Liz Derstine is a musician, runner, writer, and as of 2020, a long-distance hiker. On July 7, 2020, she embarked on the life-altering adventure of through-hiking the 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail, as quickly as possible. Now, having had several years to reflect on this epic journey, Derstine tells her whole AT story: from what inspired her to want to hike the entirety of this daunting trail, to how it all went down, through to the many ways her life has changed as a result of transporting herself on foot, through the wilderness, from Georgia to Maine. At its core, this is a journey of self-discovery. Since her record-setting AT hike, Derstine has continued to embark on incredible multiday hiking adventures. She now holds many Fastest Known Time (FKT) records, including among others the Long Trail FKT for a self-supported woman. Most recently, on July 1, 2023, she set the FKT for a self-supported woman on the Via Alpina in Switzerland, finishing in just under seven days. Derstine currently lives and Boston, and when she's away from the trail, she is studying classical piano at the Longy School of Music at Bard College.   Join Hear Her Sports Patreon https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Support the show and women’s sports media https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Women’s Running Stories on IG at https://www.instagram.com/womensrunningstories/ Find Women’s Running Stories at https://womensrunningstories.com/ Find Liz Derstine at https://www.mercuryontherun.com/ Find Liz Derstine on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pinkfeathers/

Katherine Stewart-Jones was born and raised in Chelsea Quebec in the heart of the Gatineau Park. It was there that she started skiing with her family as soon as she could walk. she did began competing at local events when she was 5, BUT she was an all -around active kid. Like lots of Hear Her Sports guests, she did a wide range of sports including soccer, sailing, kayaking, canoeing and downhill skiing. During that time, sports were mostly about spending time outdoors and with her family. It was in high school, when she joined a sports program in that allowed her to juggle her full schedule of training and racing with schooling that Katherine decided to pursue skiing more seriously. Now as one of the older members of the Canadian National Team, and one of the few women racing for Canada at the World Cup level, it has become important to Katherine to be a role model for the younger female athletes on the team. She also spreads her love for all sports AND the outdoors through Classroom Champions and Fast and Female. With those two programs and with her teammates, she aims to empower women to take control of their own success and to dream big. In the episode we talk about those mentoring programs, how she works collaboratively with coaches and has taken that responsibility as well as her success into her own hands, quality training over quantity, looking at data, fear of losing fitness, and…. what she’s working on during the off-season. Since it IS her off season, we talk a lot about how she’s been spending the time resting and preparing to build on the incredible success she had last year, during a breakthrough season when Katherine raced to her first ever top 10 result and many top 20s. She also finished 20th overall in the World Cup distance ranking! The off season for any sport is an interesting time period both mentally and physically. Katherine offered up some great insights about her recent success and a change in outlook about competing. It was a privilege to talk to Katherine in the off season and get a good look at her mindset during this time of year.   Join Hear Her Sports Patreon https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Support the show and women’s sports media https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Katherine on IG at https://www.instagram.com/kstewartjones/ Find Katherine at https://katherinestewartjones.com/

Hayley Simmonds has been a full-time, professional cyclist since completing her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at The University of Cambridge in 2016. To date she has won two Elite British TT titles and 17 Cycling Time Trials National titles. She also holds three British TT records (at 10, 25 and 50 miles) and was the first woman to break the 50-minute barrier for a 25-mile time trial. Internationally, Hayley has represented Great Britain at five Road Cycling World Championships and three European Championships. She won a bronze medal for Team England in the time trial at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and another for Team GB in the time trial at the 2019 European Games. She also represented Great Britain at two e-Sports World Championships, along with the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championship in October 2022. Hayley races on the road for AWOL-O'Shea Continental Team and represents Movistar Team Gravel Squad off-road. She has finished on the podium at two UCI Gravel World Series races and has qualified for the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships. Hayley has also appeared as co-commentator and studio pundit for several high-level cycling events, including World Championships, European Championships, Ride London, Commonwealth Games and La Course. She also regularly appears in UK cycling publications and is asked to contribute to fitness articles. Outside of cycling she loves to cook and bake, is a big cat lover and mother to a black cat called Liquorice.   Join Hear Her Sports Patreon https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Support the show and women’s sports media https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Hayley on IG at https://www.instagram.com/hayleyrsimmonds/ Find Hayley on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hayleyrsimmonds Find The Cyclists’ Alliance at https://cyclistsalliance.org/

Born in Burlington, Ontario, Sarah started sailing at the age of seven on the island of Barbados. Starting in the Optimist, she competed in North American and World Championships before the age of 15. After outgrowing the boat, Sarah returned to Canada and transitioned into the Laser Radial class. From there she quickly became one of the top youth sailors in Canada. In 2010, an opportunity was presented to qualify Canada and represent the country at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. After coming second at the 2010 Youth Nationals, Sarah lost the love of competing and decided to coach youth athletes at Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club for two summers. By 2014, her dream to compete at the Olympics was awoken by Canadian medalist who inspired Sarah to get back into the game and pursue her goal of winning an Olympic medal. Having completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management at the University of Guelph in 2017 and is sailing full time. Sarah won the 2019 Pan Am Games Gold medal and finished a historic 6th place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Now Sarah is hungrier than ever to step onto the podium in Paris 2024. Join Hear Her Sports Patreon https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Support the show and women’s sports media https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Sarah Douglas at https://www.sarahdouglassailing.com/ Find Sarah on Twitter and IG at @sarahdouglas__

Dr. Angie Ridgel is Professor of Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology in the School of Health Sciences and the Associate Director of the Brain Health Research Institute at Kent State University. She has an active research program focused on how aging and neurological disorders affect movement in humans, and how exercise can be used to promote neurorehabilitation and brain health. Dr. Ridgel's research, studying the effects of high-cadence cycling in individuals with Parkinson's disease, has been funded by NIH, the Davis Phinney Foundation and the Research Research and Development Service, US Veterans Affairs.  In 2018, she was elected a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Dr. Ridgel is also President and Coach of Stelleri Performance Training. An endurance coaching business specializing in athletes over 40.    Join Hear Her Sports Patreon https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Support the show and women’s sports media https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Angie Ridgle and Stelleri Performance Training at www.stelleritraining.com