Becky (Host)
Our guest today is the first person in the world to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of Antarctica; and in the process she also set the Human Powered Speed Record, it’s Maria Leijerstam Edy. Maria, first of all congratulations for being the first person in the world to cycle to the South Pole; and in the process you also set the human powered speed record, didn’t you?
Maria
Yeah, that was right. In fact, I didn’t know until I got home really that I set the human powered speed record as well, so that was an added bonus really.
Becky
What a massive bonus as well. And that was, right over Christmas time -ish wasn’t it?
Maria
We’re 15th of December, so in two days time I would be starting the journey, seven years ago, so it’s quite timely doing this interview now. Yesterday was the day that Amundsen’s (the first person to get to the South Pole) arrived at the South Pole. So yeah, there’s quite a lot kind of going on in the Antarctic world at this time of year.
Becky
Tell me, how did you first get into endurance related sport and adventure training?
Maria
Well, I think definitely at university, I joined the Officer Training Corps as part of this Territorial Army. And there, I was exposed to a lot of adventure and army training. So I spent a lot of time out in the hills in Dartmoor and Exmoor, all over the country actually. We went as far as Scotland during training. And so I met a lot of really adventurous people and it kind of triggered that spark of “let’s go out” and “let’s get wet and muddy and tired” and “let’s go see if we can run all night” and things like that, so yeah, I think I put it down to the Office Training Corps.
Becky
That’s amazing. So, was that like a sports society at uni? Or was it part of a programme?
Maria
No it’s like training the next generation of army officers basically. So, they try and target university students.
Becky
That’s really cool. When I was a kid, I did Air Cadets and I absolutely loved it for the same reason, they sent you out on like obstacle courses. I wish I kept it up, it’s one of those ones I kind of dropped but looking back on it I was at my peak fitness.
Maria
Oh I know and you make some brilliant friends as well, because you’re in some situations that you just wouldn’t normally be in. So yes, it was really good.
Becky
So what do you love about it the most?
Maria
Well, just all the adventure opportunities, really. I think the friendships I’ve got, I made my best friends through the Officer Training Corps, definitely. But the other bonus is also that it was only 40 p for a gin and tonic in the officer’s mess, so when you’re at university that is a real bonus.
Becky
Surely with so much endurance training and high impact cardio, you get drunk really fast as well?
Maria
Absolutely, when you’re 18 for sure!
Becky
Did you grow up with a sort of active, adventurous lifestyle before university?
Maria
Very active, definitely. I grew up on farms, and my parents always had us out. We were always riding horses and just out playing in mud really. But I didn’t do any actual sport, like running, cycling or kayaking or anything like that before University. And that all started later, but my parents are very outdoorsy people. You know, you get up in the morning and you don’t stay in the house. You go out, that’s what I do with my girls now. We’re outside as much as possible.
Becky
Amazing. So take me back to your world at home right now; so are the whole family kind of adventurers per se?
Maria
Yes, so my youngest is three and she’s crazy – her favourite film is Pippi Longstocking. So that’s all about this little girl who basically lives at home with out parents and she jumps on a roof and hangs upside down and all sorts of things. So she’s constantly mimicking that and it’s out kind of causing havoc. But my five-year-old is actually very sensible. Oh, and my three-year-old has also said that she wants to live on the moon!
Becky
Aw that’s so cute. I love that.
Maria
I don’t know if it’s to get away from me or actually that she just wants to live on the moon!
Becky
That’s her own adventure for a future time, do you know what they want to be when they’re older?
Maria
Well, all girls probably say they want to be ballerinas. But they have just started ballet, so they basically want to be ballerinas.
They are still a bit young to know I think.
Becky
And how about you? Who’s your role model? What do you draw inspiration from?
Maria
Oh gosh, I’ve been so fortunate to have really, really fantastic parents, both my mother and my father have been incredible. My mother’s the most caring kind person in the world and that’s one thing I value hugely and my father’s super practical, nothing is ever a problem, he-can-fix-it kind of thing. So, you know, I’ve learned a lot from them, and I always ask their opinion on things, but when it comes to the South Pole, I looked very much at Amundsen, I mentioned him earlier. We hear all about Scott and how he died his terrible death and all the stuff that he did, but we never actually hear about Amundsen. He was actually the first to get there, he was the winner out of that race, and he actually executed the whole thing perfectly. I really focused on what it was he did and how he did it, and the training and all that kind of thing. So, he’s definitely been one of my inspirations.
Becky
What inspired you to go to the South Pole? Why the South over the North Pole?
Maria
I’ve always had a fascination for the South Pole, I think even since I was young and I was looking at my globe, I could see this continent at the bottom where the stem joined the globe. And I was like “What is it?” You know, “I wonder what’s there…is that part of earth or not?” and as I’ve grown up, I’ve always been fascinated by the place. It was during a trip to New Zealand where I was cycling the length of the country and I was basically getting very cycle fit, I was loving the sport and realising I was actually quite good at cycling. And then I just went into an internet cafe one evening and I just typed in “has anyone cycled to the South Pole?” and there was no record of anyone even having attempted or thought of it. I just left that internet cafe, I remember it still it was attached to a petrol station and I came out of it and just thought, “I am going to cycle to the South Pole.” So you know, all a bit random.
Becky
So, remind me, what was the total distance you cycled?
Maria
It was just under 650 kilometres.
Becky
That’s insane. And you did that journey purely using manpower alone, didn’t you?
Maria
Yeah. Oh, 100%. I cycled the whole way.
Becky
And how long did it take you overall?
Maria
It was 10 days, 14 hours and 56 minutes. I would say in terms of human power, travelling in Antarctica, if you’re hitting 50 kilometres a day, that’s a really, really big day. Some days, I managed to get through 85 kilometres, so it just went to prove that actually, cycling can be really, really efficient. It was all about sharing that cycling is a viable means of human powered travel in Antarctica.
Becky
Yeah, that’s incredible. And can I ask about the wildlife and the nature that you saw?
Maria
Oh, nothing, nothing at all! Well, all of the animals like the penguins, and the birds and everything; they obviously live around the coast of Antarctica. Because I was cycling into the centre of Antarctica to South Pole, there was nothing there. I remember so well, when I touched down on the way back in South America, straightaway, I was like “Oh my god, there’s birds in the sky!” And there’s a smell in the air because I hadn’t smelled anything apart for myself for so long. There was no wildlife, nothing at all, it was a really surreal experience, really just a definite experience. It is a desert after all, so I suppose you’d have to expect that. Quite often you think it’s snowing in Antarctica but actually it’s just the wind blowing the snow around. It is classed as a desert because there’s such little rain or snow fall out there.
Becky
So, take me back to the beginning. Your journey began on the central Siberian plateau with a training race. Why did you begin training with this race?
Maria
Well, it was actually a race that I found online. And I heard about this race in the middle – late 2011. I found out about it and I thought it’s a perfect opportunity to test cycling on snow and ice on my own in some horrific conditions. And basically, that’s what I was looking for because I wanted to test everything. When I got out there, it really was a challenge. There were 30 people that started the race and out of those 30, only eight of us finished it. There were people that had fallen through the ice, that had succumbed to frostbite, hyperthermia, one team even burnt their tent down, and it was quite a disaster of a race. It was never, ever run again. I remember at night, I would pitch my tent on the ice, and I’d lay there, and I could just hear the ice cracking underneath my tent, and I could hear the wolves howling in the mountains around me. It was the perfect experience to actually have to say “can I cope with this…. do I know what I’m doing? Have I got the right kit? Have I got the right skills?” and most importantly, “is the bike the right bike for this job.” I went there with a normal mountain bike with studs in the tires, and I soon learned that actually that’s totally not the way to go if you’re in deep snow and crosswind conditions, things like that. So that’s what that’s where the Polar Cycle came from.
