Paths

In a world where bigger, faster, and more extreme often get the most attention, this short conversation offers a different perspective.

Alex Bescoby reflects on why meaningful journeys are not defined by scale or records, but by whether they move you. Whether it’s crossing continents or simply paying closer attention to something in your own life, the value lies in the experience itself. And in sharing it. Because the stories that resonate most are often not the biggest ones, but the ones that are felt most deeply.

Follow Alex

Instagram: @alex_bescoby @thelastoverland @grammarproductions

Website: alexbescoby.co.uk

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What does it really mean to see and experience the world?

I sit down with filmmaker and historian Alex Bescoby to explore the story behind The Last Overland — a 13,000-mile or 20,000km journey retracing a 1950s expedition from Singapore to London in the original Land Rover Series 1. What began as an ambitious road trip quickly becomes something deeper. A reflection on timing, purpose, and the pull of adventure that exists at different moments in life.

Alex shares how history shapes the way we experience places, why travel without context can feel empty, and what he learned from spending a decade in Myanmar. Together, we explore bigger questions about freedom, curiosity, and why the most meaningful journeys are not defined by distance, but by how they change the way we see the world.

Follow Alex

Instagram: @alex_bescoby @thelastoverland @grammarproductions

Website: alexbescoby.co.uk

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

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• Instagram: @paths_pod

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In this short segment, author Alison Cochrun shares the impulsive decision to walk the Camino de Santiago during a period of depression and creative burnout. She describes the physical reality of the Portuguese coastal route, from the unexpected pain of a 22-mile first day to the simple, ritualistic beauty of just putting one foot in front of the other.

It is an honest look at why a standard vacation may not be enough to fix a creative slump. Alison explains how the physical effort of the trail helped her regain mental strength and why having time completely to herself was the most transformative part of the journey.

Follow Alison

• Instagram: @alisoncochrun 

• Website: alisoncochrun.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

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Alison Cochrun spent over a decade as a high school English teacher before a shift led her to become a full-time author. In this episode, we talk about the reality of that transition, from the adrenaline of writing her first book draft in just six days to the grueling, transformative experience of walking 200 miles on the Camino de Santiago.

We dive into the messy parts of the creative process, including how she uses fiction to process her own life and how a period of severe depression and writer's block led her to the Portuguese coast. It is a conversation about burnout, the necessity of time alone, and why the hardest parts of a journey are often what make it worth doing.

Follow Alison

• Instagram: @alisoncochrun 

• Website: alisoncochrun.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

Connect on Instagram: @paths_pod

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In this short episode, Adam Pawlikiewicz Mesa reflects on his relationship with ultra running and why he sees endurance sports as a double-edged sword. What began as a way to explore his limits and better understand himself also forced him to confront expectations, self-judgment, and the fine line between growth and harm.

Rather than focusing on performance, this conversation looks at endurance as a practice of listening, awareness, and self-acceptance. It connects closely with themes explored in a previous episode with Ria Xi, where running showed up as a tool for agency and growth rather than achievement.

Follow Adam

⁠Instagram @adamonthego⁠ 

⁠adampawlikiewicz.com⁠

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• LinkedIn:⁠ Paths Podcast⁠

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Adam Pawlikiewicz Mesa is a filmmaker, photographer, endurance athlete, and bikepacker whose work grows out of long days on the road and a deep curiosity about people, place, and movement. Before starting a career in consulting at a big firm, Adam completed his first bikepacking journey across the U.S., an experience that quietly reshaped how he thought about effort, vulnerability, and direction. He went on to work in consulting for two years, but that early journey never really left him.

In this conversation, we talk about Adam’s early influences, the years between that first bikepacking trip and the work people know today, and the decision to leave a secure career to start over creatively. We explore bikepacking historic routes in Peru and Brazil, endurance sports as a form of self-exploration, partnership on the road, and the responsibility that comes with telling stories about people and places that are often misunderstood or overlooked. This is a conversation about curiosity, uncertainty, and learning how to build a life that feels honest over the long haul.

Follow Adam
Instagram @adamonthego
adampawlikiewicz.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

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• LinkedIn: Paths Podcast

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What does it actually take to prepare for a 20,000 kilometer run across continents?

In this short episode, Ria Xi breaks down how she’s preparing to run from Russia to Portugal, averaging roughly 50 kilometers a day for over a year. She talks through how she approaches training, recovery, logistics, and mental preparation, and why breaking an overwhelming goal into small, repeatable steps makes it feel possible. She also shares why running felt like the most natural way to cross Asia and Europe, and how she’s thinking about support, community, and sustainability on the road. A grounded, practical look at preparing for a truly extreme human-powered journey.

Listen to the full conversation here!

Follow Ria and support her next adventure: 

• Instagram: @whereisriax

• Website: 20000km.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

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Ria Xi on Agency, Pilgrimage, and the Long Road From the Camino to a 20,000km Continental Run

Ria Xi has spent the last two years pulling her life apart and rebuilding it entirely on her own terms. She left a tech career in California, stepped away from the version of success she once thought she was supposed to want, and slowly discovered something she never expected: running as a path toward agency, direction, and self-trust. In this episode, she talks openly about moving to Portugal, finding community after years of drifting, why she’s drawn to extreme challenges, and what it feels like to be in the quiet space between a major accomplishment and the biggest adventure of her life.

She recently ran 780 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago and is now preparing for an almost unimaginable project: running 20,000 kilometres from Russia to Portugal. But this isn’t a conversation about distance — it’s about agency, identity, loneliness, self-worth, and building a life that feels like it belongs to you. Ria shares the inner battles she’s faced and why running became her way of stepping back into her own power. It’s a thoughtful, honest journey through what it means to choose your own life.

Follow Ria and support her next adventure: 

• Instagram: @whereisriax

• Website: 20000km.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

Connect on:

• Instagram: @paths_pod

• LinkedIn: Paths Podcast

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Why do people sign up for group adventures with complete strangers? In this short segment, Sophie talks about the unexpected community that grows on Sidetracked trips — how shared effort, simplicity, and the Arctic cold can bring people closer than they expect. She explains why these connections form so quickly, what people are really searching for, and why returning to the outdoors often feels like returning to ourselves.

It’s a reflection on belonging, challenge, and the surprising ways people reconnect when the noise of everyday life falls away.

Check out Sophie’s stuff:

• Instagram @soph_nolan_ and @sidetracked_adventure

• Website sidetrackedadventures.co.uk

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

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• Instagram: @paths_pod

• LinkedIn: Paths Podcast

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Sophie Nolan built Sidetracked Adventures from a simple desire to share the wild places she loved. In this conversation, she reflects on how she shaped a life around the outdoors, curiosity, and community. We talk about her early pull toward nature, the years she spent searching for a different path, and how guiding people into remote landscapes has changed her understanding of connection, comfort, and ambition.

Sophie also shares what it’s really like to run an adventure company in a fast-paced world, how she learned to trust her own voice, and why people keep returning to wilderness experiences even as modern life becomes more digital and convenient. It’s a grounded, honest look at building a life that matches your values.

Check out Sophie’s stuff:

• Instagram @soph_nolan_ and @sidetracked_adventure

• Website sidetrackedadventures.co.uk

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend, subscribing, and signing up for my newsletter at pathspodcast.com to get updates on new episodes.

Connect on:

• Instagram: @paths_pod

• LinkedIn: Paths Podcast

Listen and subscribe on:

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts