In this 37th episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson round up series 2 with so many guests.

This episode is the first of three round up episodes that feature guests from series 2. Today's episodes features Mel C, Deborah James, Sophie Radcliffe, Eleanor Mills and Alice Dearing,

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org. 

Medichecks offers an easy and affordable way to check your health from the comfort of your own home with their simple and personal at-home blood tests. From hormones and nutrition, to cholesterol and diabetes, there is something for everyone. 

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to http://herspirit.co.uk

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

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In this 36th episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to former British number 1 professional tennis player and TV presenter Annabel Croft.

Despite her potential and being amongst the world's top 25 players, Croft retired from professional tennis at the age of only twenty-one, tired of the relentless travel and feeling she no longer enjoyed playing.

Since retiring as a Tennis player in 1988, Annabel  moved into the Television world starting with Survivor on Channel 4 and Treasure Hunt. Since then she has worked on numerous light entertainment shows and documentaries and had a blast. 
 
Her focus in more recent times has been covering the Women’s and Mens Tennis Tour on Eurosport, Sky TV and BBC. Watching and working on Live Sport and interviewing the top players all over the globe . It's her dream job and one she is passionate about.  

Nutrition is a huge part of health and Wellbeing and having been quite a “chubby teenager” she has learned what works for her to stay fit and healthy. Annabel love's good food and thinks it’s one of the real pleasures of life. . 

Annabel talks to Annie and Louise about the importance of being active and eating well. 

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org. 

Medichecks offers an easy and affordable way to check your health from the comfort of your own home with their simple and personal at-home blood tests. From hormones and nutrition, to cholesterol and diabetes, there is something for everyone. 

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to http://herspirit.co.uk

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 35th episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Olympic Gold Medalist and conservationist Crista Cullen.

Crista is an accomplished athlete, achieving both Gold and Bronze medals in three Olympic appearances, culminating in 197 international caps and a three time World All-Star team member.  She has a strong belief in the power of teamwork – built through the highs and lows of a 15-year international hockey career.

Having grown up in rural Kenya, Crista spent her teenage years at boarding school in England, where she found a sense of belonging through sport. Over the next decade she progressed through the ranks of elite hockey. From the lows of failure to qualify for the Athens 2004 Olympics, to the highs of Olympic gold in Rio 2016. 

At the Olympics in 2016 Cullen notched her 58th international goal in the final against Netherlands, arguably her most important strike to date. It helped GB to a 3-3 draw with a gold medal following from the shootout win.

Throughout her athletic career Crista maintained her role in the corporate world – creating a sense of balance and perspective that was central to her sporting performance. One that embedded in Crista a deep belief in the crucial role of culture, community and teamwork.

A belief in cultures that empower, not enforce. A belief in communities that embrace diversity and constantly seek alternative perspectives. A belief in teams that create genuine alignment around shared values.

Crista is now using the lessons learned from her personal journey to help other teams, organisations and individuals with their journeys.

She recently set up her own charity Tofauti, her deep understanding of the challenges facing Africa’s animal and human populations – the place she grew up and the place she still calls home.

Team Tofauti is now small but growing. Diverse in our backgrounds, experiences and skill sets. United in our goal. To come together to make a difference for Africa’s wildlife and communities.

Crista talks to Annie and Louise about adjusting to life at boarding school in the UK, her journey over 15 years playing hockey and her zest for people and excellence.

To find out more about Crista's charity go to  www.tofauti.org.

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org. 

Medichecks offers an easy and affordable way to check your health from the comfort of your own home with their simple and personal at-home blood tests. From hormones and nutrition, to cholesterol and diabetes, there is something for everyone. 

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to http://herspirit.co.uk

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 34th episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to marathon swimmer Alice Dearing. She is our youngest guest to date at 23-year-old from hails from Birmingham.

Alice is one of Great Britain's top female marathon swimmers, having represented Great Britain at numerous international competitions, including three World Championships. 

She placed 11th in the Mixed 5km Open Water event in Gwangju in 2019, after finishing 17th in the Women's 10km race. 

Dearing previously competed at the World Championships in Budapest in 2017, where she achieved a top-25 finish in the individual 10km event and helped achieve a placing of fifth against a talented international field in the Mixed 5km Team Relay. 

Between those Worlds appearances, Dearing placed 12th over 10km at the 2018 European Championships. 

