Have you ever considered rowing across the Atlantic? How about making it even more challenging by doing it whilst wearing an ECG monitor and filling in psychological questionnaires? Claudia Hammond speaks to the first Austrian woman to row the Atlantic, Ciara Burns, who collected data throughout her 42-day crossing. And to the professor who studied the data, Eugenijus Kaniusas from the Vienna University of Technology, about the three big dips in mood along the way. Ciara talks about the emotional highs and lows of rowing to America, about the night skies, meeting whales, and how it feels when the Atlantic comes crashing down on you. Sports psychologist Peter Olusoga from Sheffield Hallam University, discusses the mental challenges and dealing with emotions during an adventure like Ciara's.
Claudia also speaks to Dr Nick Tiller, ultramarathon runner and exercise scientist at Harbor-UCLA, about the physical benefits and costs of taking part in ultra-endurance sports. Nick has run 100-mile races as well as running across the Sahara Desert. They discuss how peak performance in endurance events can peak at an older age than more fast-paced, high intensity sports, and whether anyone is physically able to take up an endurance sport if they set their mind to it. Also giving their thoughts on the physical impact of endurance sports are Yvette Hlaváčová who holds the women's world record for swimming the English Channel and Louise Deldicque who is professor in exercise physiology at UCLouvain in Belgium.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Lorna Stewart Editor: Holly Squire
Malaria vaccines approved first in West Africa
New way of giving lifesaving drug in childbirth
Women aren’t being promoted in healthcare
Could armpit sweat help tackle anxiety?
How giving babies peanut butter could cut allergy
Obesity drug: New hope for weight loss?
How to cope with earthquake trauma
Vaccines: A tale of the unexpected
Supporting Ukrainian children
Biting back: The fight against snakebite
Can heat affect mental health?
Back from the brink
After the floods
The ‘Endo-Monster inside me’
Family’s gene therapy journey
Regret
Can you knit away your worries?
Biggest health stories of the year
Liver drug could be repurposed for Covid
How words can save lives
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Good Mood Revolution
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins