After a few months of feeling unwell, Sara's life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. Following a haemorrhage and major brain surgery that left her unable to walk, with impaired vision and balance, as well as permanent profound hearing loss, she has been focused on getting back everything the tumour took away from her, and much more. Now she's sharing the story of how she overcame adversity to get from sickbed to summits. During this episode Sara shares more about how she got back into running, going after her first ultra and how she approaches new and difficult challenges. Sara in her own words about her next challenge: "In September 2022, to show others that despite life throwing curveballs our way we can still achieve, I aim to run from Land's End to John 'Groats. I will be covering a distance of approximately 855 miles over 20 days. I'll be leaving from Land's End on the morning of Monday 5th September, and with the help of some friends l'll be running between 40 to 50 miles a day, mostly on road. Yes, I have my concerns. Running, however, is the least of them! I wonder how much of a problem my tinnitus will be with having road noise around me for approximately 10 hours a day. I worry about not hearing traffic around me (as I have no direction of sound). I'm also apprehensive about how I will cope with fatigue and the nausea associated with it. I have good support around me though, and we're working hard in training to overcome these issues as best we can." New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don't miss out. The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by @inov_8 Get your exclusive 15% discount code for inov-8.com by signing up HERE Show notes Who is Sara 46 years old Her love of challenges and taking on her next big challenge Growing up in Chester and her early years Not fitting in at school and focusing on school work Meeting her husband and going waking at the weekends Getting married and having children Getting back into running about 10 years ago Starting with couch to 5k Using running to help with children behaviour Sticking with running but not have a plan How running helped to maintain her sanity Why running became enjoyable Having a love/hate relationship with running Why you have to push yourself Being diagnosed with a brain tumour Needing to have an operation in May 2018 Having a rare complication Dealing with everything that was going on The challenges of recovery Losing her hearing and struggling with balance Wanting a new normal which would be better that the old normal Getting back into running after surgery Struggling with motion sickness Deciding to sign up for an Ultra Marathon The challenges of fatigue Wanting to push her limits Meeting Danielle Gibbons @danigibbo1 Starting to train for her first ultra Not being able to go longer than 40 mins Running her own ultra - The Sandstone Trail Being supported by friends and family Why running fast isn't an option Deciding to run the length of the UK (LEJOG) Looking for support and funding and building up a support team The mental approach for taking on these big, physical challenges Having to figure out the process Breaking down the process into individual steps Taking it one step at a time Figuring out sleep Wanting to run 40 - 45 miles a day Learning how to manage fatigue Writing her book - Sickbeds to Summit Dealing with the trauma and addressing the feeling it brings up The good stuff that has come out of the challenges September 2022 Finals words of advice "Don't overthink it and don't talk yourself out of it" Social Media Website: www.saracrosland.com Instagram: @saracrosland Facebook: @sickbedtosummits Twitter: @saracrosland ******** The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by @inov_8 Get your exclusive 15% discount code for inov-8.com by signing up HERE You can still get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Website: www.toughgirlchallenges.com/marchdailymile

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