Ryan Stark
Ryan shares his love of being creative, debunks some of the myths surrounding diabetes, and about what it's like living with this condition.
More Than Our Story
Lyndsey Blair
Lyndsey Blair is an ultra-endurance athlete and mother of three who, in September, became the first Scottish person and the 15th woman to complete the Enduroman Arch 2 Arc triathlon, while raising awareness and funds for cancer and mental health support programs.
Highlights
On having an ultra-distance athlete for a father:
I didn't necessarily think I would follow in his footsteps in terms of running. But I was always active, and he always inspired me to be outside doing something, or would take me swimming. I always knew that I would live an active lifestyle because of him.
Gillian got me into accompanying her for support and training, and the laughs we had training together were very memorable. She went and did her open-water swim in memory of her mum, and inspired me to find my love of outdoor swimming, and join the triathlon club she had joined for company and training… Without that invitation, I probably would never have found triathlon. And subsequently endurance sports. So it really was her invite that kicked off my passion for it.
I always wanted to swim the English Channel; that had been in my mind for a long time. I knew a couple of people, girls, who had done it before, and I always thought, okay, ‘If they can do it, I can do it.’
In terms of triathlon, I started when I joined the Tri club with Gillian in 2012. I did sprints, standards, then my first half Ironman in 2014 and my first full Ironman in Frankfurt in 2015, and then I just became addicted.
On the CELTMAN Extreme Scottish Triathlon:
“It was probably my favorite race I've ever done. And that's saying something. The harder the better.”
I realized then that I liked to up the challenge every time. I love full-distance Ironman races. I know all the courses are different, and there's different challenges with them. But I needed to push myself just that little bit farther. I'm always looking for the next challenge, and I still am.
The Enduroman Arch 2 Arc Triathlon:
It's an individual event that you do with your own support crew. There's no one else doing it at the same time. It starts at the Marble Arch in London. And you run from London to Dover… The next part is to swim the English Channel. Then, when you arrive in Calais, you cycle from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
You get your swim start time, which is when the pilot says the weather window for the channel is favorable. So everything for the whole event depends on that swim start time.
You get your swim start time, which is when the pilot says the weather window for the channel is favorable. So everything for the whole event depends on that swim start time. That was mentally challenging because the weather was so bad leading up to it. I was terrified I wasn't going to get to start. I have a ten-day slot, and if the weather doesn't allow, there’s no start.
I did physical training, but a lot of it was time spent in my head, visualizing every part of it, mentally training my brain. ‘That's how I'm going to feel when I get to Dover.’ ‘I know it's going to be rough on the run at some points.’ But picturing the finish line, and all my friends and family being there, and obviously raising money for charity.
I always think of my friend Gillian, and I think there's no pain that I can go through in that adventure that is worse than what she went through. So I just silence all the pain.
It takes a lot to make me quit something when I start and set my mind to doing something; yeah, I'm doing it.
Having swam the channel before definitely gave me some insight, knowledge, and how it was going to feel out there in the middle of the channel, when you can't really speak to anyone, you're not allowed to hold onto the boat, you're not allowed to really stop.
If you stop when you’re swimming the channel, you go backwards pretty fast… I learned, if I was having a feed, feed as fast as you can because I'm sure when I did it in 2022, I had one feed, (and) my captain said to me, ‘You just went backwards a hundred meters in the space of like 10 seconds.’
Mentally, I just go feed to feed.
I (had) an amazing crew on the boat with me: my husband and my niece Beth. I made them come with me again during Enduroman, so I had the same crew; they know me best.
The crew are so important.
‘Just keep swimming.’ I always think the tides going to change eventually when it gets tough, and it did get tough in Enduroman for me. Just keep swimming. Just get from feed to feed, to feed, and don't stop. You’ve got one job: It’s ‘Get from England to France and don't stop until you get there.’
