What does it actually take to prepare for a 20,000 kilometer run across continents?
In this short episode, Ria Xi breaks down how she’s preparing to run from Russia to Portugal, averaging roughly 50 kilometers a day for over a year. She talks through how she approaches training, recovery, logistics, and mental preparation, and why breaking an overwhelming goal into small, repeatable steps makes it feel possible. She also shares why running felt like the most natural way to cross Asia and Europe, and how she’s thinking about support, community, and sustainability on the road. A grounded, practical look at preparing for a truly extreme human-powered journey.
Listen to the full conversation here!
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Instagram: @whereisriax
Website: 20000km.com
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Ria Xi on Agency, Pilgrimage, and the Long Road From the Camino to a 20,000km Continental Run
Ria Xi has spent the last two years pulling her life apart and rebuilding it entirely on her own terms. She left a tech career in California, stepped away from the version of success she once thought she was supposed to want, and slowly discovered something she never expected: running as a path toward agency, direction, and self-trust. In this episode, she talks openly about moving to Portugal, finding community after years of drifting, why she’s drawn to extreme challenges, and what it feels like to be in the quiet space between a major accomplishment and the biggest adventure of her life.
She recently ran 780 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago and is now preparing for an almost unimaginable project: running 20,000 kilometres from Russia to Portugal. But this isn’t a conversation about distance — it’s about agency, identity, loneliness, self-worth, and building a life that feels like it belongs to you. Ria shares the inner battles she’s faced and why running became her way of stepping back into her own power. It’s a thoughtful, honest journey through what it means to choose your own life.
Follow Ria and support her next adventure:
Instagram: @whereisriax
Website: 20000km.com
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Why do people sign up for group adventures with complete strangers? In this short segment, Sophie talks about the unexpected community that grows on Sidetracked trips — how shared effort, simplicity, and the Arctic cold can bring people closer than they expect. She explains why these connections form so quickly, what people are really searching for, and why returning to the outdoors often feels like returning to ourselves.
It’s a reflection on belonging, challenge, and the surprising ways people reconnect when the noise of everyday life falls away.
Check out Sophie’s stuff:
Instagram @soph_nolan_ and @sidetracked_adventure
Website sidetrackedadventures.co.uk
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Sophie Nolan built Sidetracked Adventures from a simple desire to share the wild places she loved. In this conversation, she reflects on how she shaped a life around the outdoors, curiosity, and community. We talk about her early pull toward nature, the years she spent searching for a different path, and how guiding people into remote landscapes has changed her understanding of connection, comfort, and ambition.
Sophie also shares what it’s really like to run an adventure company in a fast-paced world, how she learned to trust her own voice, and why people keep returning to wilderness experiences even as modern life becomes more digital and convenient. It’s a grounded, honest look at building a life that matches your values.
Check out Sophie’s stuff:
Instagram @soph_nolan_ and @sidetracked_adventure
Website sidetrackedadventures.co.uk
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In this short segment, Jonathan reflects on the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, which he and his family survived when he was just fourteen. He talks about how the experience reshaped his outlook on life, influenced the risks he was willing to take, and even guided the creative decisions he makes today as a filmmaker and photographer. It’s a brief but moving conversation about clarity, perspective, and the way certain moments stay with us long after they pass.
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Instagram: @jonisstrom
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Jonathan Strömberg (or Jonis Strom) grew up on the Swedish coast, where surfing is cold, rare, and hard to access, yet it shaped his entire life. In this episode, he shares how an unexpected surf community helped him discover filmmaking and photography, and how surviving the 2004 tsunami in Thailand reframed his sense of time, purpose, and risk.
We talk about his creative journey from music school in London to bluffing his way into a filmmaking career, traveling the world with his girlfriend Sara, and creating his award-winning short documentary Buoyancy. Jonathan reflects on creativity in 2025, navigating a crowded digital world, and trusting himself to figure things out along the way.
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Instagram: @jonisstrom
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In this short segment, Elspeth Beard talks about how the hardest moments on her motorcycle journey around the world shaped her character. Breaking down in the desert, falling off the bike, getting sick, fixing everything alone built a kind of “unshakable confidence.” The same strength later helped Elspeth take on new challenges, like buying and restoring the 130-foot water tower she now lives in.
This is a reminder that growth doesn’t always happen in the big moments, but when we quietly prove to ourselves that we can handle whatever comes next.
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Follow Elspeth @elspethbeard and check out elspethbeard.com to find her book.
Elspeth Beard was the first British woman to ride a motorcycle around the world — but this conversation isn’t about setting records. It’s an exploration of what happens when you strip life down to the essentials, face the unknown, and learn just how capable you really are.
We talk about what drove her to leave everything behind in the early 1980s, the solitude and strength she found on the road, and how that same resilience shaped her later life as an architect — including the restoration of a 130-foot Victorian water tower she calls home. Forty years on, Elspeth reflects on freedom, technology, and what adventure really means once the noise fades.
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Follow Elspeth @elspethbeard and check out elspethbeard.com to find her book.
“Being on the motorcycle again felt like being that kid on a bike — just exploring with no real purpose.”
In this 8-minute segment, Eddie reflects on how his expectations of a round-the-world motorcycle trip compared to the reality: the unpredictability, the setbacks, and the surprising freedom of not having a plan. He also talks about how the road helped him reconnect with a childlike sense of curiosity and wonder, when each day felt endless and full of discovery.
Follow Eddie @eddiertw and check out @meatbagmc and meatbagmc.com to follow his next endeavour.
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When Eddie left London three years ago on his motorcycle, he didn’t have a clear destination — just the need to move. What began as an escape from burnout and heartbreak turned into an ongoing journey across continents, from the forests of Europe to the deserts of Mongolia and the vast outback of Australia.