Becky
What were you thinking and feeling in moments like that when you could sort of hear the ice cracking and the wolves howling? Did it at all put you off during your solo expedition?
Maria
I think I really thrive on a bit of fear. I really thrive on it, it’s really strange. It’s kind of like a switch in the back of my head that just goes “right, It’s one chance now.” And I have to think really clearly, and I have to do things logically, I need to do them slowly, but with some kind of urgency. I need to just be really focused, because it’s a make-or-break situation; almost the whole world slows down around me in those situations, and it’s amazing. I mean, you wouldn’t get that feeling back home just doing normal things, you have to put yourself in those situations. So yeah, I actually really thrive on it. I’ve noticed if there is a crisis, I manage to really have a level head and sort things out.
Becky
So of your learnings, what adaptions to your bike were necessary?
Maria
Well, I put that one in the shed. I was working with a company called Chorus Titanium Bikes at the time, we came up with the concept that actually we needed to have more stability, so probably three or four wheels we were looking at, at the time. I needed to be able to carry all of my weight, so it needed to have some weight bearing capability, you can’t just have panniers because I’d be carrying 50/ 60/ 70 kilograms worth of kit with me. Also, I need to be in a position that I’m comfortable in so I can cycle all day, every day, with huge clothes on as well, sitting on a saddle – it’s just not very comfortable! And then we actually approached a company down in Cornwall, called Inspired Cycle Engineering. They loved the idea and we went for a meeting and I explained the project and they kind of looked at me as if I was a bit bonkers, but said “we’re on, we’re on board.” So, with them, we created the Polar Cycle, which is a beast of a machine. It’s about two metres long and about a metre wide that I can carry. During my training, I actually cycled up some sand dunes with a 90-kilogram guy on the back of it, so it definitely passed the weight bearing test. All of the gears as well, I had super, super low gears so I could be travelling at 0.1 k/ph whilst my feet were still turning quite quickly. So, yeah, it was good – we came up with the right machine for the job.
Becky
Amazing. There’s a lot of accountability on you being out there by yourself. Were you able to repair it if something went wrong?
Maria
Yeah, I carried about eight kilograms worth of repair kit and the things that could have gone wrong were obviously the tires, the chain, and things could have frozen up, joints could have frozen. So, I was very lucky actually, I didn’t really have any problems at all. I had a bit of a squeaky chain at one stage, but I pulled some of the beef fat out of the back of my snack bag and I rubbed it on it and it solved the problem, to which I was like, “genius!”
Becky
That’s so funny, that’s a classic example of thinking on your feet as well.
Maria
Exactly, and in fact my tires did lose pressure as I was climbing up onto the polar plateau, so that was just a case of having to pump them up, but I had six tires, they were almost five inch wide tires, and there’s this tiny little hand pump. So I was there for about 40 minutes trying to get the tire back up.
Becky
You had a really good quote in your documentary where you’re saying you needed an upper body workout, and that was perfect for it. So how about your personal preparation? How strict was your training regime?
Maria
When I’ve got a goal, I become really strict with myself. When I haven’t got a goal, I’m the laziest person in the world and I’ll just sit on the sofa all day long. I was up at 04:35 every morning, I was doing about three hours. So, I used to do this deprivation training. I’d get out of bed, I’d get straight on the Polar Cycle, or on my bike, and go out and cycle for about three hours without food, without water, without anything at all because I wanted to surprise my body so that it would get used to it in case I did run out of food or something went badly wrong, that I knew I would be able to keep going. And then yes, I tend to do my endurance stuff in the morning. Weekends I’d sort of go off for 12 hours, and just, you know, whether it’s run up a hill, or go and cycle somewhere. I must say, I wasn’t always cycling, I was really mixing it up and doing lots of short and sharp, high intensity training in the evenings as well. You know, to really work the heart and keep that side of the fitness going as well.
Becky
And before you set out to the South Pole, what was your biggest worry?
