28 Summers - Find Your Adventure

I can’t think of anyone better to help bring Season 3 to a close than my guest today - Karen Darke @handbikedarke. Karen lives life as a modern-day ‘Alchemist’, passionate about turning challenge into opportunity and transforming the difficult stuff into ‘gold'. She loves to explore, have adventures, stay healthy, and to write about her experiences. As a young woman, Karen was a keen runner, climber and orienteer but fell of a cliff whilst climbing and became paralysed from the chest down - aged just 21. In her own words, at first she thought she would rather be dead than paralysed but she soon learned that with friends, creativity and perseverance so many things are still possible in a wheelchair. Karen has had a pretty extraordinary life and I really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

My guest today is Laura Massey-Pugh, one half of husband and wife duo @stela_tandem - Laura and her husband Stevie are currently preparing to circumnavigate the world on a tandem bicycle in just 180 days later this year.  That means averaging over 100 miles a day across 4 continents, 22 countries to complete the 18,000 miles from start to finish!   They have set their sites on smashing the current world record of 263 days for a tandem ride and we talk about where the idea came from, how to prepare for an event as huge as this and how to handle the nervous conversation with your boss!  Check out more at their website stelatandem.com

I was fortunate enough recently to be invited on Boundless Body Radion with host Casey Ruff.  This is a great podcast and well worth a follow - we discuss my career journey to CEO, dealing with identity loss after moving back to the UK and finding my purpose outdoors, living adventurously.  I really enjoyed this chat and hope you do too!

Search for Boundless Body Radio on any podcast platform or follow Casey on IG @casey_ryan_ruff

Finally some more of my awesome campfire chats with incredible adventurers at The 2021 Armchair Adventure Festival (@armchairadventurefest).

First up is my chat with Matt Newbury (@matt_newbz) and Sophie Pierce (@mssophiepierce|) - friends and wild swimmers - talking about the growth in popularity of wild swimming and tips on how to get involved if you are tempted to give it a try!

At 26:20 you can hear me chat to Abbi Naylor (@abbi.naylor) - Head of Expeditions at Rat Race (@ratracehq), discussing her incredible expeditions, career pivot and our recent epic trip to Exuma, kayaking the length of one side of the Bermuda Triangle!

This week something a little different for you.  My guest today is my good friend Greg Potter PhD (@gregpotterphd).  Greg is co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Resilient Nutrition (@resilientnuts), a company that makes nutrition products that sustainably enhance both mental and physical performance. As Chief Science Officer he leads the research and development of all RN products, the first of which (Long Range Fuel) is first in my pack on every adventure and the latest, SWITCH ON, is going to change your mornings forever!  His work aims to help people better understand how to enhance their sleep, circadian system function, nutrition, exercise, and stress management.  In this episode, we talk about the power of sleep and how critical it is for our wellbeing and performance.  This is going to be another one of those episodes you want to listen back to for sure!

Show notes / key topics:

14:30 Sleep State Misperception and Efficiency strategies 

26:05 Seasonal Affective Disorder and ways to combat SAD

38:45 Impact of smartphones on our sleep quality and mental health 

41:09 Caffeine, it’s good qualities and it’s relationship with sleep 

49:59 Thoughts on tech based sleep trackers and understanding long term trends in sleep data 

59:19 Recommended books on insomnia and sleep 

Weblinks mentioned by Dr P you many want to check out:

• caffeineinformer.com
• stopbang.ca
• sleepio.com

My guest today is Keith Burnet (@keithaurnet).  Keith is a father, husband, executive and former colleague from the fitness industry - a place where I spent more than two decades of my working life.  Since beginning this wonderful 28 Summers journey I have discovered some incredibly rich stories of everyday folks doing amazing things all around the world.  The deeper I get into this world the more I realise that incredible stories exist all around us, we just need to look for them.  Keith is someone that I have admired from afar for many years but never had a deep relationship with.  Professional interactions never made way for more meaningful connection and yet, in chatting to Keith recently I realised just how much we are kindred spirits.  We share a similar journey and mindset on life and adventure and I feel so grateful to have found this new level of connection with him.  Keith has completed the Marathon des sables, rowed the Atlantic Ocean and, later this year, plans to cycle across North America.  He has a calm, thoughtful view of the world and I absolutely loved reconnecting with him for this chat

This week something a little different - I was fortunate enough to be invited on to the very awesome Anti-Hustle Hustle Club podcast with Joe and Harriet.  I absolutely LOVED this chat and asked them if they would mind me sharing with you all via the 28 Summers podcast.  Harriet and Joe are sharing such a critical message - that the traditional hustle and grind is not all it's cracked up to be and that slowing down and doing less can lead to so much MORE!  I was sold as soon as I heard one of their episodes and really hope you enjoy our chat about work, life and happiness.  Make sure you subscribe to their podcast and give them a follow on IG @antihustle.hustleclub @joewelstead @harrietosborne

My guest today is Saki Nakamura (@ultra_saki).  Saki was born in Japan and raised in England from a young age having lived her for more than 25 years.  After falling in love with ultra running, she realised she had lost touch with her Japanese heritage and wanted to reconnect with her family in Japan and rediscover Japan’s culture.  She continues to be blindsided by Covid travel restrictions but is currently gearing up for her Pilgrimage Run - running between 88 temples whilst covering over 1200km around one of the Japanese islands.  With a target of 50 miles a day Saki is looking to set the Fastest Known Time in under 14 days and 10 hours.  This is both an epic challenge and a remarkable way to reconnect with her Japanese heritage.  As it is a true pilgrimage there are certain rituals that she must perform at each temple, adding an element of complexity to the already exhausting plan.

My guest today is Nikki Love @nikkiloveruns - according to her website she is here to do her best, be her best, have a blast along the way and bring as many people as she can along for the ride. Put simply she is Chasing Extraordinary! Nikki’s message is simple - it’s never too late, you’re never too old and you are capable of much more than you ever thought possible.  In this awesome chat, Nikki talks through her own journey of self-doubt and discovery and how she unlocked her superpowers.  This is a must-listen, perfectly timed as we reflect back on the last 12 months and how we want to take on 2022!

Nikki talks about how experiencing highs and lows, running for fun and pushing herself to the brink brought back her confidence, her daring, her passion and her purpose.

My guest today is Alex Staniforth (@Alexstaniforth_) - Alex is an adventurer, speaker, author and charity ambassador.   He has made two attempts to climb Mount Everest but this isn’t your typical story about climbing Everest.  Suffering a mild form of epilepsy at nine years old shattered his confidence and self-esteem with panic attacks and anxiety a regular theme from his childhood.   Relentless bullying throughout school and a lifelong stammer in his speech left him - in his own words - with a  ‘victim’ mindset.  After experiencing paragliding on holiday aged just thirteen unearthed his passion for the outdoors he found a way to prove himself wrong, and choose his what challenges him! He began to question these self-limiting beliefs through outdoor challenges, and learned that we can’t always choose our challenges – but we can choose how we respond.