Hard As Nails By Outsider.ie

Stephen Redmond became the first person to swim the 7 Oceans which is deemed the ocean equivalent to the 7 Summits. Redmond was faced with severe sea sickness, vertigo, box jellyfish and sharks as he swam his way into the record books. He swam the English Channel between England and France in August 2009, followed by the North Channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland a year later. In May 2011 he swam the Gibraltar Strait between Spain and Morocco and then in October of that year he swam the Catalina Channel off California. He followed it up the following February with a swim of the Molokai Channel in Hawaii and then the Cook Strait between the north and south islands of New Zealand the same month. He then completed the challenge with a 20km swim of the Tsugaru Strait in Japan. Here Redmond tells us exactly why his endeavours have seen him inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Nikki Bradley was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer (Ewing’s Sarcoma) at the age of 16. She received the news that she would remain on crutches permanently and, in the future, may face full right leg amputation. Since then, she has undertaken several incredible challenges to both raise awareness for the rare disease and highlight the importance of exercise for rehabilitation. Some of those challenges have included completing the Fan Dance race, a Guinness World Record attempt in Holland, climbing a route of the Sólheimajökull glacier in Iceland, abseiling into a 45-foot ice cave, numerous mountain climbs and becoming the first woman to abseil off Fanad Head Lighthouse. Here she tells us her story and how she has managed to live life to the full despite a number of very challenging set backs.

Moire O'Sullivan is one of Ireland's top mountain runners and adventure racers. She also happens to be a mum. Describing herself as not maternal at all, she took pregnancy and motherhood head on as she juggled her racing career with kids. Training right up until her due date and back on the bike just two weeks after giving birth, she tells us how she has made it work for her. And boy are we impressed!

Eoin Keith is one of the Europe's top ultra runners. He holds numerous records and has won races like The Spine and the Northern Traverse. With a background in Pitch and Putt, Eoin only took up running at age 30. This year he took on the world's toughest endurance race, The Barkely Marathons. Here he tells us about his incredible journey, his training regime, diet and how he stays strong mentally when things don't go his way!