Katy 'KP' Parrott has been described as “Tinkerbell crossed with the Terminator”. Katy found her passion for adventure at a young age and when she was 17 went on an expedition to Nepal. Her love of nature and the outdoors led her to gain a First in Biology from the University of Bath and a Masters in wildlife film making for which she had to make a video out in the wilds of Bulgaria.
She was a ‘recruit’ in the BBC programme Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, which she was selected for out of thousands of applicants, and made it to the final six in the show. It was an experience she found ‘life-changing’ and one that has inspired her to train to become an Army medic.
Most recently she has done her first 100K and half ironman. Katy also shares more about her future challenges and she wants to undertake!
** Please note during this episode we do talk briefly about her friend who lost of her life to suicide**
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Show notes
Living in Bristol
How Katy would describe herself - “tinker bell crossed with the terminator”
Growing up in Bristol, spending a lot of time outside playing sports
Heading to Nepal at 17
Not knowing how much adventure was going to play a part of her life
Doing sport, theatre, and paining, but also having a passion for wildlife
Having a passion for adventure and why it snowballed
What the BBC TV show #UltimateHellWeek was all about
Having 5 weeks to prepare…
15 men and 7 women
Why she wanted to apply and the shock of finding out she had made it!
Mentally not knowing how she was going to cope
Preparing her body and training at various times to get herself use to different situations
Coping with the unknown and getting anxious about what was going to happen next
Going in with an open mind - “why there was nothing that would make her quit during the process”
Getting respect
The task that almost pushed her over the edge, being locked in a coffin for most of the night
Being made Team Leader!
4 women making it to the final 6
What she learned from going through this experience
Planning a 400K hike through the Bulgarian Mountains!
Mental tips and tricks - why it is always going to finish at some point
Heading out to Bulgaria to hike
Crashing after 4 days into the hike
Finding old Russian military maps from the 1980s
Having feet issues
How she recovered once she got home
Wanting to take on another challenge & signing up for the Army Reserves as a Combat Medic
Deciding going full time in the Army isn’t the right decision for her
Doing the Cotswold Way Ultra - 100K (62 miles) from Bath to Cheltenham
Managing her feet before and during challenges & why she swears by talc
Diet, food and drinking
Future challenges and goals including wanting to walk the full length of Sir Lanka, an Ironman and maybe rowing an ocean
Not letting her height stop her
Advice for other women who want to take on new challenges
Why you should say Yes and worry about it afterwards
The marines letting in women
Being rubbish with social media!
Social Media
Twitter - @ParrottKaty
Instagram - @katy.parrott
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