Interview: Brent Thomson Runs Mount Everest

By Pamela Burke

Twitter: @ThomsonBrent

She went, she ran, she conquered!  Brent Thomson took on what is called the hardest and highest race in the world, the Mount Everest Marathon, and accomplished her incredible goal this month.  At 60 years of age, she finished in 8 hours and 12 minutes.   Just completing the 26.2 mile journey down the rugged terrain was a feat in itself.

“I’m extremely thrilled that I did it and in a time I am very proud of…we pushed our bodies to the extreme limits.”  Brent Thomson

We profiled Brent on this website before she left for Nepal to begin her trek to 17,200 feet.  She returned earlier this month and gave Stacey Gualandi the first exclusive interview on the Women’s Eye Radio Show about her amazing race… 

Interview: Roz Savage On Her Record-Breaking Row Across Three Oceans

By Laurie McAndish King

UPDATE:  5/9/12:  Roz is about to row from Newfoundland to London to land there in time for the 2012 Olympics.  We wish her well!!!

UPDATE 4/4/12: Roz has a brand new website with loads of news about her newest rowing adventure to London and her acceptance into the World Fellows Program at Yale University this fall! 

UPDATE 3/3/12: Roz has just announced she will be rowing the North Atlantic to land in time for the 2012 Olympics in London

TWITTER: @rozsavage

Adventurer and environmentalist Roz Savage is the first woman to row across the “Big Three” oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. Even more impressive, she did it solo, in a 23-foot rowboat, without a support vessel.

“I have battled twenty-foot waves, sleep deprivation, self-doubt and depression, but I have never been happier.”  Roz Savage

I interviewed Roz back in 2007 when she was launching her Pacific passage, and learned how she’d transformed herself from an ordinary office worker into a world-class ocean-rowing athlete. She’s accomplished quite a lot since then, having rowed more than 15,000 miles and spent nearly a year and a half of her life at sea.

Arriving Mauritrius after rowing Indian Ocean/Photo: Colin Leondardt-10/3/11

And she has the credentials to prove it.  Roz now holds four world records for ocean rowing, and in 2010 was named Adventurer of the Year by the National Geographic Society.  She was recently invited by the Queen’s royal command to a reception at Buckingham Palace.

I was thrilled to catch up with Roz recently at a coffee shop in San Francisco, just after she had set her new record by completing the last of her three ocean rows, the Indian Ocean crossing… 

Interview: Brent Thomson Prepares To Run The World’s Highest Marathon

By Pamela Burke

TWITTER:  @ThomsonBrent

UPDATE:  December 4–Brent Runs Everest Marathon in 8 hours, 12 min.  Congrats, Brent! 

UPDATE:  December 1–Brent’s Ready to Run, Tomorrow’s the Big Day

UPDATE:  November 29–Brent has reached 16,000 feet, close to the starting point of her marathon run down Mt. Everest on Dec. 2.  She has just updated her blog where you can read the latest on her journey up to 17,200 feet.

UPDATE:  November 12–Brent has just taken off on the first leg of her journey.  She’ll be landing in Nepal soon.  You can follow her blog and keep  up with her adventure when she has time to  post.  Good luck, Brent!…

It’s a cool, overcast morning in the Marin Headlands when runner Brent Thomson sets off for her 6AM jaunt.  But hers is no ordinary undertaking.  She’s sprinting 20 miles over hills and tough terrain to prepare for the highest and hardest run of her life–the 26.2 mile Everest Marathon on December 2.

“When you put yourself in extreme situations and you come through them, it makes you so much stronger.” 

The race starts on Mt. Everest in Nepal at 17,200 feet and ends 6,000 feet below.  It’s a helicopter ride in and a 30 mile trek to the starting point.  Brent’s approaching her sixtieth birthday but doesn’t give much thought to the age factor.  For this Senior V. P. at Pacific Union International,  a real estate firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, the morning run is a piece of cake.

Photo by Elliot Karlan

It may be cake to her but the rigorous exercise program would give a lot of athletes severe heart palpitations.  She runs 18-26 miles every Saturday and 6-10 miles two days a week.  Then there are two days of rigorous CrossFit training with just one day of rest.  So how and why does she do it?  We set out to find an explanation for Brent’s latest ultramarathon goal…

Interview: Kimberly Fowler On YAS, Yoga And The No Om Zone

By Stacey Gualandi

Facebook:  KimberlyfowlerYAS
Twitter:  @kimberlyYAS

Kimberly Fowler never met an obstacle she couldn’t overcome.   She was diagnosed with a brain tumor 25 years ago.  She was hit by a car while competing in a triathlon.  And she almost died after falling during a climbing expedition.   What helped her survive these unbelievable challenges?  Kimberly says yoga.

“When I was diagnosed, I said not only am I not going to die, I’m going to get into the best shape of my life.”

