Further. Faster. Podcast

In this episode, we speak to Jenny Graham and Calum Maclean about their challenge, which wasn't the furthest, nor the fastest, but the straightest. 

A few years ago, Ordnance Survey found the longest straight line in Britain that didn't cross any paved roads. The line crosses the Cairngorms, and over four days Jenny and Calum walked that line, crossing whatever they came up against. 

On hand were Matt and Ellie Green from Summit Fever Media to record the trip. The result is The Longest Line, a short film about their exploits.

The film will be available to watch as a live premiere on December 28th at 7 p.m. via our Facebook channel and will also be available on YouTube until midnight, December 29th. 

In this episode, we talk to the rising star of ultra races, Simon Roberts. This guy just keeps winning! Not least of all the recent Montane Dragon's Back Race, a mountainous 380km ultra run across Wales.

Daniel speaks to Simon about how a mindset change changed everything, some unorthodox self-motivation techniques, and his hopes for the forthcoming winter ultra, the Montane Cheviot Goat in Northumberland this weekend.

The Cheviot Goat is a 55 mile (11,500 feet of ascent) winter ultra run through Northumberland National Park. The Cheviots are a sprawling range of rolling hills straddling the Anglo-Scottish border with one of the lowest population densities anywhere in the UK, and is widely considered one of the last wild places in England. 
 

Joanne Backshall and Steve Tonkin are the programme manager and digital lead for Fix the Fells. For 20 years, this organisation has made an astonishing impact helping to offset visitors’ impact on the Lake District fells. Just have a glance at the before and after photos on fixthefells.co.uk for the frankly jaw-dropping changes that have been made by this inspiring team.  

Over the years, more than £10 million worth of donations have been made to help support this cause. This year, Montane are also donating money to Fix The Fells on Black Friday – instead embracing Green Friday. In addition to this, we also are matching funding people who raise funds for Fix The Fells when running the George Fisher Tea Round. If you’ve not heard of the tea round, google it - you'll want to give it a try! 

In this podcast they share the history of Fix the Fells, where it all began and what it’s all about. But most importantly they discuss what we can all do to help stop erosion, so we can maintain the biodiversity of the Lake District’s landscapes for future generations. Listen in. 

Welcome to Further Faster in association with Montane. In this episode, recorded on the day COP26 opened, host Daniel Neilson spoke to two guys who have just made a film – 14 Days South: Over Sea & Land – highlighting the good news stories of climate solutions across the UK.

Pedal4Parks is a group of five friends who, over 14 days, cycled from the Orkney to the Isles of Scilly through six national parks and speaking to a staggering 26 organisations involved in wildly differing solutions to climate change.

Issac Kenyon, one of the five eco-adventurers explains why they embarked on this huge project. Also joining him is filmmaker Kev Merrey from SkyRise Productions who talks about the challenges of filming both the adventure and the interviews of so many people.

They start with news, the film is being shown at COP26! Eager to find out more? Listen to our podcast to find out more about their incredible journey across the British Isles by bike. 

Follow Pedal4Parks on Instagram. 

Welcome to the Further. Faster. Podcast in association with Montane. The host Daniel Neilson speaks to ultra-athletes, mountaineers, climbers and explorers to talk about how they do what they do and why they do it.

This episode's guest is a climber, an exceptional climber, but one who has been described as 'controversial' and 'notorious'. Notorious for the new routes he's achieved, and notorious for the risks he takes – sometimes leading to unimaginably huge falls. Perhaps it was this notoriety that led filmmaker Al Lee to focus his lens on Franco Cookson for his forthcoming film "Fall Theory." In a thoroughly entertaining interview, they discuss why he takes such great risks, the mindset it takes to make a fall, and why the North York Moors is the centre of the universe. It's a fun one... Listen in!

Hello and welcome to Further Faster, in association with Montane. I’m Daniel Neilson and it’s my job to talk to ultra athletes, explorers, climbers and mountaineers who are at the top of their game, to find out why they do what they do and how they do what they do. 
 
So, we could call this episode a Dragon’s Back Race special. A little ode to a big race - a race big enough to be described as the toughest mountain race in the world. 
 
