In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Sarah Ruggins—a high-achieving investment professional, academic powerhouse, and now a record-breaking ultra-endurance cyclist. From her early days as a national-level track athlete in Canada to surviving complex PTSD and rebuilding her life, Sarah’s journey is one of transformation, resilience, and radical self-belief.
In 2023, Sarah competed in the Transcontinental Bike Race, and in 2025, she took on her most audacious challenge yet: cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End and back again—2,715 km in just 5 days, 11 hours, and 14 minutes, setting a new outright record.
This conversation dives deep into the planning, training, and mindset behind the ride—from strength work and 3:30 AM mornings to battling hallucinations, sleep deprivation, and pain barriers. Sarah shares her three-part mantra—Focus, Discipline, Gratitude—and unpacks how elite performance is built in the margins: with structure, strategy, and sacrifice.
Whether you're chasing a personal goal or looking for motivation to push your own limits, this is an episode that will fuel your fire.
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Show notes
- Who is Dr Sarah Ruggins
- Working as an investment professional for the past 10 years
- Growing up in Canada
- Being part of a very active family
- Doing a lot of running and focusing on track and field
- Working with the best coaches
- Holding national records in middle distances
- Preparing for junior olympics at 14/15
- Wanting to represent her country at the highest level
- Her teenage years
- Needing a routine surgery on her feet
- Developing a disease of her nervous system
- The impact on her life
- Developing complex PTSD
- Getting back to a ‘normal life’
- Starting to focus more on academics
- Getting 4 degrees in 4 different subjects
- Competing in the trans continental bike race in 2023
- Wanting to understand what her limits were
- John O’Groats to Lands End and back again
- Being supported by a crew
- Working with Rob Lee from RLP Coaching
- What training looked like from Sept/October 2024 to May 2025
- What a typical week looked like
- Working with a strength coach to compliment what she was doing on the bike
- Increasing the volume of training on both the bike and in the gym
- Squats increasing from 45kg to - 4 sets of 5 reps at 110kg
- While working a full time job in finance
- Having her whole life scheduled from 3.30am - 10pm
- Figuring out life admin
- Setting big goals in your life - you need to be prepared to make sacrifices in pursuit of those goals
- Planning, schedules and logistics
- Coming back to the WHY was integral
- Building the team and pulling everyone together
- Reaching out to sponsors
- Wanting to make a history making ride
- Probability, chance and luck
- Going to maximise our probabilities of success
- Being on the start line being 100% confident
- Being forced to be brave and tough - but coming from a place of power
- Wanting to demonstrate to herself her own resilience and wanting to inspire others
- Starting the challenge and wanting to ride to her capabilities
- Working in blocks of 4 hours and focusing on the power.
- Managing her process and focusing on what’s on the road ahead
- Riding 4 hours and then off the bike for 10 mins - the ‘Pitt stops’
- What goes on in those 10 mins
- Eating and nutrition and eating constantly while on the bike
- How her body responded to the challenge
- 3 phases while doing endurance work: phase 1, the first 36 hours - feeling great, phase 2 hitting a pain wall which you need to push through, phase 3 - where you feel like you can go forever, your body has accepted this is just what you do now
- Going though the pain wall and pain gate
- The mind body connection and what was happening mentally
- Developing a 3 part mantra: focus, discipline and gratitude
- The biggest challenge while on the bike
- Not being able to tolerate solid foods on day 3
- Moving to liquid food - Supported by Huel
- Dealing with the sleep deprivation - confusion and falling asleep while on her bike
- Crashing into a nettle bush and going into hyperglycemic shock
- Using blue light to wake her up
- Being ahead of the record by about 7 hours and 175km - stick to the process
- Reaching the end
- The feelings of relief
- Keeping your emotions locked in for 5 days
- Being able to relax!
- 2715 km in 5 days 11 hours 14 minutes. NEW OUTRIGHT RECORD HOLDER
- Her limits….
- Taking the learning and applying it to new projects
- Recovery after the challenge
- Getting back on the bike and back in the gym
- Raising funds for 2 charities
- The Bike Project
- Bikes for Refugees
- How you can connect with Sarah
- Working on a feature documentary about the challenge - due in early 2026
- Final words of advice from Sarah
- Understand what is most important to you, and curate an objective around that
- Demonstrate aggressive patience in pursuit of your goals
- Focus on the small wins everyday.
Social Media
Instagram @sarah_ruggins