In 2016, she was crowned World Junior Open Water champion in Hoorn, the Netherlands, which cemented her position on the world marathon swimming stage.

Her senior international bow came at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, when Dearing raced the 5km distance.

Next summer Alice Dearing,  who is Britain’s best open-water swimmer, intends to flip 125 years of history on its head in Tokyo – the small matter of a global pandemic permitting. And, as becomes clear over a thought-provoking and nuanced conversation, that is only the start of her ambitions.

“Being a poster girl for black swimming is exciting, because genuinely I love the sport and I want to see as many people doing it as possible,” Dearing says. “But it’s also terrifying because there’s a lot of pressure. I have rationalised it – if not me, then who? And I want this to happen as soon as possible, to break that barrier.”

It is not the only one Dearing intends to shatter. Last year she became the lead ambassador for the Black Swimming Association, a charity that encourages black people to swim, and she illustrates the scale of the challenge by citing shocking figures from Sport England, which show that 95% of black adults and 80% of black children in England do not swim – while only 1% of registered competitive swimmers with Swim England identify as black or mixed race.

Alice talks about her family background and how she got into swimming and her Olympic ambitions and desire for cultural change.

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org. 

Medichecks offers an easy and affordable way to check your health from the comfort of your own home with their simple and personal at-home blood tests. From hormones and nutrition, to cholesterol and diabetes, there is something for everyone. 

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to http://herspirit.co.uk

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 33rd episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to journalist and mental health campaigner Bryony Gordon.

Bryony’s bestselling memoirs "The Wrong Knickers: A Decade of Chaos", "You Got This", "Mad Girl", and "Eat, Drink, Run" have deservedly earned Bryony critical acclaim – and a multitude of loyal readers worldwide. Uncompromising in her truthfulness, Bryony challenges the stigma that surrounds addiction and demonstrates a determination that whatever life throws at you it is to be lived and cherished.

In Bryony’s new book ‘The Glorious Rock Bottom’, she recounts the traumatic consequences of her personal addiction journey, and her experience in treatment as well as in recovery. The abundance of integrity, dignity and humanity Bryony brings to her writing invites the reader to relate to her own experiences and, in so doing, may help others to open up about their own difficulties with a view to seeking treatment and support for themselves or their loved ones.

She recalls waking up drunk and drugged lying on damp grass, a man's head between her thighs. That man was not her husband - he and their daughter Edie were half a mile away sleeping in the grounds of the country estate they were staying at to celebrate her friend's birthday.

Gordon was 37 and when the man, who had given her cocaine, phoned up the following week asking if she was still up for a threesome, she realised she didn’t know herself, or what she had said or done, while intoxicated that night

She has charted the journey through alcoholism and subsequent recovery in her no-holds-barred new book, Glorious Rock Bottom. Her husband [financial journalist Harry Wilson] knows all of it. I've always been very honest with him about what happened when I was drinking. We've worked through that.

As her career soared, her mental health plummeted, she continued to drink and do drugs, even though she had become an ambassador for mental health. During her regular binges she'd black out - not be able to remember the next day what she'd said or done.

Had she continued drinking, she believes it would have killed her. "It doesn't bear thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't got sober," she says now. "I don't drink any more but I'm still an alcoholic.”

She talks to Annie and Louise about this journey and how she felt the worst mother possible. A staunch campaigner for mental health and now feels lucky to be alive.

Her ground breaking interview with Prince William raised the awareness around her mental health work. She enjoys being active and has run and how 'Running Made Me Realise That Anything Is Possible'
 
These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org. 

Medichecks offers an easy and affordable way to check your health from the comfort of your own home with their simple and personal at-home blood tests. From hormones and nutrition, to cholesterol and diabetes, there is something for ever

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 32nd episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to actor Maxine Peake.

Maxine has appeared as Twinkle in Dinnerladies and Veronica Ball in Shameless, barrister Martha Costello in the BBC legal drama Silk, and Grace Middleton in the BBC drama series The Village, and starred in the Black Mirror episode "Metalhead". She has also played the title role in Hamlet.

Maxine went to college in Salford when she was 16 and it was all-singing, all-dancing, and everyone had their sweatpants on and their jazz shoes and I was like, 'What? I've got to change into my what gear? Dance gear?'. I knew I wanted to act but I didn't want to be your typical actor, I suppose." said Peake.

