What makes someone decide to run 400 miles around the Cornish coast?

For Elsey Davis, the answer wasn't simply to chase a Fastest Known Time.

After her mum was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer's, she found herself looking for a way to channel grief into something positive. The result was an extraordinary six-day journey around the entire Cornish coastline, raising money, raising awareness, and discovering that some adventures change far more than your fitness.

In this episode we talk about the planning behind the challenge, how her body coped with six consecutive days of huge mileage, why the inland section proved tougher than the coast, and the emotional finish alongside her mum at Land's End.

It's a conversation about resilience, purpose and the remarkable things people can achieve when they have a powerful reason to keep moving.

The overnight camp at the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon must be one of the best places in the world. The shared stories from the day bring everyone together in a way that you don’t really experience in other areas of your life - getting lost in the cloud, the various degrees of ankle pain from contouring around hills and doing battle with tussocks, the happy realisation that there’s life beyond footpaths.

It all adds up to the joy of spending time outside.

We talk about:

• The best food to eat between Saunders days
• The difference that route choice can make on the hill
• The joy found in partners on the trail
• How the Saunders has become a family tradition that spans entire generations and ages.
• Love and loss and how people find connection on the hills.

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Get out on your own adventure - find out more at bigtrailadventures.com.

What happens when a race stops feeling like competition and starts feeling like exploration?

In this episode, Rob talks to trail runner and author Scott Williams about taking on the Swiss Peaks 360 — a multi-day ultra across the Swiss Alps involving huge climbs, sleep deprivation, technical mountain terrain and six days on the move.

But this conversation goes well beyond racing.

Scott shares why he keeps returning to difficult places, the surprising role of kindness and support, what happens when normal life falls away for a few days, and why adventure doesn’t need to be extreme to change us.

We talk about:

• What the Swiss Peaks 360 actually involves
• Why Scott attempted it twice
• The extraordinary mountain landscapes that stayed with him
• Racing without rushing
• The people who carried him through difficult moments
• Unexpected challenges on the route (including one memorable bog)
• The “day five effect” and how time outdoors changes perception
• Bringing lessons from the trail back into everyday life
• Why you don’t need a 380km race to experience adventure

Scott is also the author of Swimming Through Rocks.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast and leave a rating or review on your podcast platform of choice.

Get out on your own adventure - find out more at bigtrailadventures.com.