Vicki Anstey: Overcoming Limitations, Conquering Fears, and Breaking Records—From SAS Challenges to Rowing the Pacific and Cycling 3,000 Miles Across America.

Tough Girl Podcast

After 20 years in a relationship that limited and stifled her, former advertising professional, turned fitness pioneer and award-winning entrepreneur, Vicki Anstey became (age 41) one of the first ever women to participate in Channel 4’s ‘SAS Who Dares Wins’, reaching the final stages after 11 days in extreme conditions at an altitude of 3,000ft in Chile.

In 2021, she and 2 other women, the Girls Who Dare, set a new World Record for rowing unaided across the Pacific Ocean, confronting her fear of deep, open water to do so. It took 60 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes.

Her latest endeavour (a second Guinness World Record) was to cycle 3,000 miles in the ‘World’s Toughest Bike Race’ as a team of four women from West to East coast America in just 6 days 19 hours and 38 minutes.

Vicki has also completed ultra distance runs (covering 250kms and carrying everything she needed to survive) in some of the World’s most extreme environments – crossing the Arctic in temperatures of -35 degrees and the Savannnahs of Kenya in blistering 50 degree heat.

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Show Notes:

• Who is Vicki
• Vicki’s diverse career journey
• Emphasising her unique life experiences
• Overcoming a coercive relationship
• Leaving her long-term marriage
• Encouraged by friends, she applied for SAS: Who Dares Wins
• The beginning of her journey into adventure and self-discovery
• Reflecting on the rigorous training during SAS: Who Dares Wins
• Building self-belief and resilience
• The experiences that revealed her capabilities
• The importance of mental strength in overcoming obstacles
• Rowing across the Pacific
• Facing her fear of deep, open water by undertaking a rowing challenge
• Her preparation for the task to confront her anxieties
• Finding strength in vulnerability
• Embracing fears and seeing the opportunities that lie beyond them
• Developing resilience, managing self-doubt, and embracing challenges
• Emphasising reflection and learning from past experiences
• Transition from solo to team challenges
• How her experiences with solo challenges influenced her approach to teamwork
• The importance of clear communication and setting boundaries
• Being initially intimidated by her rowing teammates
• Learning to embrace tough conversations
• Unravelling tensions in team dynamics
• Vicki’s concept of “free speed”
• Understanding each team member's emotional responses under stress
• Advocating empathy and support in navigating team dynamics
• Training for Race Across America
• Her transition into cycling
• A rigorous training regime of up to 25 hours per week
• Having a supportive coaching network to enhance her skills
• Vicki’s memorable moments from RAAM
• The importance of supporting one another during challenging phases
• Production of a documentary covering her rowing and RAAM experiences

Social Media

Website: vickianstey.co.uk

Instagram: @vickianstey