Sport was something Peake always enjoyed and played Rugby League for Wigan for several years, before she left and spent more time in the acting world and eventually being accepted at RADA.

Her teachers at Rada told Maxine to go on a diet, but it was Victoria Wood, creator and co-star on her first major TV series, the BBC sitcom Dinnerladies, who finally persuaded her to shift an impressive five stone. "Victoria did it in a better way than they did at drama school," she says. "I was told by one teacher, 'If you don't lay off the chips you'll never play Juliet' and I was kind of, 'Juliet? She's a wimp anyway'. Victoria said, 'Look, you're big, you're northern, it's going to be funny roles... it's going to be really difficult for you'. 

Beryl Burton was one of Britain's greatest cyclists, but did not get the recognition she deserved. Maxine Peake has tried to rectify that by writing a stage play about Burton while juggling TV shows, films and preparations for playing Hamlet on stage.

In 1967, Beryl Burton was competing in a 12-hour time trial when she came to overtake the leading men's cyclist Mike McNamara. 

McNamara was on his way to setting a new men's record of 276 miles in 12 hours. On her way past him, Burton took pity and offered him a liquorice allsort.

"Poor Mac," she later wrote. "His glory, richly deserved, was going to be overshadowed by a woman."

Burton covered 277 miles that day. It would be two years before a man beat that distance. Despite advances in design and fitness, no woman has done so yet.

Maxine also loves two wheels and is an avid cyclist and loves the freedom and friendship it brings. Lockdown has also got Peake running and am sure will go on to do a triathlon in 2021 with Annie and Louise. 

Her #BestYearYet tips for every woman are

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 31st episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to endurance runner Susie Chan.

Susie has taken on races of all distances from 1 mile to 100 miles. It's been 10 years since I started running. It's something I love. You'll find me frequently on the running scene, especially ultra marathon.

Races have included running the Marathon des Sables more times than any other UK female, breaking a 12 hour treadmill World Record in 2016 and enjoying running in some of the hottest places on earth.

As well as the long races you'll find Susie at local races, half marathons and marathons including finishing all of the World Marathon Majors.

Lucky enough to be named and “the number 1 runner to follow on Instagram” by Runners World, and the Evening Standard, she has been on the cover of Runners World, Women's running and featured in Athletics Weekly and other publications.

Susie overcame Thyroid Cancer in 2017 and she talks to Louise and Annie about her battle. After Marathon des Sables she had a terrible cough. After a course of antibiotics it shifted. Presuming it was likely to be inhaled sand in her lungs, she thought nothing more. Fast forward to Chicago Marathon, and her cough had returned, this time far, far worse. 

Susie passed out at the finish line (six start medal still around her neck) this time, worried about it being something worse, she called the doctors. Doctors found a large tumour in her neck, and quite a shock to Susie.  It was mighty impressive too, over 5cm. She lost half her thyroid with it. A histology report told us the lump as cancer.

Her #BestYearYet tips for every woman are great and you can find them at www.herspirit.co.uk and by listening to this podcast.

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to https://herspirit.co.uk and we hope you have found her Your Best Year Yet tips helpful.

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this 30th episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to double Paralympic champion Libby Clegg MBE.

Libby took up athletics aged 9, joining Macclesfield Harriers AC. She originally tried middle distance running and cross country before starting sprinting.

Libby is a Scottish Paralympic sprinter who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain at international events. She represented Great Britain in the T12 100m and 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning a silver medal in the T12 100m race. She won Gold in Rio at the 2016 Paralympic Games in 100m T11 where she broke the world record and T11 200m, beating the previous Paralympic record in the process, thus making her a double Paralympic champion.

She has a deteriorating eye condition known as Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy disease giving her only slight peripheral vision in her left eye and is registered blind. Libby runs with the aid of guide runner Chris Clarke.

In October 2018, Clegg announced she was expecting her first child with fiancé Dan Powell in March 2019. In April 2019 Clegg gave birth to a son, Edward, via emergency C-Section.

She has had physical injuries and has been affected by mental health issues. Her guide dog, a black retriever/Labrador cross, is named Hatti.

In 2020 Libby took part in Dancing on Ice "It's been a learning process". On the track I run with a guide runner and we're attached all the time. It's like learning a different vocabulary to communicate. Myself and my [ice skating] partner Mark Hanretty use touch and verbal communication.

