The daughter of two Olympians’ Anna grew up in a family where the pursuit of physical and mental excellence was encouraged. Seeing the respect and admiration that her parents received led to her harbouring ambitions from an early age to be an Olympian herself.

As a middle sibling sandwiched between two brothers, she simply did what the boys did, and often better. By age 16 she had taken up the sport of rowing and went on to represent Great Britain. During her time in the Great Britain squad, Anna became a World Champion at the University Games in 2006 and won a Bronze medal at the 2007 European Championships.

Dogged by injury in her twenties, Anna made the difficult decision to retire from the sport and to let go of her Olympic dream. She then embarked on a new life as an adventurer – darting around the world on the hunt for new and exciting endurance challenges.

ADVENTURES:

In 2013 Anna cycled a beautiful Pink bicycle 11,000 miles through each and every state of the USA, from Alaska to Hawaii. Pedalling up to 130 miles a day for 6 months, solo and unsupported, she encountered blizzards, floods and temperatures as low as minus 15C.

In January 2015, with no previous experience as a long-distance runner, Anna set out on a 2,000 mile run along New Zealand’s Te Araroa trail. Travelling alone for 148 days, she moved through forests, along ridge-lines, over mountain passes, along beaches and across swollen rivers. Running up to 32 miles in a day, she carried all of her belongings in a backpack that was often as heavy at 20kgs. By June 2015 she had become the first person, male or female, to run the length of the country entirely unsupported.

In October 2016, Anna began a journey to cycle along the spine of the largest mountain range in the world: The Andes. By the time she returns to the UK in May 2017, she will have pedalled through some of South America’s most remote and inhospitable regions and ascended over 90,000 metres on a bike – more than ten times the height of Everest.

SPEAKING:

Anna’s high energy talks are life lessons from the road, told with raw honesty, humour and passion. From sitting on an International Regatta start line in Great Britain colours to finding herself deep in the New Zealand bush alone and injured, she has learnt a great deal about personal limits in the past 15 years.

Through her speeches, Anna advocates a willingness to embrace the many obstacles that litter the road to success and to view each one as an opportunity to learn and to grow.

Topics include:• Confidence and self-belief• Overcoming fear of failure• Growth mindset and the courage to begin• The ability to ‘choose your attitude’• The practicality of turning big dreams into reality• The Importance of perspective & positivity• Determination, resilience and perseverance.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book Anna for your next live event or corporate video.  Contact us.