Don’t be limited by what other people think a 51-year-old, or a 60-year-old or a 70-year-old should be doing. Get out there and just enjoy it. Go for it. There is no limiter. It’s only in your mind. So I intend to age disgracefully.
How does ocean surf ski paddling figure into one woman’s version of a mid-life crisis?
We ask Quona Ross Atkinson on Sparta Chicks Radio this week!
Quona grew up on a cattle station in North Queensland and started competing in rodeos, camp drafting and show riding from the time she was 3 years old.
An extensive career in barrel racing followed before she took up adventure racing in her 40s.
Fast forward to 2019 and after just 5 years in the sport of ocean surf ski paddling, she’s about to compete in the famous 52km Molokai Challenge (considered the hardest ski paddle race in the world) as well representing Australia for the first time at the age of 51 at the Ocean Racing World Championships.
What’s incredible about Quona’s story is that she is a FIFO worker (‘fly in, fly out’), so for 2 weeks every month, she works 800km from the ocean!
Plus with 2 sons and a husband who is deployed overseas for 6 months at a time, she somehow manages to find the time to chase her extraordinary goals.
The secret: being truly committed to them!
In this conversation, we discuss:
* life growing up on a cattle station and how she came to be competing in rodeos, camp-drafting and show riding since she was 3,
* how she transitioned from barrel racing in her 30s into ocean surf ski paddling in her 40s,
* when she set her (ambitious) goals to compete in the Molokai Challenge and the World Championships after just a few years in the sport,
* how menopause and recent changes to her nutrition have impacted her training,
* why it’s important to continue reading, learning and experimenting with what works for your training, nutrition and recovery,
* how podcast guest Sarah Davis inspired Quona and the advice Sarah gave that’s been instrumental in Quona's development as an athlete,
* how she trains for a water sport as a FIFO (fly in, fly out) worker who is only able to paddle 2 weeks each month (and spends the other 2 weeks 800km from the water), and
* why she wants to ‘age disgracefully’.
Click here to listen on iTunes.
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