Sparta Chicks Radio: Mindset | Confidence | Sport | Women

In October 2019, Melissa Urie became the first woman to line up at the start of Uberman.

Described as the world’s most challenging ultra triathlon, it consists of a 34km swim, 644km ride and 217km run which Mel finished - becoming the first woman to do so - in a total of 135hr 15min - that's over 5 1/2 days! 

In the process, she also set a new swim course record for the event, finished second overall and smashed the previous course record by 31 hours. 

A long race requires a long conversation; Mel and I spoke for 2 hours about all-things Uberman so I have divided this conversation into two parts.

In Part 1, we covered her preparation and training, the logistics of the event and how the swim leg unfolded - here.

This is the second half of our conversation, in which Mel and I cover how the 644km bike, the 217km run leg and her recovery.

Uberman is described as the world’s most challenging triathlon.

Consisting of 34km swim, 644km ride and 217km run, the race takes competitors from the Catalina Islands off the California coast to the trailhead at the top of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in Continental USA.

Until 2019 when Melissa Urie lined up at the start, no woman had ever attempted the event.

But 135 hours, 15 minutes and 55 seconds after she started, Mel became the first woman to finish the race!

In the process, she also set a new swim course record, finished second overall and smashed the previous course record by 31 hours.

And she returns to Sparta Chicks Radio this week to share the story!

A long race requires a long conversation; Mel and I spoke for 2 hours about all-things Uberman - her preparation and training, the race itself and the aftermath.

And my thanks to those in the Sparta Chicks community who offered their own questions for Mel!

So I have divided this episode into two instalments.

This is part 1 and part 2 will be published next (refer to episode #129.2) making this “the Month of Mel” ;)

One of the main themes that run through many of my conversations on Sparta Chicks Radio is around the concept that “you can’t be what you can’t see”.

This week’s guest is on a mission to change what you can see - and by extension, be.

Mary Konstantopoulos is a lawyer who, in her “spare time”, is the force behind the “Ladies Who” media company - or dare I say growing empire - that advocates for, and shares stories of, women in sport here in Australia.

She hosts two podcasts on the ABC Grandstand radio network; Ladies Who League  (about rugby league) and Ladies Who Legspin (about cricket).

Mary’s passion for sport developed as a result of her desire to spend more time with her Dad who was (and remains) a passionate Parramatta Eels supporter in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition.

Yet she describes in this conversation a sense of shame she sometimes feels because it never occurred to her to ask if women also played the sport.

In this conversation, we discuss:

- how her life has revolved around sport since she was a young child growing up with her two brothers,

- why she was motivated to throw herself into all sports as a kid (despite not being very good at any of them),

- what prompted her to launch the ‘Ladies Who League’ blog (which at the time was about the men’s competition),

- the evolution of the ‘Ladies Who’ media company,

- her experience with the Imposter Complex,

- why it’s important to give yourself credit for your hard work and success, rather than attributing it to luck, and

- how she deals with online trolling and public criticism.

Stacey De Bono grew up in country Victoria and, by her own admission, hated riding bikes as a kid and used to wag the school cross country carnival.

Fast forward a few years and she discovered triathlon quite by accident.

A friend convinced her to sign up for a race. She did, but without checking the details and couldn’t work out why the race was so expensive.

It turns out the first triathlon she signed up for was Ironman Melbourne, just 10 months later.

A few years (and several triathlon seasons) later, a broken finger from a bike accident forced Stacey to step back from her training and work.

This gave her time to reflect on her lifestyle, her health and her goals - and it was during this difficult period she heard about Epic 5, an iconic race consisting of 5 Ironman-distance triathlons over 5 days on 5 different Hawaiian islands.

The seed was planted, Stacey eventually voiced the idea out loud to her coach and the goal was set to participate in Epic 5 in 2020, some 3 years later.

That race date has been pushed back to 2021, meaning she will have been working towards this race for 4 years by the time she stands on the start line.

What is unique about Stacey’s approach to Epic 5 is that she has decided not read or listen to anything about Epic 5 for the next 2 years until her race in 2020 (which is the complete opposite to what most of us do!).

Lou discovered trail running at 43 and went onto win both her 1st 100km race and her 1st 100mi/160km race.

Then earlier this year, Lou finished 2nd at the prestigious Ultra Trail Mt Fuji; the largest 100mi/160km race in the world!

In this conversation, Lou and I discuss:

- how she developed a passion for rock climbing in her early 30s and what prompted her to focus on running in her early 40s,

- why she thinks she was able to develop relatively quickly in the sport,

- why she doesn’t always look forward to training.

- why she prioritises sleep and will do a shorter session or even miss a training session if she thinks she hasn’t had enough sleep,

- how she mentally prepares for a major race, including turning pre-race nerves into positive energy,

- her experience with the Imposter Complex (and why she doesn’t like the word ‘imposter’), and

- her experience at Ultra-Trail Mt Fuji and why she describes the result as “bewildering”.