Maria
Oh my gosh, well, would I make it? I mean, I had absolutely no idea! It had never been done before. In fact, the year before I went out, somebody had attempted to do it, but they failed. They got 100 kilometres in and couldn’t go any further. I had no idea what I was about to tackle, you know, I didn’t know if it would take me 10 days, 20 days, 50 days, or 60 days, you know, I just did not know, I didn’t know if I had the right kit. I just didn’t know because I’ve not been to Antarctica, Antarctica is a completely different place to Siberia or, anywhere else in the world, so I just had to go with the fact that I had really done my homework, I’d really done my training. I had the best team around me that have helped me get to this point, and I just needed to get on that Polar Cycle and start cycling. And it all came down to the fact that all I had to do day after day was keep those pedals turning and as long as I did that, I’d get one metre closer and one metre closer. Yeah, I just I was kind of focused. I was panicking but at the same time, I was not allowing that panic out, really.
Becky
It’s amazing that you actually did the trip, and went there, and broke this record without even having been to the place before as something to fall back on in your mind. That’s really impressive. So, you set off in December, and how did you pick your route?
Maria
I looked at all the options, and Hercules Inlet is the route that 95% of expeditions will start from. When people ski to the South Pole, they’ll go from Hercules inlet. There are a few other options there, the idea of the record is all about from the edge of the Antarctic continent to the South Pole. I could have gone anywhere from the edge to the South Pole. I think, because I’ve been reading a lot about Scott and Amundsen, I’ve learned quite a bit about the other side of Antarctica, where the Transantarctic Mountain Range is. I actually got in contact with some scientists from the McMurdo Station, which is based down on the Ross ice shelf. And I started chatting to them, you know about what the conditions were like out there. And they informed me that back in 2003, they started to transport fuel overland to the South Pole, as opposed to flying it to the South Pole Station. And I sort of questioned them about where they go and how do they go and they tell me about this route called the Leverett Glacier. So, I was like, well if it’s good enough for them, maybe that could be a really good route and it’s a shorter route than the Hercules Inlet, but I have to climb up this Transantarctic Mountains Range which is a 3000 metre mountain range, so there were pros and cons to it. And it was absolutely the right route to go, definitely.
Becky
That Glacier, you reached gradients of almost 25 percent on it.
Maria
Yeah, it was quite horrific really. I had brakes on the Polar Cycle on all three wheels. And then I would sort of brace my feet like this as well to stop going backwards when I needed to have a break. But I soon found if I went into that brace position and locked out my legs, I found it really difficult then to keep going. But it was almost like a step, it wasn’t just 25 the whole way up, it wasn’t 90 kilometres of 25. It would have a section of 25 that would level off a bit and then a bit more. And then sometimes the angle would change, so I was cycling along at one stage, and I’m thinking, “oh my god, the Polar Cycle is just going to fall over and roll down the Glacier!” So, I’d move all the weight from one side of it to the other and lean over the wheel to try and keep it flat. It was quite a challenge. And actually, the visibility on the two days that I was up there, the top part of the glacier was zero vis, and I was really pleased by that. Because otherwise, I would have just kind of looked at it and panicked, but because I couldn’t see it, I just had to focus on what was right in front of me. I could hear avalanches falling down the side of the mountain and everything;  I’m pleased I didn’t actually see them.
Becky
That’s really scary. How were you coping with this mentally, I guess you were just focusing on what your body was doing?
Maria
I had done quite a lot of mental training for it as well and I developed a technique basically. I said, okay, draw a circle around me and the Polar Cycle, and everything that’s in it, I can control, I can look up, I could feed myself, I can change my clothing, I can pedal, I can look after the Polar Cycle. Anything outside, I have no control about so just leave it be and don’t think about it. And that’s basically all I did the whole way it was like me and my circle.
Becky
I love that. That’s a really, really good coping mechanism or a way of sort of getting through it. So, can you tell me about the moment you reached the top of the glacier? How did you feel?
