Allie spent a lot of her life seeking approval from people she thought were cool, believing that in order to be successful, you had to act a certain way. For her, success is seeing someone who doesn't believe they can do something transform into someone who does.
After working for major record labels for 12 years, Allie realised that music, which she had once loved, was slowly killing her. Her dream career had turned her into a nightmare, and she was completely lost. Allie has struggled to find her place and suffers from depressive demons, anxiety, and existential misery.
After taking part in the inaugural Rat Race Test Pilot trip to Mongolia in 2018, she realised it was the first time she had truly had time to stop, think, and be completely at peace. Fast forward, after three and a half years, numerous journeys, a pandemic, some questionable decisions, and a lot of planning and running, Allie is now coaching other people to do amazing things.
Allie holds several world firsts to her name, including running across Mongolia's Lake Khovsgol and crossing the Namib Desert twice. Allie is the first woman to run the entire length of the Panama Canal. She has also run the length of the Outer Hebrides, crossed Scotland on packraft and foot several times, and completed over 100 marathons and 60-70 ultramarathons, including nine 100-mile plus races.
Allie started running 10 years ago and have only being doing the ultra thing for 6 years, but she absolutely love it. It's a game changer. Allie believes that it is something that anyone of any age and from any background can participate in.
Allie has been extremely lucky to have discovered something she truly enjoys doing, and her favorite thing in the entire world is seeing people achieve things they never thought were possible
"There's nobody funner than an Ultrarunner" - Allie Bailey
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast 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 being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
* We have previously spoken with Allie on 18th Dec 2018 - Listen here FYI marked as *Explicit - as there are a few little swear words!
Listen to Allie Now!
Click here if you can't see the link below.
Show notes
Who is Allie Bailey
Meeting her dogs!
Why ultra running and why she loves it
Writing her book
How running helps with her mental health
Being able to process her thoughts
Going more into adventure running
Her favourite distance to run…
Liking 100 mile races
LEJOG - Lands End to John O’Groats
The ultimate dream
Working with Rat Race
Starting on the 1st June 2022
Running on average 35 miles a day
The hardest part of the LEJOG challenge
The mental side of the challenge
The challenges of being away from home
What a typical day looked like
Starting with the South West Coast Path
Running 44 miles into Bristol over 12 hrs
Chocolate milk
Being in bed asleep by 8pm
Snacking all day
Having a rest day once a week
Staying injury free throughout the journey
Wanting to finish the run
Voltarol gel to help with the pain
Using bonjela to numb blisters
Wearing Inov-8 Parkclaw G280 - for 750 miles (then wearing a second pair for the final 250 miles) - “the greatest shoe of all time”
The ultra playlist on Spotify - The Bailey Ultra Sound System
Getting to Scotland and the final few days
Spending time by herself towards the end
Getting to John O’Groats and doing the final mile
Feeling underwhelmed with what she had achieved
What she would have done differently
Wishing she had done more strength training before she left
Costs of taking on a challenge like this
Dragons Back Race, Wales
Getting timed out on day 2
Why it was the most intense thing she’s ever done
Feeling like a fraud
Taking herself out of the situation
The lessons learned from the experience
Wanting to go back in 2024 and try again
Not being kind to herself
Being able to reframe the situation
Time off in 2023…..
Planning to do her first 200 miler and wanting to run all the Wainwrights in a year
Taking 10 days off running!!!
How you can connect with Allie
Final words of wisdom and advice for women who want to get into running and take it to the next level
Finding your people, find your tribe, find your people
Social Media
Website www.alliebailey.co.uk
Instagram @ab_runs
Twitter @AllieBailey
Feeling inspired week after week?
You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love.
Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!
Want to do more?
Please become a Patron and donate US$5 a month to help fund the runnings costs. Thank you.