The 2021 edition of the race - setting off in September - covers 380km of the most beautiful Welsh landscape in 6 days, a height gain of 17,400 metres.  
 
And in some ways, the next 40 minutes with Lowri Morgan and Chris Baynham-Hughes is that – these are two people passionate about the Dragon’s Back Race, but really what this three-way chat became was an insight into the power of races like this to foster friendships, to push boundaries that in turn benefit all elements of life, and why participating in events like this is a privilege, an adventure and, most importantly, a joy.
 

Hello and welcome to Further Faster in association with Montane. For season 2, we've been loosely theming our podcasts and this one has a clear thread. Yes, our two guests are both involved with bouldering what we really wanted to speak about was community, how it's built up and what other disciplines can learn from bouldering. 
 
Annie Martin is part of one of the UK's most popular bouldering YouTube channels Bouldering Dabrats', a filmmaker, and jointly runs Beta Magazine, online climbing and outdoors magazine aimed at women. Through the magazine and YouTube channel, she's one of the figures who addresses the scene from a completely different angle. We delve into where bouldering sits in the climbing scene as a whole, and the large and supportive community that has developed around the  Bouldering Dabrats channel.

But their inspiration was Bouldering Bobat, a YouTube channel with more than 25 million views. We have a refreshingly honest conversation with founder member Omar Bobat about the foundations of the channel, the larger community and how he found himself, perhaps unwittingly, at the vanguard of a new generation of climbers and boulderers. And be warned: No matter if your a runner, climber, mountaineer, you will be considering your own YouTube channel by the end... listen in. 

Hello and welcome to Further Faster, in association with Montane. In each episode, host Daniel Neilson talks to two guests who push the boundaries. They could be explorers, mountaineers, or in the case of this episode, ultra runners or endurance athletes.

This episode is about fear, or, rather, overcoming fear. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, or simply, oh-my-god-what's-that-coming-out-of-the-dark-right-at-me type of fear. How do you mitigate fear? How to you overcome fear? How do you harness fear? We speak to Debbie Martin Consani, a runner and friend of the podcast. She is a brilliant runner. In her first Spine Race, one of the most gruelling races on the planet, she came second. We talk about training, preparing from the unknown, and why you should do something every year very much out of your comfort zone. 

But first Daniel spoke to Jordan Wylie, a former soldier, a hunter in the TV programme Hunted and maritime security expert. He's rowed solo across the Horn of Africa, ran through Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia and, most recently, paddleboarded more than 2000km around the coast of Britain. But in a candid interview, Jordan is probably facing his biggest challenge of all: dealing with mental health issues during the pandemic. And if you're affected by any of these issues, remember there's always help available. Listen in to Jordan and Debbie's inspiring stories of bravery and adversity and ultimately, success. 

Welcome to Further, Faster in association with Montane. Today Daniel Neilson is talking distance and time. Long distances and a long time in the wilderness.  With two hugely experienced guests, we’re discussing how you prepare for long expeditions, how you transition into them and, seemingly more difficult, transitioning back into a busy world. 

Joining us is Montane athlete Jenny Tough who is one expedition away from completing her challenge to run solo and unsupported across a mountain range in every continent. We speak to her from her home in British Colombia having just navigated the Rockies. 

We also speak to Robert Mads Anderson, one of the world’s leading high altitude climbers. He's led new routes on Everest’s Kangshung face and climbed the seven summits solo. His latest book, Expeditions to Everest, tells of his nine trips to the world’s highest mountain, leading groups, and how different personalities react on the mountain. Listen in. 

Welcome to Series 2 of Further. Faster. in association with Montane. Yep, we're back to our monthly schedule after a break and host Daniel Neilson is starting off with two fascinating guests: 

First, we speak to Hamish Frost, a photographer who specializes in taking pictures in rubbish Scottish mountain weather... that's to say, the best mountain weather! We learn about he became a professional outdoor photographer and his inspirations. 

Continuing the theme of professional development, our main interview is with the remarkable Becky Coles. Becky is an expedition leader with a PhD in Glacial Geomorphology. We follow her route from keen walker to climbing some of the most remote peaks in the world, in places including Afghanistan and Central Asia. 

Wrap up warm... this episode contains wind, snow, adventure and mishap.