Tough Girl Podcast Catherine Wallis - Plus-size adventurer, working mum, doing ultra challenges around the world!
Mar 31, 2020
41:34
Catherine Wallis is a 43 year old, mother of 3 who is a plus-size adventurer. In her later 30s after realising she leads a very boring life, Cathy wanted to make some changes. She signed up for her first 100k ultra and has been doing challenges and adventures ever since. Along the way Cathy has shared more of her journey via instagram (@plus_size_adventurer) and in the process has been inspiring other women to get out and see the world – regardless of their body type. In March 2019 Cath took part in the Rat Race Adventure Sports Mongol 100, a 100 mile long, four-day challenge across a frozen lake in northern Mongolia, in which temperatures plunged to minus -25 degrees celsius. Cathy has also completed numerous other adventures from the; The Canberra 100, The Big Red Run, The Oman Desert Marathon, Hellespont Race (swimming from Europe to Asia) and Race to the Wreck in Nambia! During this episode Cathy shares more about her life and the different challenges she has undertaken, she shares what she has learned and gives you advice and top tips on how you can get more adventure in your life. Show notes
- Leading a boring life and wanting to make a change
- Growing up in the 1980s
- Realising that she needed to make a change
- The first step to making a change
- 100km hike in a loop
- Starting off by making some little changes
- Being completely underprepared for the 100K walk
- The key lesson from this experience
- Starting to do 1 big event per year
- Doing The Big Red Run
- “How hard could it be?”
- Training for endurance walking
- Noticing improvements in your life
- The first multi stage endurance race
- Meeting the supportive ultra running community
- Finding day 3 to be the hardest
- Changing her mental mindset during a race
- “How lucky I am I to be here on my own two feet”
- Starting to share more of her journey on social media
- Training to run across a frozen lake in Mongolia!
- Dealing with extreme cold
- Being able to adapt to different challenges
- Confidence
- Deciding to swim from Europe to Asia!
- Challenges in 2019 and plans for 2020
- Rest and recovery and dealing with post adventure blues
- Doing a multi stage running event with her 12 year old daughter in Kenya
- Testing out a new challenge in Russia
- Final words of advice