Rebecca in her own words:
“First and foremost, I’m a mum of 5. However, I’ve always maintained and embraced sport throughout pregnancies and parenting.
My love of the outdoors and especially running, was instilled in me from an early age having grown up with a very sporty family. Many holiday was spent walking and camping in Scotland
I started running, ballet and horse riding at a very early age. I grew up in a small village in the north and if I wanted to see friends I’d walk, run, ride a bike or pony !
It wasn’t really until 2014 that the ultra endurance big kicked in with full effect ! I wanted a new, bigger challenge to raise money for a charity which had helped me during one of my pregnancies. I’d heard about a brutal desert race ( the infamous Marathon Des Sables ) and decided that this would be a great challenge.
It’s from here that the endurance bug really kicked in. I finished a respectable 10th lady on my first big challenge. What’s better is that I’d found this incredible community of like minded people who loved being outside and running for hours on end !
I competed globally racing in Colorado, Himalayas, Spain, France - picking up the occasional podium on my travels.
Yet, it was the mountains which really set my heart on fire. Racing in the Himalayas, I’d often seen this beautiful mountain called ‘Ama Dablam’. I’d think to myself how wonderful it would be to climb it but I’d been told it was for really accomplished climbers only.
It is a technical mountain. Unperturbed, I decided ‘why not try?!’
A running friend put me in touch with his climbing friend and we worked together last year climbing in Wales - around the lockdown.
I summited Ama almost a year ago and from there, a love of high altitude mountain climbing was ignited.
To find myself completing the Everest and Lhotse ‘High Double’ at the beginning of the season and then to summit K2’ was simply a dream!”
Learn more about Rebecca and her love and passion for the outdoors.
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Show notes
Who is Becks
Being adopted and coming from a sporty family
Growing up in North Yorkshire on a farm/small holding
Having sport parents
Being encouraged to go outside and try new things
Spending a lot of time with her dad
Exploring in the Peak District
Spending 2 months in Australia at 15
Being active through her teenage years
Her running journey
Looking for a running challenge in 2014
Running the Marathon des Sables (MDS) in 2015
Being told that it was a stupid idea
Getting into the ultra running world
Making great friends in the community
Training by herself
Getting to know ultra runner (and previous Tough Girl Podcast guest - 29th December 2015) - Elisabet Barnes
Continuing to push herself with endurance challenges
Running the Everest Trail Race, Nepal (2017)
Feeling comfortable in the hills
Being inspired by Ama Dablam (6,812 metres (22,349 ft)) and wanting to climb it
Reducing her risk of injury, doing cross training, stretching, pilates, and gym work
How the body performs during a multi-stage ultra race
Nutrition and fuelling
Making the transition from endurance running to mountain climbing
Working with a high altitude expedition guide - Jon Gupta
Climbing Island Peak and Ama Dablam in Nepal
Having the capacity to endure and keep going
Going with the flow and wanting to do the things that she enjoys
Preferring the quieter mountains
Having the adventure blues after the MDS
Adjusting back to normal life after expeditions
Living in the present and making the most of everyday
How adventures and challenges can evolve
Climbing for 3 months in Nepal (Everest, Lhotse (4th highest mountains in the world at 8,516 metres) & K2)
Wanting to climb an 8,000 peak mountain and thinking about the “high double”
Not summiting Makalu (5th highest mountain in the world at 8,485 metres) and the lessons learned
Struggling on the mountain and not feeling very well
Summit night arriving at camp 3 and dealing with too much wind and snow and having to head back down
Feeling proud of her achievement and never giving up
Why it’s more than just the summit
Her children’s thoughts on her climbing
Having a birthday on the mountain
K2 - “the savage mountain”
Being aware of the danger
Using oxygen
Being able to move quicker on the mountain and the benefits
Feeling grateful in having the opportunity to climb such an incredible mountain
Social Media
Instagram: @becksferry
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