When my mind starts to wander… I would revert back to some of the mantras I'd have in my head. One of the ones I used to say to myself all the time would be, ‘Either I'm going to get there, or I'm going to get there, or I'm going to get there.’
On swimming the English Channel:
It's more of a mental challenge: You can't speak to anyone, you can't look at your phone. I don't know what the pilot’s saying to my crew. It's really hard to communicate at times.
On how she felt setting out on her run:
Once I started running, I was honestly so excited, and I was with the most amazing crew doing the things I love most, in memory of my best friend and raising amazing amounts of money for charity. So I couldn't have been happier.
On her support crew, ensuring she had adequate rest and nutrition throughout the event:
The support crew were everything when it came to that because I’ll easily forget to eat, not eat enough. I'm really bad at that, ironically. So, we had a plan. They knew the foods I liked. Wherever I was, basically, it was like a rolling buffet.
My support crew had everything before I even knew I needed it. I had my husband, Kenny, my niece Beth, Andy, my physio of over 20 years, and Davie from Callachans Health, taking care of all the mechanical stuff. They all had their roles, and honestly, it was a team effort. Without them, it wouldn't have been possible.
They were amazing. Andy made sure I ate. Every time I stopped… They had everything ready that they anticipated that I would need, and basically made me eat it.
I didn't sleep at all during my whole 22 hours of running.
I'd like to say I slept really well that night, but I didn't. You know what it's like after you do an endurance race: your legs are jittery, and you just don't sleep as well as you would like. But it was good to stop, put my feet up, have a hot shower, and change over all the run kit to swim kit, and get focused for the next bit of the adventure.
On the final stage of the Enduroman:
It was the weirdest feeling. I got on my bike, and I'm on the wrong side of the road… ‘How did I get here? This is bizarre. I'm in another country. I didn't fly here. I didn't take a boat… I started at about six in the evening, so the light was dimming. I'm on the wrong side of the road, by myself, just navigating with my Garmin.
For me, the cycle was always going to be like the glory leg. Apart from mechanical, or having an accident, I was just like, ‘Okay, don't take any risks. Be careful, you've got this, you'll get there. Because I had come this far and I wasn't going to let anything derail that.’
I was over my time, but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter. I was well within the allowed time, and it was for me; it was about getting from Arch to Arc. The time was a secondary goal.
When I realized I was going to be the first Scottish person, I thought, I'm so proud because that's something that no one can ever take away from me. My friend Gillian, it's been eight years since she passed, and I always knew I was going to do something in her memory, but I couldn't have done something smaller because of her personality. I had to go big, and she would have been so proud of me for conquering that.
I've got two girls and a boy, who are 14, 16, and 17 now, and they were at the finish line waiting for me, and I really wanted to show them that anything is possible if you put your mind to it, that quitting is the easy way out, and the tide will always turn when things are hard.
My daughter, who's 17, has just asked me if she can do an Ironman 70.3 for her 18th birthday. So we've signed up to do Venice together next year.
In Scotland, a lot of teenage girls don’t want to do sports, and if I can inspire one to go out and chase their dreams… then I'm pretty proud of that.
Gillian didn't want sympathy. She was the most amazing character. But she did share with me that she had went to Ayrshire Cancer Support, which is quite a big thing for her to share because she just didn't share.
There's now a second one open (Ayrshire Cancer Support). More local to me, and they're just the most amazing humans… I wanted to do something local in my local community, which is why one of the reasons that I chose them. They do such amazing work for people around where we live.
My husband's business is in hospitality… Hospitality Action is a UK-wide charity that supports hospitality staff in a number of ways… If you've got an illness of any sort, or you just come upon a hardship or mental health. It’s an amazing charity that supports the people that work in our industry for basically any need.
I choose to raise and split at 50-50. My fundraising shuts on the 31st of October, and I've managed to raise just about £27,000.
