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.

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Adventure racer and endurance athlete Shale Biggs, in her happy place: up a hill, on a run. Photo © Peter van Kets

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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!

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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.