired by the many people with dementia she works with on a daily basis. Before she set off on her challenge, I quizzed the 361° ambassador on the ins and outs of her 900-mile challenge.

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Elaine Acosta: Grief, 100-milers and giving back

May 12, 2021 by badassery No Comments

Ultrarunner, Elaine Acosta, ran her first ultra in 2010 and to date has completed 16 100-mile events. A UTMB finisher, Elaine has run everything from Comrades (56 miles) to Western States (100 miles). A big part of the running community, she frequently crews and paces for other ultrarunners (including former blog guest, Pam Reed) during 24-hour and 48+-hour events, such as Big’s Backyard Ultra and Cocodona 250.

In 2019, Elaine’s husband, Tom, who shared her passion for running, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. He passed away in 2020. In this Q&A, Elaine chats about the love of running she shared with Tom, how running has been a constant throughout the grief, and how she enjoys giving back to the running community by crewing events.

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Mimmi Kotka: Meet the mountain and ultra-trail athlete

April 28, 2021 by badassery No Comments
© Toni Spasenoski

Swedish ultra-trail athlete, Mimmi Kotka, quickly made a name for herself on the trail running circuit in 2016 when she won the CCC by UTMB (101K, 6100M elevation) by almost half an hour – only a year after entering her first ultra-trail race. Since then, Mimmi has won many of Europe’s most gruelling races, including the TDS by UTMB (121K, 7250M elevation) where she smashed the course record by 46 minutes.

A self-described ‘wild outdoor kid’, Mimmi developed a deep love of the outdoors and wilderness from a young age and hails from a family of foodies and foragers. A qualified nutritionist, she’s also a co-founder of Moonvalley, an organic sports nutrition brand which she founded with fellow trail running legends, Emilie Forsberg and Ida Nilsson.

In this Q&A, Mimmi, who is a Polar ambassador, chats about Moonvalley, ultra-trail nutrition, and her diagnosis of RED-s (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) last year.

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Nikki Bartlett: From Uni rower to IRONMAN Lanzarote winner

April 14, 2021 by badassery No Comments

Long-course triathlete, Nikki Bartlett, was a medal-winning GB University rower before an injury led her to join a friend in a half-IRONMAN triathlon. Despite having little to no swimming, cycling or running experience, she caught the bug and switched from rowing to age group triathlon in 2012. Within three years, Nikki had turned pro and in 2019 she won her first full distance pro title at the notoriously hard IRONMAN Lanzarote, winning by a four-minute margin. Although most of the 2020 race reason was cancelled, in a small window of opportunity last year, the Helvellyn Triathlon was able to go ahead and Nikki added the win to the long list of podium spots she has amassed.

Alongside competing as a professional triathlete, Nikki is also a guide for visually impaired GB para-triathlete, Alison Peasgood, and is looking to compete in this year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. 

In this Q&A, Nikki chats through a typical training week, the challenges of being a professional athlete in the pandemic, and the mental side of her training, amongst other things.  

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Katie Spotz: Running, rowing and riding for clean water

March 31, 2021 by badassery No Comments

Record holder Katie Spotz is an endurance sport junkie who ran her first marathon at the age of 18. Since then she’s taken on a long list of monumental physical challenges, including swimming the 325-mile Allegheny River in 2008, becoming the youngest person at the time (2010) to row the Atlantic, and the first person to run the length of Maine (137-miles) in 2020. And when she broke her pelvis in a bike crash just a week before a world record attempt at the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2011, she switched up her plan and completed it on a hand bike instead!

Katie, who is 33, does all of her endurance challenges to raise money for charities dedicated to providing clean water solutions to hard-hit areas across the world. Find out more in our Q&A below.

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Summer Adventure Destination: Chilly Powder, Morzine

March 17, 2021 by badassery No Comments

Counting down the days until you can travel safely again? Me too. When the time comes, I’ll be booking a summer escape to Morzine in the French Alps, after falling in love with the area during a summer stay at luxury chalet, Chilly Powder. Here’s why you should make it your European go-to for everything cycling, hiking, running, MTB and adventure…

Like many of you, I’ve been wistfully daydreaming of simpler times when the world was easily accessible and the only masks required on holiday came with a snorkel, so I’m introducing a new series to Lessons in Badassery alongside my usual interviews – adventure travel! After months of homeschooling, I’m longing for the clean air and grounding peace of the mountains, so a write-up is a nice way for me to relive our Morzine experience whilst sharing our new favourite adventure destination with you.

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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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Recent Posts

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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