What does it take to climb Kilimanjaro when you don’t live near mountains? And what happens when you decide to do it all over again for the Inca Trail?

In this episode, I sit down with Alicia—a self-described “non-athlete” who trained on 23 stairs behind a building and a treadmill with a pack on her back to summit Kilimanjaro. She’s funny, self-deprecating, and brutally honest about what it really feels like to take on a trek of this size. Expect a few laugh-out-loud moments mixed with some hard-earned wisdom.

Now she’s training with me again, this time for the Inca Trail. By Week 5 she’s already logged 67 miles and 25,623 feet of elevation gain—compared to 62 miles and 17,749 feet at the same point in her Kilimanjaro plan. Why the difference? This time, the training is packed into 8 weeks instead of 12, and with experience comes a new awareness of how to push and how to know your limits.

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