I'm not as bad as I thought I was going to be, but it's not as easy as it looks. It's very technical. Libby finished third on Dancing on Ice, which is a phenomenal result.

Libby talks openly about the loss of her eye sight, life as a mum and many new obstacles in 2020 that very few women have had to overcome.

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to https://herspirit.co.uk and we hope you have found her Your Best Year Yet tips helpful.

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this twenty seventh episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to GP and Menopause Specialist Dr Louise Newson.

Louise is a GP and menopause specialist and has an Advanced Menopause Specialist certificate with FSRH and the BMS. She feels passionately about improving education about the perimenopause and menopause and also improving awareness of safe prescribing of HRT to healthcare professionals. She has written many articles and editorials and in 2019 launched her first book, Menopause Manual with Haynes Publishing, which went on to be an Amazon bestseller.

Louise has lectured extensively at numerous meetings (including the RCGP annual meeting) on this topic and has been a director for Primary Care Women’s Health Forum and an editor for the British Journal of Family Medicine. 

Louise has worked regularly with West Midlands Police and many other large organisations to provide advice regarding menopause in the workplace and has contributed to menopause related articles in different newspapers and magazines and been on numerous radio and TV programmes. 

Louise has also set up a not-for-profit company – Newson Health Research and Education – and is involved in research with colleagues in Warwick University, London School of Tropical Medicine and also Kings College London. In addition, she is working closely with HIV charities including Sophia Forum to help menopausal women living with HIV.

Find out more about The Menopause Charity at www.themenopausecharity.org

These podcasts have been made possible through the support of Medichecks www.medichecks.com and Sport England www.sportengland.org.

For more information on Her Spirit and "Your Best Year Yet" go to https://herspirit.co.uk and we hope you have found her Your Best Year Yet tips helpful.

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

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In this twenty sixth episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to sports phycologist Dr Josephine Perry.

Josephine has a background in communications and behaviour change having worked for many years in journalism, marketing, public relations and crisis communications across private corporations and government. She has a MSc in Communications, a MSc in Psychology and a MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. She also has a PhD in Political Communications.

She is a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a member of the Association of Applied Sports Psychologists (AASP). She is registered with the Health Care Professions Council. She writes features for sports magazines and websites and is regularly quoted in the media on how athletes and other performers can use applied sports psychology to enhance their performance.

With a long background in communications she first started learning about performance psychology after competing in Ironman Melbourne in 2013. It was a really windy day with huge waves. For someone used to swimming in a 20 metre London gym pool this was way out of her comfort zone.

She heard the commentator mention the waves. He said “you can’t control the conditions. What you can control is the way you choose to react to them.” A light bulb moment. She realized it was her choice if she was scared or not and had to choose not to be. It became the fastest Ironman she’s raced and set off a full career change, from a conversion course to learn all the basics of Psychology to the MSc in Sports and Exercise Psychology.

She loves the idea that psychology isn’t just used to help those with mental health problems get better but can be used by those already doing well to function even better. She is passionate about how it can be used positively to improve performance; whether as a professional athlete, working in business or as an amateur, competing in a sport you love.

Alongside the MSc she also spent some time working at UK Sport to learn how elite sport is run in the UK. This was an invaluable way to understand the pressures on athletes, the support they get and the machinery of the elite UK Olympic and Paralympic systems. Sport at this level is no longer a fun hobby. It is strategic and it is business.

Her approach uses a mix of humanistic and cognitive behavioural psychology and will teach you strategies so you feel more comfortable and in control when entering potentially stressful situations and ensure you are able to perform to your maximum potential.

Her Spirit are supporting the Better Health Every Mind Matters campaign, that provides expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.

This World Mental Health Day (10th October), answer 5 quick questions to get your free Mind Plan. It has tips to help you deal with stress and anxiety, improve your sleep, boost

At Her Spirit, we’re building a FREE global community designed exclusively for women’s activity.

Join us to connect with like-minded women, discover events, and find local groups that inspire you to move more.

✨ Find your tribe. Achieve your goals. Thrive together.

👉 Join the movement at https://www.herspirit.co.uk/

It’s time for You

Join us at herspirit.co.uk | Instagram | Facebook | Get the Her Spirit App