Tough Girl Podcast Jen Benson - Adventuring with her partner and two young children, living in a tent for 18 months while exploring Britain’s National Parks.
Jen and her husband Sim have completed multiple marathons, ultra-marathons, Ironman triathlons and adventure races. In 2015 they decided they had had enough of the traditional way of living and spent a year living under canvas with their two young children (5 and 7 years old), they used this opportunity to explore more of Britain’s National Parks.
Jen enjoys writing about nature, families, sport and adventures, she co-authors books with Sim, and their books include two of the Day Walks series from Vertebrate; The Adventurer’s Guide to Britain (2018); Amazing Family Adventures (2017); and Wild Running (2014).
Jen is an advocate of sustainable adventuring, and she works with organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission to highlight the importance of looking after our precious wild places.
Show notes
- Growing up and loving the outdoors and playing sports
- Moving from London to the countryside
- Not really enjoying sports at school - but loving running
- How she uses running to get “me time”
- Focusing on running and getting into ultra marathons
- Recovering from a car crash
- Her first marathon…. the Snowdonia Marathon
- Fitting her running in around her life
- Why she loves running
- Combining her passions for writing and running
- Not getting maternity pay and not being able to work
- Getting her first publishing deal
- Deciding to live in a tent for a year (to have an adventure and to save money!)
- How she met her husband - Sim
- The reality of living in a field with a 3 year old and a 6 month old
- Having a back up plan
- Camping in the UK throughout winter
- Having supportive friends
- How life changed after having children
- Home schooling the children
- The race for the stones (while still breast feeding)!
- Wanting to prove to herself that she could take on a big challenge
- Struggling with motivation while running and how she got passed it
- Amazing Family Adventures (a book with the National Trust)
- Exposing children to risk
- Not putting her children on social media
- Advice for new parents for getting children involved in adventure
- Leaving tent life behind and moving back into a house
- The Adventurers Guide to Britain
- New books coming out next year!
Social Media
Website - https://www.adventureplaces.co.uk
Facebook - @jenandsimbenson
Instagram - @jenandsim_adventures
Twitter - @jenandsim