In this conversation, Eddie reflects on what drove him to leave, what he’s learned from years alone on the road, and how travel became a way to reconnect with his childhood sense of wonder. We also talk about solitude, rhythm, and his search for community through his new project, MeatBag MC.
Follow Eddie @eddiertw and check out @meatbagmc and meatbagmc.com to follow his next endeavour.
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Every long journey has a moment when everything shifts. When the reason you set out starts to change.
In this special episode, four travelers share the moments that reshaped them while they were far from home, tired, unsure, but completely alive.
Nick Butter talks about a conversation in the Sahara that pushed him to run a marathon in every country on Earth.
Thor Pedersen spent nearly ten years traveling to every nation without flying, finding strength and loneliness in equal measure.
Ann da Silva Johansson left her job and life in Sweden to cycle across continents and discovered that courage doesn’t come before you go, it comes once you’ve left.
And Zoe and Olivier from WeLeaf reflect on how constant motion, discomfort, and love became their greatest teachers on the road.
This is about the quiet yet powerful moments that change how we move through the world.
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Alan Weisman has spent decades reporting from the edges of human presence — from Chernobyl and the Amazon to cities and coastlines under threat. His bestselling book The World Without Us imagined how Earth might recover if people suddenly vanished. His new book, Hope Dies Last, turns the lens back on humanity, profiling bold thinkers and doers who are building solutions to our most urgent crises.
In this episode, I explore Weisman's path as a journalist and adventurer of ideas, what he’s learned from witnessing environmental tipping points, and how imagination and hope can change the way we see our role on the planet.
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Danish explorer Thor Pedersen became the first person to visit every country in the world in a single, unbroken journey, without ever boarding a plane. What was meant to take four years stretched into almost ten. In our conversation, Thor reflects on exploration in the modern world, the cost of chasing an impossible dream, and the lessons he brought home about people, resilience, and connection.
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Instagram: @onceuponasaga
Website: thorpedersen.dk
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This week, I’m revisiting one of my favorite conversations from 2020 with Dr. Brian Pennie—a neuroscientist, resilience specialist, and former heroin addict who turned his life around after 15 years of addiction.
In this episode, Brian shares how a defining moment in 2013 changed everything, leading him from rock bottom to a career as a lecturer, speaker, and author of Bonus Time. He talks about resilience, self-awareness, and the daily tools that helped him rebuild his life—and how you can apply them too.
Follow Brian and check out his books and other resources at brianpennie.com
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What happens when two people decide not to wait for the “right time” to live differently? Zoë Agasi and Olivier van Herck spent four years traveling over 40,000 km entirely by human power—cycling, skiing, canoeing, roller-skiing, and even sailing across the Atlantic. But their story isn’t just about adventure.
In this episode, Zoë and Olivier reflect on what their journey taught them about love, discomfort, community, and the art of doing things the hard (but rewarding) way. A conversation about movement, mindset, and belonging.
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Nicolas Freudiger is the Co-Founder and CEO of ID Genève, a Swiss watch company built on circular principles, sustainable materials, and a rebellious spirit. In this episode, Nicolas shares how he left the safety of corporate life to co-found a brand that is radically rethinking what luxury means today—and what it should mean in the future.
This is a conversation about taking risks, building with purpose, challenging heritage, and pushing innovation where it’s least expected. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a maker, or someone curious about what it means to build a business with conviction, this one’s for you.
Nick Butter is a British endurance athlete, adventurer, and author, renowned for being the first person to run a marathon in every country in the world. Over 674 days, he completed 196 marathons across all UN-recognised nations, a feat documented in his bestselling book, Running the World.
Inspired by a friend battling prostate cancer, Butter's journey was not only a personal challenge but also a mission to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer UK. His experiences during this global expedition led him to establish The 196 Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports various causes worldwide through a unique democratic donation model.
Beyond his world-record achievement, Butter has undertaken other significant endurance challenges, including running 100 marathons in 100 days across Italy and circumnavigating Britain on foot, covering over 5,250 miles. He also founded Run Weekends, offering trail running retreats worldwide.
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Eveline Haugaard (@therailvoyage) left behind a traditional engineering career to follow a very different track — literally. Now a full-time travel creator, she shares her love of slow, scenic rail journeys across Europe. In this episode, we talk about what it means to move intentionally, how to find beauty in the journey itself, and why choosing a slower path might just lead to something better.
We also dive into the art of seeing, how Eveline plans her trips, and the challenges of turning a creative passion into a full-time job. If you’ve ever felt the pull to slow down or live life a little differently, this one’s for you.
Follow Eveline @therailvoyage and check out her website railvoyage.com
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Tim Voors is an artist, author, and speaker who has walked across countries and continents—from the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails in the US, to Japan’s 88 Temples Pilgrimage and New Zealand’s Te Araroa. In this episode, Tim shares how time alone in nature has changed his view of work, family, and attention.
We talk about the discomfort and joy of doing one thing every day—walking—and how that rhythm has shaped how he now lives, works, and parents. A grounded conversation on solitude, creativity, and creating space for what matters most.
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In this episode, I sit down with Patrick—also known as Patch—who’s spent the past seven years living out of a van and building a life far from convention. From a $1,500 minivan built with PVC pipes and milk crates to custom van builds for others, Patrick shares the highs, the lows, and the unexpected lessons from the road. He opens up about freedom, loneliness, and the deep personal growth that comes with solitude. Whether you’re dreaming of van life or simply seeking a slower, freer existence, Patrick’s story is one you won’t forget.
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