Maria
Oh, I had worked so hard. Oh my gosh, I was absolutely exhausted! I remember pitching my tent right at the top of it, it was the fourth time I’d pitched the tent. And I kind of climbed into the tent and I was like oh my gosh, I’m completely, completely exhausted. And I slept the night and because I had a knee injury you see from many, many years of cycling, and then in Siberia, I’d fallen off the bike so many times I’d sort of chipped it a bit and I cracked my elbow and all sorts of problems. I had quite a knee problem, and it was starting to come back and it was swollen like a balloon as well. And then I was thinking that I’m on the Polar Plateau now, so it’s pretty straight. I mean, it’s a gentle climb the whole way, but it’s negligible, you know, you don’t really notice you’re climbing. But the next morning I got up and it had been quite a gale, and you know, the snow was really deep and I was cycling along just like, “oh this is horrifically painful.” I put a lot of focus and my attention and training on what I thought was the crux of the expedition, which was the mountains. But then actually, this was actually the crux right now, it was getting on that Polar Plateau and then dealing with another, 450/ 500 kilometres in deep snow. And yeah, I really started to struggle, and it was hard. I think that’s when I needed this technique even more so, for focus. Just keep the pedal turning.
Becky
So was there a moment you thought maybe you couldn’t continue?
Maria
I definitely had some moments where I thought, “Can I do it? Can I do it? Oh, I don’t know if I can do it.” But no, I just pushed through and kept going. At one stage I did decide that I would get rid of some of the weight from the Polar Cycle because I was carrying all my kit with me. The truck that had dropped me at the at the start, I was able to radio them and get them to pick it up. For me it was quite a disappointment because I wanted to do it all completely self supported and up until then I had been, but I just didn’t know whether the conditions would stay as they were, and how my knee was going to fare and if I hadn’t taken that decision, maybe I wouldn’t even have got to the South Pole. So at least I was able to still keep cycling to the South Pole.
Becky
In terms of keeping your strength up, how much sleep were you averaging a night?
Maria
I’d probably cycle around 17 hours and then it would take me about two hours to get the tent, by the time I had stopped to get the tent up to melt snow and ice to make water to rehydrate my food to deal with all my injuries and everything and so I probably had two or three hours a night, but I don’t think much of that was sleeping. A lot of it was sort of lying there going, “oh my god I am in Antarctica in a tent on my own!” But it was fine, you know, I’m quite good with sleep deprivation really.
Becky
Were you ever scared that you’d lose your bike in the conditions whilst you’re camped out?
Maria
In fact I have got this hilarious photograph of the tent –  I tied the polar cycle to it, and I joke that I was lying in my tent and I was really worried somebody would come and pinch the Polar Cycle! Of course, there’s nobody in Antarctica. I mainly did that because the winds can be so strong. They could literally pick a tent up with a person in there and blow away, so I tied it to the to the Polar Cycle for that reason.
Becky
So, between exhaustion, losing a lot of body liquid and weight from exercising, and being exposed to such sub-zero temperatures, can you tell me about what was happening to your body? Were there any sort of significant changes to your weight or anything?
Maria
Not really and luckily, as women, we’re kind of made for endurance because our bodies are so intelligent, they tend to be able to preserve themselves really well, which for people trying to lose weight is awful. Unfortunately, it’s just who we are. I mean, at the end of it, I lost about 8% of my body weight, which is not a lot, most guys would lose at least 20, if not more. And, you know, you do the before and after shot of the abs as a woman, and then as a man and the guy, they’re skin and bones, whereas we’re fine. We could have continued for quite a lot longer. I mean, I did lose weight, I toned up certainly, but mainly I just found myself getting stronger and stronger. Apart from the injury, the actual physical muscles were really good and in good conditions.
Becky
Good. And how much did you need to eat to keep your energy up?