Mel Nicholls was a healthy, fit and active 22 year old when, in 2001, she was struck down by a stroke.

7 years later, her 3rd stroke left her with permanent paralysis and limited function primarily in her left side.

4 years later - and just 15 months after taking up wheelchair racing - Mel was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 London Paralympic Games in the 100m and 200m.

After representing Great Britain for the second time at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, Mel moved away from track cycling and back into endurance events, including the New York and London marathons.

Looking for a new challenge to feed her adventurous spirit, Mel combined her love of adventure and her competitive streak and set the goal to break the World Record for handcycling the length of Britain - from the south to the north along a route known as Lands End to John o’Groats (or LEJOG). It’s a journey of 874mi/1,400km.

Not only did Mel break the record, but she also smashed it!

Sarah Davis joined me on the podcast almost two years ago to share her plans to become the first woman to paddle the length of the Nile river.

A journey of 6,853km / 4,200mi from the source of the Nile in Rwanda, all the way to Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, at the time we first spoke Sarah had anticipated the expedition would start in January 2018 and take 7 months.

So Sarah returns to the podcast this week to share how it unfolded!

Spoiler alert!

Things didn’t all go according to plan and two key decisions meant that Sarah wasn’t able to achieve her original goal to paddle the length of the Nile.

However, she has become the first woman to lead an expedition along the Nile.

In this conversation, we discuss:

- how she made the decision where to start her expedition; a harder decision with more options than you might think,

- what she felt visiting the source of the Nile in Rwanda after 3+ years of planning,

- the very angry hippo tried to flip and then bite a hole in their inflatable raft just 6 days into the expedition,

- how she was arrested and detained for 3 days in Burundi,

- the point at which she (and her team) decided to catch a ferry on Lake Victoria which meant she wouldn’t achieve her original goal to paddle the entire length of the river (and how disconnecting from ego and exploring her ‘why’ made the decision somewhat easier),

- why she cried in a hotel restaurant the day after she finished her expedition, and

- whether the expedition feels like unfinished business.

Madhu Tamilarasan is a GP (general practitioner doctor) now living in a regional country town in New South Wales who discovered triathlons in her mid-30s and has since fallen in love with cross (or off-road) triathlons and mountain biking.

She’s competed in (amongst many other races) both the Australian Cross Triathlon Championships as well as the ITU World Cross Tri Championships.

A proudly gay woman, born in England of Indian descent, she brings a unique and insightful perspective to the podcast.

This is a fun and broad-ranging conversation. We discuss everything from coming out to her parents through to why she never let the fact she swam breaststroke in triathlon races for years stop her from competing.

How do you achieve the seemingly ‘impossible’?

That’s the core of my conversation with return guests Sarah Anne Evans and Pippa Lyon from the InternationElles this week on Sparta Chicks Radio.

On a mission to raise the profile of women in cycling and to fight for equality in the sport, the InternationElles (alongside a French women’s cycling team) rode every stage of the 2019 Tour de France - one day ahead of the men’s professional race.

A journey of 3,640km over 21 days with 53,000m of climbing (with just 2 rest days).

Sarah Anne and Pippa joined me a few months ago on the podcast to discuss the project - including how on earth they were preparing to ride the “most mountainous route” in the 106 year history of the Tour de France!

5 weeks after the ladies rode into Paris, Sarah Anne and Pippa return to Sparta Chicks Radio to share how the experience unfolded.

Michael Scragg is an experienced endurance athlete in his own right.

After breaking his neck in a downhill mountain biking accident in the early 2000s, Michael made the switch to road cycling and ultimately into triathlons.

Since finishing ‘dead last’ in his first Half Ironman, Michael has gone onto finish 9 Ironman triathlons as well as multiple 24-hour mountain bike races and ultra-marathons.

He is also married to 2x Sparta Chicks Radio guest and ultra-endurance athlete, Melissa Urie!

(Mel was on the podcast in 2017 to share her experience at the Epic 5 and again early in 2019 to discuss competing at the Ultraman World Championships).

Over the last few years, Michael’s racing career has taken a backseat while Mel pursued her ultra-endurance goals, which have included Ultraman races in Canada, Australia and at the World Championships in Hawaii, the Epic 5 as well as her upcoming race at Uberman.

So in this episode, Michael and I discuss what it’s like to be on the flip side; how to crew for, live with, support and encourage the endurance athletes in your life.

And this topic isn’t complete also without discussing why it’s important for the athlete in the household to be aware of the impact their sport has on the family (in ways you may not have anticipated).

This is a very different conversation from the ones we’d usually have, but it is I think just as important.