Ellen in her own words: I was a late starter to living more adventurously: in my late-thirties I realised that maybe I hadn’t left it too late and began to push my boundaries. I gained my Hill and Moorland Leader qualification and after cycling a section of the Camino de Santiago in 2017 I set my sights on a cold adventure. With 42 being the answer to life, the universe and everything I planned and trained for an expedition on Svalbard in the high arctic in 2020 when I was 42. But just two weeks before leaving, covid cancelled everything. And cancelled again in 2021. The only thing to do was set a challenge I could do during lockdown and so the Cheshire Challenge was born. Searching for long distance walks local to home, I found there are 25 long distance trails that start or finish in Cheshire totalling 1500km and I’m walking them all. I love the wilder mountains and moors but lockdown has made me appreciate what is on my doorstep, but I still have my sights set on Svalbard. Third time lucky? Listen to Ellen on the Tough Girl Podcast - New episodes go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out! The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting The Tough Girl Podcast and becoming a patron please visit - www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Show notes Leading a double life of adventure and engineering Feeling as though she’d missed out on adventuring Getting into adventure in her mid thirties What changed in her mid thirties Growing up in Cumbria Starting to meet up with a friend in the Peak District How Rando Girls came about What Rando Girl means… Developing her outdoor skills from navigation to map reading How discovering the Tough Girl Podcast helped Getting into climbing and joining the Chester Mountaineering Club Enjoying the learning process Hill and Moorland Leader Qualification How long it took to get the qualification Balancing the training, gaining the knowledge and having a life! The dream to go to Svalbard, Norway A cold adventure! North, South or going High 42 - “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.” Being interested in human powered adventures Being inspired by Adelaide Goodeve Training expedition to Svalbard with Newland Expeditions Instructor - Helen Turton Having everything cancelled because of Covid Fingers crossed that it will go ahead in 2022 Being in the proper cold and learning how to ski Approach to fitness and keeping motivated during local lockdown The Cheshire Challenge - to walk all 25 long distance paths in Cheshire totalling 1,500km The The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) The 12hr Challenge (Inspired by Rae Red - Tough Girl Tribe) The Wirral Circular Trail Wanting to hit 42km…. in 12hrs! The toughest moment on the 12hr challenge Not wanting to get injured Having fun on the challenge Final push….. Final push!!! Roller skiing on Skikes Tyre pulling with Evil Edna… Final words of advice Social Media Website: randogirls.com Instagram: @randogirl42 Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllenRandoGirl Twitter: @randogirl42
