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Nikki Barnard - Ultra runner, recovered from stress fractures



Capt. Sophie Hollingsworth - Former Ballerina turned award winning explorer - New Explorer of the Year 2017. Fulbright Scholar. Fellow of The Explorers Club & PostGrad Fellow of RGS.

Nikki moved to Chamonix, to ski, serve beer to the locals and dance on bar tops, way back in the Winter of 2004. Nikki has worked hard to train and run long distances and has run some incredible races and routes all over the world. They include, the UTMB (all distances) 100km CCC/120km TDS/ 170km, as well as the Everest marathon.

Based in Chamonix, she is a fully qualified VTCT Sports Massage Therapist, LiRF Run Leader CiRF Trail/Fell Running coach. Nikki is currently working towards her Mountain Leader qualification and finalising a diploma in sports nutrition all along side founding and building - The Adventure Running Company.

In 2017, Nikki was a founder of the Neverest Girls who went out to inspire girls into trying their hand at challenges that they may have never thought possible.

 

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Show notes

  • How she ended up living and working in Chamonix

  • How she would introduce herself

  • Being the co founder of the adventure running company

  • When she started getting into running

  • How her love of longer distance running came about

  • How her business came about

  • The Neverest Girls

  • Where the idea came from to run the Everest Marathon

  • Deciding in October 2012 to do this challenge and making it a reality in May 2014

  • The biggest challenge while training - time and trying to balance life

  • Why it was a sad time to be in Nepal

  • Being evacuated from Base Camp

  • Why it was character building (Type 2 Fun)

  • The Trans Rocky Race in America

  • Dealing with stress fractures and having to sit out of the race

  • What she needed to change when she came back to running after her injury

  • Having a bone scintigraphy - and how it helped her to diagnose what was wrong

  • Her first race after injury - deferring UTMB until 2016

  • Wanting to do an Ironman in 2016 as well!!

  • Having a bad day on the course and not having it in her head and why she stopped.

  • Being mentally tired

  • Standing on the start line on UTMB in 2017 and feeling so ready for it and wanting it more than anything

  • Mental tips and tricks and why it is personal

  • Why she wants to know what it will be like once she finishes

  • Her 2018 season so far

  • How her crew support her to keep her going during the race when it gets tough

  • Race strategy

  • What a typical training week looks like

  • Concerns about getting stress fractures again

  • Nutrition…. vegetarian…. & food at aid stations during races

  • Why she is in the Lake District…

  • What the Bob Graham Round is and what’s involved..

  • Doing the Bob Graham Round in November… & her motivation behind it

  • Her 2019 challenge!!

  • Final words of advice for women who want to have more adventure running in their life

 

Social Media

Twitter - @adventurerunn

 

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