She is the founder of YAS Fitness centers in and around Los Angeles and has created her own style of workouts called Yoga For Athletes and a yoga-and-spin hybrid known as YAS.   Now this former attorney-turned-entrepreneur hopes to inspire everyone to make yoga a part of their lives.

UPDATE:  Sunday was Kimberly’s 2nd annual three hour “spin-a-thon” for Think Cure to raise money to fight cancer.  Their goal was to raise $150,00.  They beat it and raised over $175,000!

Kimberly teaching yoga at YAS Venice, CA

When I first interviewed Kimberly four years ago for Multiplicity Media, she made an undeniable impression on me.  I decided to set a goal and become a YAS instructor myself, but it was scary and certainly not easy.    So now I want everyone to experience Kimberly Fowler’s fearlessness…

Interview: Alissa Finerman On Leaving Wall Street And Living in Your Top 1 %

By Stacey Gualandi

Twitter:  @AlissaFinerman
Facebook:  AlissaFinermanTop1

Alissa Finerman is living proof that it’s never too late to start a new life path.   She is practicing what she preaches with her first self-published book “Living in Your Top 1%”.  This former Wall Street financier and nationally ranked doubles tennis champ turned life coach serves up what she says are the nine most effective rituals to success.

“I think it begins with everyone being the CEO of You, Inc.”

She pulls from her own experience managing hedge funds, working the corporate bond desk, and acing opponents on the tennis court.  She believes that when “your heart and mind come together you will excel”.

After being laid off as one of the top senior women, she decided to write a book that would help others chart a new course.

I know what it’s like to get laid off and then trying to rethink your future.  So I was eager to read Alissa’s book, and learn how to navigate through change, shift your mindset, set new goals, and as a doubles tennis player myself, how to win a tiebreaker!…

Update: Cynthia Aguilar On Her Recent Risky Attempt to Paddle From Cuba to Key West

Cynthia Paddling to Key West

Cynthia Aguilar’s valiant attempt to set a world paddleboarding record from Cuba to Key West in thirty-six hours came to abrupt end in September after paddling solo in the water for 17 hours.  You can read about her preparation for the  trip to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in this EYE interview.

When I heard that Cynthia didn’t make it all the way, I wanted to find out just what happened in the unpredictable Gulf Stream and how dangerous it was.  She told me what made her reluctantly decide to get out of the water before reaching Key West and gave me some exclusive photos that you’ll see in her documentary coming out next year when she tries again.  The woman is unstoppable! 

Interview: Cynthia Aguilar Attempts To Set New World Paddleboarding Record-Cuba To Key West

Cynthia Aguilar tried to do  something that no other paddleboarder has been able to accomplish.   On Sept. 10th,  this 26-year-old ocean lifeguard from Miami  Beach attempted the first solo paddle from Cuba to Key West to see if she could set a world’s record and raise $100,000  for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

NEW UPDATE 6/16/11:  CYNTHIA MADE IT!!! 103.2 MILES IN 29 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES.  A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO CYNTHIA.   CHECK IT OUT ON TWITTER.

NEW UPDATE 6/15/11:  CYNTHIA IS TRYING AGAIN TO PADDLE FROM CUBA TO KEY WEST TO SET THE WORLD RECORD.  FOLLOW HER JOURNEY HERE.  GOOD LUCK TO CYNTHIA!

READ ABOUT HER VALIANT EFFORT AT KEEP PADDLIN’. FOLLOW HER ON FACEBOOK.  UPDATE:   HER WEBSITE SAYS THE ATTEMPT WAS ENDED AGAINST HER WILL AFTER 17 HOURS FIGHTING THE GULFSTREAM… SHE SAYS SHE WILL TRY AGAIN…MORE INFORMATION ON WHY SHE HAD TO STOP IS ON HER WEBSITE…IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS AN AMAZING ADVENTURE. 

A film about her experience  “Dream Big” is scheduled to be released in May, 2011.

When I heard about Cynthia’s tremendous determination and her love of paddleboarding, I knew I needed to learn more.    The sport seems particularly strenuous to me and especially tough in the deepest waters of the Gulf Stream.  What is it that makes a person set an amazing goal like this and how does she prepare for it?

” I do it by paddling 45 miles,  running,  spinning and doing weights. I believe I have been training for this day my whole life.”

Cynthia explained why she’s taken on this unique challenge and what KEEP PADDLIN’ is all about… 

Phoenix Nurse Runs Across America To Promote Fitness And Break Record

Called the “Richard Simmons of nurses,” cancer survivor Helene Neville began running to Fla  from Ca May 1.  She expects to arrive on Aug. 1, some 2,500 miles later, when she turns 50.  She’s written a book “Nurses in Shape” about nutrition and fitness.  Helene wants to break the record of 108 days running from coast to coast.

Check out:

Helene’s website

Do you have a fitness goal you think you can  accomplish?