Maria
So I took about four and a half thousand calories a day, which is about double what we would eat at home, So it’s not a massive amount. In the morning I would have all the pieces that I ate were freeze dried, so it was in little pouches. And the reason we have these is because that the calorie to weight ratio is really, really good. So, for about 180 grams I could get 800 calories or so –  I’d have porridge in the morning and then lunch time it was just sort of snacks. I had like a little snack bag on my front and in here I had a whole mixture of things like jellybeans and chocolate. I’m half Swedish so I have salty licorice. I also had some beef fat and some biltong mixed in, and some pretzels, and all sorts of like random stuff. But yeah, it was a complete mixture. And then in the evening I’d have a soup again, a freeze-dried soup, and then I’d have maybe a spaghetti Bolognese or chicken korma or something like that and a desert in fact, a chocolate pudding dessert. So yeah, I definitely didn’t go hungry, although I found as I got onto the Polar Plateau, I suffered quite a bit with altitude sickness and because it’s up at 3,000 metres, I was not able to eat as much. So actually, the last two days, I probably ate about 1,000 calories a day only because I just couldn’t stomach it.
Becky
Oh, wow. That’s quite a drop. How did you deal with the change brought on from altitude sickness?
Maria
I did take some paracetamol and things. I just started to get a headache and just felt a little bit lethargic. I don’t know, it feels like the air is just pressing on you a little bit and I had not prepared for it really, because at 3,000 metres I thought I’d be absolutely fine. But I was later told that because of the position on the earth, that Antarctica’s effects of altitude are probably more like five or six thousand metres. So yeah, I did struggle with it. And I know from having climbed Mont Blanc and some other mountains that I don’t fare too well in altitude at all. So yeah, it wasn’t the best finish. I remember getting there and going, “let’s get out of here!”
Becky
What effect did that have on your ability to navigate?
Maria
Navigation was fine. It was basically due South. It was due South the whole way, and I had a GPS with me and so it wasn’t intricate navigating at all. It was it was pretty straightforward.
Becky
Have you ever hallucinated from altitude?
Maria
From sleep deprivation, yes, I have. When I’ve been doing my adventure racing, I’ve seen all sorts of monsters in the hedges and you know, things that are definitely not there. But no, I was okay in Antarctica actually.
Becky
And to treat it they say you should stop and rest, not go higher and not exercise. So that was completely off the cards for what you were trying to do. Did that have any sort of effect on you mentally or were you able to just push through?
Maria
No, I’ve always done this sort of thing with the adventure racing. I do that kind of non-stop for six days, I might get three hours sleep in six days and so I was pretty used to it.
Becky
What’s the scenario if you had to do a rescue out there, how long would it take for somebody to reach you?
Maria
Every 24 hours we did a sit rep, an update on position, where I was, how I was doing and where I was due to be in the next 24 hours and there are planes in Antarctica. So, I had search and rescue insurance with ALE, the company that are out there, but it’s all completely weather dependent. So if the weather had been fine, they would have been able to get a plane to me and in a few hours. But if the weather’s really bad, it could be a month. If they can’t fly, it can be quite dangerous.
Becky
Yeah.
Take me back to Christmas Day because you are travelling over it, weren’t you?
Maria
Yeah, I was out there. It was a first Christmas in 35 years that I hadn’t been with my family. It was kind of quite emotional. But, you know, I’ve chosen to do this and I don’t know, there’s a bit too much hype around Christmas I think at the moment, and it was quite nice to just be out there and escape it all. But I really, I didn’t have my children at that time, of course. I didn’t have children, but my sister has a little boy and a little girl who I was very, very close to, so I had a little photograph of them in my pocket. So, I would look at them regularly and kind of wondered what they’d be doing, and whether they’d opened all their Christmas presents and eat and all that chocolate yet.
Becky
What do you do to unwind and switch off from the outdoor world?
Maria
Well, I mean, now I’ve got two girls so unwinding and switching off is not really an option, as most mothers out there will know. But we have got a family dog that we take walking a lot, that’s lovely, just to you know go for walks in the forest with the girls and the dog. And yeah, that’s really lovely. I started to read a bit more, I never ever used to read, I just never used to read, but I do quite enjoy that.
Becky
I also wanted to take a minute to talk about some of your other achievements too because alongside obviously being a mum and your expeditions, you’ve also released a book and a film, you’re a keynote speaker, and you’re the founder of an adventure company.
