Fiona's Story
Fiona is a keynote speaker, endurance adventurer and entrepreneur.
She became the first woman to complete a length of Britain triathlon in 2018 when she stand up paddleboarded from Lands End to John O'Groats, having already walked and cycled the route.
Taking on her fear of the sea, as well as the demanding logistics of sourcing a boat, crew and funding, she showed what you can achieve when you dare to start before you’re ready and rethink what’s possible.
After studying real estate at university she decided that a corporate career wasn’t for her and quit her first job just 6 weeks after she started, determined to be more self directed. But it wasn't until after 2 failed businesses that she discovered the power of adventure to shift her mind set and find success.
Getting on a bike for the first time as an adult at the age of 28, Fiona began a love affair with adventure. Taking on big organised rides and exploring the countryside at weekends, the freedom of her bike sparked a newfound confidence.
But as she took on her first big adventure in 2016, the famous Lands End to John O’Groats route by bicycle, she faced failure 800 miles into the 1000-mile route. Despite crying into lashing rain in the remote Scottish Cairngorm wilderness, frozen to her core and all alone, she was far from put off. Instead she was buoyed by a sense of resilience, and yearned for more.
In spring 2017 she spent 57 days walking 993 miles from John O’Groats to Lands End, solo and self-supported. Over coming acute tendonitis and trench foot, it was on this adventure that she fell in love with the physical and mental demands of big endurance challenges.
That autumn she got back on her bike to cycle 1,200 miles up the length of Britain, exploring a different route to her walk, and succeeding where she’d previously failed.
In 2018 Fiona completed the first ever female length of Britain triathlon by paddleboarding 800 miles over 81 days. She was scared of the sea, hadn’t undergone any kind of training and she lacked the support boat/funding/crew that she needed even as she crossed the start line. Yet despite this, en route she faced her fear and lost sight of shore to become the first woman to SUP across the Irish Sea. At the same time she became the first person to SUP the length of Britain on an inflatable board, picking up a hat-trick of world records during this expedition.
2021 saw Fiona take on a new challenge, Couch to Ultra Marathon. Having never run more than 5 miles in one go, her goal was to see if she could become ‘a runner’ by running a really long way. That August she covered 113 miles the length of the Outer Hebrides and in the process she found her own style of running.
When she’s not adventuring Fiona is a motivational speaker, marketing consultant and founder of Rebel Gelato, a new plant-based gelato company in the Lake District.
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Through her experience Fiona has found the huge potential that adventure has for unlocking something within us. Putting one step in front of the other day after day, not knowing what the path will look like round the corner only that you have to move forward - this has significant parallels with all aspects of life and can help you build momentum and resilience while carving out your own path.
Fiona's talks and book focus on helping you take steps forward and embrace the opportunities that come with change in our lives, but with a bigger vision for achieving what we didn't think was possible for ourselves and the world around us. Fiona's own approach to her life is to wholeheartedly embrace all aspects of who she is, from being an entrepreneur to her love of baking and adventure - and she will be delighted to help you do the same.