Her advice for those considering taking on their first ultra-distance events:
Go for it! There's nothing we can't do if we do the training and get your mind into the right mindframe. If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. And if you don't try, you never will. So it's better to start and fail than never to have started.
What the Enduroman taught her about herself?
I'm stronger than I think. I'm much mentally tougher than I ever gave myself credit for. To not have quit, and when the weather turned, and I was swimming in the dark.
Her next challenge:
I chose the Catalina Channel because it’s similar to the English Channel conditions, and I quite fancy a trip to California. I'm (also) going to hopefully get a slot for the Manhattan 20 Bridges Around Manhattan swim, which I can't apply (for) until January. If I do the English Channel, the Catalina, and the 20 Bridges, that’s the Triple Crown of marathon swimming.
Her advice to people facing challenges in their lives:
Just keep going. It will get easier, and if it doesn't, you have to just keep going. Just don't quit; don't give up - that's the easy way out.
Lyndsey Blair
Follow along with Lyndsey’s training, events, and fundraising journey.
Enduroman
The Enduroman Arch 2 Arc challenge is a journey that connects two of the world’s most beautiful cities, London and Paris, by running, swimming, and cycling. The clock begins ticking when the athlete sets off from Marble Arch in London and doesn’t stop until they reach the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
CELTMAN! Extreme Scottish Triathlon
The CELTMAN! Extreme Scottish Triathlon, part of the XTRI World Tour, will take place in Wester Ross, Scotland.
Centred around the stunning ancient Torridon mountains, we will take you on an adventure unlike any other.
Make no mistake – when we say this race is extreme, we mean it. Please read the race information carefully before entering, as you may have to endure cold water, strong winds, driving rain, and difficult conditions on the mountain with low visibility.
Ayrshire Cancer Support
Here For You, When You Need Us Most.
Whether you’re facing a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, caring for a loved one, or coping with loss, we’re here to help.
Hospitality Action
We’re here for the chefs, waiters, housekeepers, and managers. We’re here for the concierges, receptionists, and kitchen porters. And we’re here for every sommelier, bartender, catering assistant, and cook across the UK.
Whether you work in hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars or cafés, schools, hospitals or event venues, we’re here to give you the help, advice and support you need whenever times get tough.
Whatever challenge you face – from physical illness or mental health issues to financial difficulty, family problems to addiction – Hospitality Action is here to get you back on your feet again. And when it’s no longer possible to work, we can help you prepare for the next phase of your life.
Whatever you do in hospitality, we’ve got you.
Daniel
Daniel is an extremely curious person, a wealth of random knowledge and facts. Extremely passionate about a vast array of interests ranging from health to history, science to athletics, everything culinary and the list goes on. Trust us, you would want to be on his team for Trivial Pursuit.
Daniel is also years into his battle with brain cancer. He experienced a seizure while on a Zoom call at work in late 2020 and quite literally, his life changed within minutes. After his operation he started to talk about his story but had always known it was more than just him. From then, More Than Our Story became a PROJECT that has evolved into the starting point it is today.
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Eric Pothen
Eric shares his story from struggling with an eating disorder, to coaching people to help heal their relationship with food and their bodies.
Lyndsey Blair
Lyndsey Blair is an ultra-endurance athlete who in September, became the first Scottish person to complete the Enduroman Arch 2 Arc triathlon.
Daniel Hight
The inaugural profile is none other than Daniel Hight, founder of More Than Our Story.
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Together For Sharon Interview
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Ryan Grant Little shares his story from serial entrepreneur to angel investor and food tech ambassador. He also talks about his ongoing charitable and humanitarian efforts.
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Kieren opens up about his health challenges, and how he is still perfecting the balance of being a loving husband, father and his well-being.
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Carol shares how her struggles with mental health led to her founding The Brave Initiative and become the bravest version of herself.
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Dr. George Ackerman advocates for increased awareness of Parkinson's disease in memory of his late mother who passed from this terrible affliction.
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