Mark Beaumont: Pushing ultra endurance

Endurance cyclist and adventurer Mark Beaumont joins Helen this week. In 2017 Mark broke the world record for cycling around the world, taking 78 days. Helen gets beyond the normal questions and answers with Mark and really finds out what makes him tick. You'll hear: 17:25 the idea of identity and individuality and encouraging youngsters to pursue their passions and not feel like they HAVE to conform. "That ability to commit to the things that interest you is far more important than the specifics of the sport you did" 27:25 Mark talks really well about the feeling of a void at a finish point of a big expedition or adventure and the greatest emotion of getting there is 'a bloody relief'. "The elation and happiness is often given for those around you so I find the finish line bizarre. Maybe it's too much." 28:15 When you finish a challenge, you don't change, but you quite often change in the eyes of other people and I don't think that helps you return to normality 34:49 If you don't have periods in your life, when you have a natural flow of arrows going in and arrows going out, I think you can end up a pretty unhappy person, because I think you lose that purpose and that connection in life. 35:34 If you are having a bad day, you're feeling sorry for yourself, things are going wrong, just do something that makes the arrows go back out the other way. 40:30 How do you cycle around the world in 80 days? "All that matters is ruthless consistency" 33:08 We talk about the idea of loneliness on long challenges. "It's ultimately a huge amount of time in your own head." 46:05 Sleep deprivation, cognitive function and emotions during long, record breaking endurance feats. "I definitely saw sides of my character that I didn't know existed" 50:10 - What's the Mark like on his adventures compared to the Mark with his mates or with his kids 53:23 We find out which stretch of road in the world Mark would most like to ride again and what's coming out of his headphones Find out more about this week's guest - Mark Beaumont Mark Beaumont Instagram Mark on Twitter Mark Beaumont website Mark's new book - How to cycle further Like what you heard? Let me know! Connect with Inside Tri Show across Social Media, just search Inside Tri Show or click on the icons below Supporters of the show Long Range Fuel are phenomenally tasty nut butters from Resilient Nutrition, enhanced by cutting edge science, to boost your stamina, keep you calm and alert and bolster your resilience. Get 10% off by using the code insidetri10 or go direct via this link. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices