Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives #4
Shale Biggs: adventure racer and mother of 3 girls
Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives (OWEL) is a series that celebrates the unusual paths that women take – whether it’s a short diversion in their life’s journey, or a new route entirely. It’s about women who are sometimes brave, sometimes bold, often vulnerable, and usually curious… and their quest to create a life that reflects who they truly are.
Busy day? If you’d prefer to listen to this post, this is for you :
PS Can you pick out my place-name mispronunciation? I obviously have Indonesia on my mind!
UPDATE, November 2024: Shale and her Merrell Adventure Racing team finished last season as the Africa champions, and will be competing in the 2024 World Adventure Racing champs in Ecuador later this month. If you’d like to follow the race (which has been trimmed back to 580km due to wild fires) please drop me a line with your number, and I’ll add you to the team’s WhatsApp supporters group.
Dear NE-One
How far do you go when you travel? It’s something I’ve thought about a lot these past few days as in the seven weeks since I left South Africa I have travelled across Bangkok, Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, Luang Prabang, Bali and Sumba. I haven’t kept track of the physical distance covered but, I wonder, as I’ve not felt particularly challenged by these trips and I’ve slept in a cosy bed every night, how far have I travelled really?
I’ve been mulling this over because I spent time recently in deep conversation with Shale Biggs, a mother of three little girls who – despite covering distances of “only” 250, 500 or, later this month, around 800 kilometres – travels to places and to depths that most of us will never experience.
I say “only” – in inverted commas – because while these distances might seem paltry to those of us who travel by car or by plane, Shale covers this ground by the power of her own body, and almost without rest. She is an endurance athlete, one of South Africa’s top female adventure racers, and during an event she will trek, paddle and mountain bike to wild places most of us will never reach, and push to the very limits her body and mind.
“Adventure racing challenges you mentally, and that’s a big thing for me,” Shale explained when we chatted a few days ago. I’d asked her why she does it; what drives her to race over hundreds of relentless kilometres almost without stopping. “You keep challenging yourself; you’re continually pushing your limits and setting new boundaries, and I like that element. I really enjoy being out in nature with like-minded people, away from devices and doing what I love.”
When I dreamed up Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives this was the sort of story I’d wanted to find and, when I began to look for women to write about, it was Shale who came to mind first.
Adventure racing is a multi-disciplinary team sport. Mountain biking, trekking and paddling and rope work are the usual disciplines, and the team of four (which must include at least one female) will navigate with only a topographic map and a compass through an unmarked course and pass through check points along the way. The team will compete on very little sleep, often grabbing an hour or two of rest when they are – quite literally – falling asleep on their feet.
Shale is my younger sister; the exceptional mother of three of my precious nieces, and that she carves a life that fuels her soul is something I find incredibly inspiring. Despite working every day and finding time to train for the gruelling events that take her away from her family, Shale is a very present mother. The first image that comes to mind when I think of her is Shale leaping and laughing down sand dunes beside her daughters (who are 6, 8 and 10); the second is of her reading a storybook on the couch, with the girls curled up around her. Shale is their safe place, and their rock – and through pursuing her dream she is empowering her girls with mental and physical tools that will enable them to live a life that is bold and brave and beyond limits. (Take a look at her Instagram page – I dare you to not be inspired).
While there are so many demands on her time, it’s always family first for Shale and she, in turn, relies on them. “I wouldn’t be able to do races like this if it wasn’t for Shaun’s support,” she explains. Shale’s husband, Shaun Biggs, is an accomplished sportsman who’s dominated most of South Africa’s paddling events and in 2006 won silver at the World Marathon Champs. “As an athlete he gets me, he knows what it’s like to compete out there. He supports me wholeheartedly even though he’s not racing – and that, I think, is true love.”
On 16 October – two days after her fortieth birthday – Shale and her Team Merrell teammates (Graham “Tweet” Bird, Craig Carter-Brown and Leo Sorensen) will compete in the Adventure Racing World Championship. The event this year takes place around Kouga, on South Africa’s east coast; it covers around 800km, and the organisers estimate that the winners will finish in 100 to 110 hours – four or five days. The last team is expected to finish in nine days. That’s four to nine solid days of racing.
I caught up with Shale last week, shortly after Team Merrell had just completed their final training camp. She shares here what motivates her to push through such distances, and what it’s like to compete in this male-dominated sport….
PS If you’d like to receive updates on Team Merrell’s progress through the Worlds event, please drop me a line (narina.exelby@gmail.com) and I’ll make sure your number is added to the supporters’ WhatsApp group when it’s set up.
“I’m proud to be able to show my daughters that you can live your dream”
For so many women being a mom, holding down a job or being a competitive athlete are in themselves full-time endeavours. How do you manage to fit all three into your life?
I sit down with my diary on a Sunday night and work out school pick-ups and drop-offs for the week, and schedule training around that. I try to fit some gym sessions or runs in between 5am and 6am, before the girls wake up. I’m at work while the kids are at school and sometimes I can fit in a quick run before I pick the girls up. The afternoons are busy with their sports and homework; there’s supper to cook and lunches to prepare – and I want to spend quality time with the kids, too. I try to do a one-or two-hour session in the afternoons; sometimes I’ll go for a ride or run with one of the girls, or if we head down to the beach then we’ll all do some bouldering – but that’s an added bonus, not quality training. The weekends are when I’m able to fit in longer rides and treks. Rest is important, so I always factor in one rest day a week.
For the past five months Shaun has had to work mostly in another province, and so I’ve leant a lot on Flora, our nanny. I’d be really unfit if it weren’t for her! We live eight hours away from our closest family members and so when friends offer to help out with the girls on weekends I do take them up on the offer. I’m grateful that Shaun has been able to shift his travel plans around to be home when I’ve had training camps, and my parents have visited to help us, too. Over Worlds later this month, Shaun’s mom and my mom will be flying down to help us out with the girls. I couldn’t do this without the support of those I love.
Adventure racing (AR) takes you to places that most of us will never experience. What has been a stand-out moment for you?
There are usually so many “wow” moments during an event. During Expedition Africa in Lesotho last year we got onto Katse Dam when night had just fallen. It was dark and, other than the sound of our paddle strokes, it was dead quiet. The water was flat and glassy and we were surrounded by millions of stars and their reflections. It was insanely beautiful. While training in the Transkei we were paddling down the Kei River in the early hours of the morning. It was pitch black but there were stars everywhere, and we felt like we were flying because we were being pushed by the tide. We looked up and watched a meteor shower – it was absolutely incredible. Once-in-a-lifetime moments like this happen throughout an adventure race; it’s super special.
What has adventure racing taught you?
I’ve learned how to be okay with being out of my comfort zone, and to be adaptable. I've read that mothers make the best adventure racers because as a mom you have to constantly adapt to different situations – and you’ve got to do that in AR, too. If you need to cross a river but it’s pumping you’re gonna have to adapt; figure out a way to get across. You’ve got to think on your feet the whole time.
AR is a team sport so there’s the whole dynamic of working with others, and being conscious that it’s not just about you – and that’s been valuable learning, too. In our Karoo training camp we learned to work with each others’ strengths and challenges, and that really improved our teamwork.
What strengths do you bring to the team?
I really enjoy technical aspects of AR, like rugged mountain climbs on uneven terrain, rock-hopping in kloofs and bundu-bashing; where other girls tend to be more timid and careful, I’m not. On our last training camp, when we could see our finish destination about a kilometre away, we had to descend a super-steep mountain that was thick with vegetation. We were cliffed-out and were literally clinging to the vegetation while rocks and sand slipped from under our feet. Luckily I’m not scared of heights! I almost thrive on situations like this, so that’s definitely a strength of mine.
I think I’m also good at keeping the guys motivated. Often there will be big moments of quiet, and then you just need to talk to each other and get the morale up a little bit – perhaps as a female I’m more in tune with that sort of stuff.
As the only woman in the team, do you consider yourself different from your teammates?
No; everyone has their own strengths. Physically the guys are stronger than me – but women can manage themselves well and are better endurance athletes, I believe (and, I’ve read, our stamina improves after childbirth). Often men will go too hard and then they completely blow, whereas women are able to be more consistent. I don’t consider myself as being any different from the guys. I’m part of a team and we work together.
Does being smaller than your teammates matter?
I think I have an advantage because my power-to-weight ratio is good. I’m quite agile when we’re climbing up rocky mountain faces, whereas the guys are powerful – but then my reach isn’t as high as theirs, so they’ll have to pull me up sometimes.
How has adventure racing shaped the woman you are today?
It’s taught me to be more patient, and that’s definitely something I put in practice at home. It’s given me time out and time away from my family, which has made me value them even more. When I’m racing I constantly think of them; I miss them and I want to get back faster to be with them. Racing gives me time to reflect on life, really. Although it’s a race, you’ve still got plenty of time to think. I mean, there have been times when we’ve been paddling and in my mind I’m designing my dream house…
What do you hope your daughters will learn from you?
I want to teach them that if they put their mind to something they can do it – because it’s so easy these days to just give up on something. It can be easy to say I’m so tired, or my legs are so sore and I’ve got blisters all over my feet and then you just give up – but in an adventure race you wouldn’t only be letting yourself down, you’d be letting the team down too. I want to teach my girls to persevere; if you commit to something, you must see it through.
You’re a very humble person and rarely speak of your achievements. So I’m bullying you into this one: what are you proud of?
I’m proud to say that I’m a mom and an athlete, and that I give both 110%. I’m proud that I’m able to lead a balanced life and to do what I love, and love what I do – and most of all, to be able to show my daughters that you can live your dream and do amazing things. Just because you’re a girl it doesn’t mean that you’re disadvantaged – especially when it comes to a male-dominated sport.
When I left home for university Shale was just 11 years old. She was my kid sister who shared my bedroom but not my taste in music and while I was into dance and drahmah Shale, like our brother Roan, obviously had a gift for sport. Over the years she’s flourished and thrived as an athlete and I am beyond proud of her – not only for being so damn good at what she does, but for the unassuming, committed way she goes about doing it. Shale is focussed and steady; an absolute mountain of inner strength surrounded by a beautiful lightness, a sense of joy and three little adventurers who bring her so much delight.
Keep doing what makes your soul happy, Little Chick, because you’re absolutely flying – and I couldn’t be more proud of you.
With love,
In a reading kinda mood? Put the kettle on…
Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: The woman who walked – solo – across Africa
How to save the world – a practical guide for travellers
Bali – for nature lovers
Author interview: Mark Eveleigh on his novel Driftwood Chandeliers
Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: Rolling with the rhythm of bike packer life
Dervla Murphy: The solo adventurer considered the greatest female travel writer of all time
The enigmatic sister-queens of Thailand
Packing up and moving on: The one thing that’s changed the way I travel
How the people got their spots: an unusual story about culture, tradition and conservatio
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