Maria
During my training ITV Wales were following me and capturing a lot of that for the documentary. And then I did some filming out in Iceland, and then of course, in Antarctica, which I gave to them. And then we created the White Ice Cycle documentary which is available on my website and also on Amazon Prime. That was actually out three weeks after I had returned, that was out straightaway. But then my book took me a long time to actually put that into paper. And it was actually when I had my first daughter, I remember being up most nights feeding her as mothers do, and I thought this is a perfect time to start writing. And I was on my iPad, and I started to write the book. I had two girls, a year and a half each, sort of feeding them all night. And so that got my book written, which was good. So, yeah, we launched that just a couple of years ago and that’s on Amazon Prime as well, just like into the South Pole. And that’s kind of the whole story of the four years of training and all of that as well and I talked quite a bit about the Lake Baikal in Siberia, which, which was just the most incredible race ever. Then the second half is all about the South Pole, so yeah, it was it was really fun to do. I’ve got to thank my mother, because she’s a journalist and I wrote the facts down, then she turned it into something nice to read. I’m so lucky, she’s brilliant.
Becky
So touching on your keynote, and after dinner speaking, what are the key things you talk about in your speeches?
Maria
So I did touch upon the adventure racing, mainly because it’s a team sport and I think, in terms of companies, they’re very interested to see team collaboration and how team dynamics work and how you can get a whole team from the start to the finish of a 600km course without major disputes or big problems and things happening like that. So, goal setting is a big thing that I focus on a lot when I go to schools and universities when I speak to them as well. Just the importance of going out and having a goal and then I was saying, myself, if I haven’t got a goal, I’m terrible. I have to have a goal. Yeah, I really enjoy doing all of that. It’s good fun.
Becky
Good, you must be a great mum because you’re so motivational. Do these speeches sort of become bedtime stories in a way for the girls or the learnings from them?
Maria
No, of course they know what I’ve done and they’ve seen parts of my documentary, but I don’t talk about it a lot because I want them to go and really explore the world themselves and find what they love and what they want to do and I’m certainly not a pushy mum, I won’t go “I’ve gone to the South Pole”, you know. One’s off to the moon anyway. So, they could be whatever they want to but no, I try, instead of telling them things, I just want to give them experiences. So we’re always out running around jumping in puddles, we’re riding the horse we’re jumping over things, making little cross country courses for them to jump over and fun things that they love doing.
Becky
And you mentioned your adventure race company. You’re the founder of the adventure race company Burn Series, why did you set it up?
Maria
After my trip to New Zealand in 2010, I was really impressed by the way that New Zealand basically have sport as a way of life out there. It’s not, “we do this plus we do some sport and evening” … their whole world is based around being active and outdoorsy and sporty as a family. And I thought that would just be brilliant to bring some of that back to the UK, and I’m based in Wales at the moment. I started that up, and in fact, the year of COVID was our 10 year anniversary. So unfortunately, everything was cancelled which I’m really gutted about. Yeah, it’s going really well, we have a great group of people that come and do it, we have 2-300 families that come and take part which is fantastic. Once things return a bit more to normal, we are looking at some more venues and running it a bit further afield, not just in South Wales. So yeah, it’s been really good fun.
Becky
How challenging are the courses? Can anybody do it?
Maria
Oh, anybody. We’ve had a three-year-old complete the whole course. Because it’s a family team effort, so it might be that the mum has to carry them or dad has to lift the bike or push the bars or something like that, it’s all about getting to the finish as a family in one piece. We have short course options and Mini Burners suited perfectly for families with young children, then I also organise The Burn, which is for more experienced adventure racers, maybe you people have done triathlons or half marathons and those sorts of things, so are pretty fit but are looking for something a little bit different and they all involve running, cycling, kayaking, and then some orienteering as well. So yes, it’s good fun, it’s different.
