Bio written by her friend:   “Sam, 47, has an interesting and diverse background, having Indian and English heritage and growing up between the UK, USA and Middle East.    Over the past few years she has set herself multiple challenges raising money for charity or just doing for fun.    In 2019, Sam set herself 12 challenges:  Cold Water Swimming Championships 10K Winter run Climbing one of the more challenging routes up Snowdon Swimathon (5k swim) Great Northern SwimRun (Lake Windermere) Selkie Henley Classic - night / dawn swim SwimRun Tooting Bec Running a half marathon Not drinking any alcohol for 28 days Marathon run North Downs 50k walk Trekking two marathons in two days through the desert   Unfortunately in late 2020, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer which was a huge blow to her, her family and friends. I certainly thought that would be the end of her adventuring and it felt immensely sad.    However Sam has a remarkable positive energy and outlook on life and has been determined to carry on as normal.    This year, while managing ongoing cancer treatment, she has already completed the Arcticbear swim challenge over winter, the 100km jurassic coast walk challenge, the great north 5km swim in lake Windermere, the lake Windermere trail walk challenge, The Selkie Henley classic 2km upstream swim at dawn, and Henley mile swim (I’ve probably missed more!).    I have been lucky enough to share some of these adventures with her and have learnt so much along the way.    From learning to enjoy those precious moments in the outdoors or in the water, to persevering even when things seem impossible.    I think a lot of your listeners would benefit from hearing her story, knowing where she has come from, what she is battling today and her vision for the future.”     New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.    The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons.    Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.   Show notes Who is Sam Living inLondon with her husband and 2 boys Not being sporty growing up but enjoying spending time in the outdoors Moving to America at 8 years old Being put off running at a young age Going to boarding school in the UK Spending time abroad with family How her parents met Studying psychology and music at university  Not following her passion at a young age Meeting her husband and moving to London Having her children at 39 and 42 Asking herself - What am I doing with my life? Needing to get her life back on track How having children changed her priorities  Loosing her identity Signing up for a 100k walk from London to Brighton Getting to the half way point… Mind over matter and how it has played a huge part in her life especially in recent years Being inspired by Dr. Joe Dispenza  Learning to believe in herself again Needing to make a lifestyle change Setting out in 2019 to do 12 challenges Cold water…. The challenges of lockdown and not being able to swim The power of consistency Planning 12 challenges at the end of 2018 Wanting to be prepared  Involving her family in the training and the challenges Doing something that she’s not good at The South Down’s 50k Walk and taking on the desert Doing events with Ultra Challenge Going through woodland at nighttime Dealing with the heat of the desert 2020 and the challenges faced Wanting to make a career change Being diagnosed with breast cancer  Stage 4 cancer and being given all the options Going through the menopause in 3 weeks Getting back into cold water and how it helped  Starting treatment at home Taking on a 5k swim in Lake Windermere Balancing life, challenges, family and treatment Making sure the children are aware of what’s going on The next 2 challeng