Becky
And there was actually another one of your adventures that I wanted to ask you about because on this trip you were joined by a couple of companions at various legs of the journey; can you tell me briefly what the Welsh Top 10 is exactly?
Maria
Well, again, it was just a dream of something I came up with and I gave it a cool name. No, in the year of COVID, I thought it’s really important to stay close to home. But at the same time, I needed to fulfil my desire to go and get get a load of adventure. I’ve done coast to coast races, in lots of different places in the world. I’ve done them in New Zealand, I’ve done them across England and Scotland and Ireland, but never in Wales, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity. So basically, I started in Conway in North Wales, and then I ran, cycled, and kayaked all the way to Cardiff in South Wales. It took me 60 hours to complete, and my mother joined me for the kayak, and my daughters joined me, my three year olds are brilliant cyclists, for the last five kilometres cycling to Cardiff Bay. Then I had a couple of friends join me on route as well in the mountains. So yeah, it was just really fun. It was not a race. it wasn’t anything official; it was just to get out and have some adventure.
Becky
And how did you feel about being on a boat in rapids, in the kayak, with your mum at the age of 72? Were you scared?
Maria
Well, a little bit for her actually. It was pitch black, and I hadn’t been on this river before, but I had spoken to some people that knew it very well. And they’d said there’s a few gentle rapids but then make sure you get out before hellhole, which was one of the rapids I think it a grade 3, it’s quite serious one called hellhole. And even, the first few rapids were pretty bumpy but my mother, she’s just like, so cool. She just sits there, and she just trusts me 100%. She’ll do anything I tell her basically, so I said “if we go in, just lie on your back and get your feet up in front of you.” And she was just like “okay, that’s fine I can do that.” Luckily we didn’t need to but we then got to hellhole, we stopped right on top of it, and it was quite low water actually, we were able to scramble out on some of the rocks and get out; so it all ended well.
Becky
You mentioned your daughters mentioned you, what was it like travelling with them? Did it change the dynamic of the journey for you?
Maria
Oh of course, it’s hilarious! It’s only 5km but we had to stop because of itchy heads, itchy bottoms, we argued who was going to cycle in front! My 3-year-old decided that they wanted to cycle on the wrong side of the road, so we had a massive argument about that – the last bit took me about and hour, and I had already been on the go for 60 hours non-stop, so I was quite keen to finish!
Becky
In terms of the future, are there any sports that you’d like to add to your repertoire?
Maria
Oh yes, I’d love to start some more! This summer I started a bit of stand up paddle boarding, and I think it’s a really cool means of travel, you’re a bit higher up than a kayak and can see a bit more – I love the feeling of being in the ocean and it gives you a different sense of perception. I want to do more cross country and backcountry ski touring, I just love the cold.
Becky
It was my first time SUPing this year, it’s such a cool feeling – especially when you feel the sun rays on top of the freezing cold water! SO you’ve tackled extreme cold, would you venture into extreme heat?
Maria
I did actually run the Marathon de Sables in 2007 across the Sahara and learnt that I don’t like the heat. Because the nature of what I do is very physical, I want to be in cooler temperatures. Even here in the UK, if its above 15 degrees it’s just too hot to get a sweat on!
Becky
So, tell me. Is there anything else on your bucket list that you haven’t ticked off?
Maria
Oh yes, there’s always something! Towards the end of the South Pole trip, the last 2 or 3 hours I started to dream up my next plan. I wanted to cycle across the Atlantic on some sort of pedalo bike! But then I had children, so I stopped the totally wild ideas. I’m 42 now, but I think when I’m 55 and the girls are older, I might do some of the endurance stuff again. Next year I’m riding across the mountain of Kyrgyzstan on horseback with my mother though!
Becky
Maria, thank you, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you.
Maria
Thank you, it has been a pleasure to chat!
Head over to Thinking Off-Piste to hear Maria’s original podcast, or listen on your favourite platform; Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Breaker, Player FM.
For those who can’t get enough of Maria’s adventure, you can read her detailed story in her book Cycling to the South Pole.
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Photography by Ryan Edy
