Emma TIMMIS is passionate about adventure and raising money for charity.

EMMA TIMMIS has had a passion for adventure since a child and even worked as an outdoor instructor for a while. Her work as an RSPCA inspector led her to the idea to run the Freedom Trail in Africa to raise money for the charity and the rest is history as she has gone on to set herself numerous challenges after this to raise money for extremely worthy causes.

In this exclusive interview Emma talks to us about that initial run as well as her next challenge which was to run across the whole of Africa – a distance of 3,974km which is equivalent to 94 marathons. Read on to find out more about her roller-skating challenge among others as well as the Great Alpine Fun Run which is next on her ‘to do list’.

Emma oozes a passion for life and adventure which is sure to leave you feeling inspired and motivated and her positive words are surely food for thought for us all. She’s the girl with adventure running through her veins and her life is certain to provide us with excitement for years to come. 

To find out more about Emma visit www.emmatimmis.com or find her on Twitter at @runemma.

When was it first obvious that you were destined for a life of adventure?

For me everything has fallen into place quite naturally. There was no defining moment where I decided that I wanted to lead a life around adventure. It’s been more like one thing has lead on to another, and more opportunities and adventures arise as others finish. I have complete ‘fear of missing out’ so when I hear of friends doing something exciting I can’t help but get involved!

I have always been very active and spent most of my free time outdoors. When I was a child, I was often found playing in the mud and climbing trees with my brother. I worked as an outdoor activity instructor for a while, and have always had quite varied, active jobs. I’ve never been the kind of person that could sit at a desk and hold down an office job. I love variety, I love being active and I love to travel. I now try to combine all of these passions to create a life that works for me.

Emma’s challenges have involved running, climbing, roller-skating and cycling.

What was the first challenge you set yourself and what motivated you to do it?

When I was working as an RSPCA Inspector I had close contact with my local wildlife centre, Stapely Grange. I dropped off sick and injured wildlife there every other day. The staff work so hard and I wanted to help them by raising some money for the centre, as it’s funded purely by donations. Around the same time, Eddie Izzard was running multiple marathons around the UK and I basically thought, if he can do something like that, then surely I am capable of that too. So ideas started bouncing around my head from there.

Being a fair weather runner, I started looking into exotic islands that were about 1,000 miles across to base my adventure at, but struggled to find any that weren’t too humid. While searching the internet I stumbled across the Freedom Trail, a mountain bike route that spans the width of South Africa. One thought lead to another and before I knew it I had set out to run across South Africa. This was years before I had ever even run a marathon, and I ran the distance of 57 marathons in 57 days across rough terrain. When you are doing something like this for a cause that you really believe in, and people have donated money, you don’t need much other motivation to continue, even through the toughest times.

After running the Freedom Trail Emma set herself the challenge to run across Africa.

What inspired you to run across Africa and could you tell us some more about the experience?

After running the Freedom Trail, I returned to work and continued with my life as I had before. I had no intentions of embarking on any other endurance adventures. One night I went to an adventure film festival with some friends and we had a few drinks after. It came up in conversation about my run across South Africa, and someone asked if I would do something longer for a charity they were involved with in Zimbabwe. Quite a bit of tequila had been consumed by this point and I thought it was a great idea!

I agreed to do the running side of things and they would do the organisation. The plan was to run across Africa, coast to coast, including Zimbabwe in the middle. The best route we found was for me to run from Namibia to Mozambique. This was going to be a much bigger trip so I saved up some money and left my job. I had anticipated it would take 100 days but it turned out to be slightly shorter and I completed the whole run in 89 days, covering a distance of 3,974km which is equivalent to 94 marathons.

The amazing thing about this run was the changing environment. I began in Namibia in their Spring, where it was dry and hot in the daytime but would drop to pretty much freezing at night. The roads were super sandy, I was basically running across the desert at points, which makes for very difficult running. You sometimes feel as if you are going nowhere. By the time I came to finish the run it was African summer. I actually ran through the hottest town in Mozambique at the hottest time of year. My environment was completely different, it was damp and humid. All of my clothes were burning and rubbing my skin as it was so hot and nothing would dry out. I was surrounded by lush, green forests, rolling hills and elephants! Traveling on foot is a great way to experience a country.

Last year Emma roller-skated across the Netherlands with one of her best friends, Emily Pitts.

What have been some of your other adventures and what have some of the highlights been?

Last year I roller-skated across the Netherlands with one of my best friends, Emily Pitts. This was cool as I hadn’t been on a pair of skates for about 20 years. I love trying out something new and challenging myself. And also, rolling on wheels is so much easier than running! This was just a fun challenge to show that you can go outside and enjoy an adventure without feeling you have to complete something epic and dangerous, risking life and limb. Adventure can involve having fun and having a giggle!

Cycling to the Dolomites in northern Italy has been my favourite adventure to date. I went with my climbing partner Mike. I think the reason I loved this trip so much is that it was so physically hard that I was really tested but at the same time we were in the most beautiful place imaginable. The Dolomites is like a playground for adventure seeking adults.

We loaded our bikes with all our gear for camping, trad climbing, cycling and surviving in the wild, and off we cycled from Manchester to Italy. Our bikes weighed amounts equal to our bodies respectively. Which is seriously hard to pedal over Alpine passes. When we got to the top of the passes people would run over and attempt to pick up our bikes as they were so shocked we were actually riding them so high. It was hilarious to see their faces when they couldn’t even pick my bike up let alone Mikes. We would then find somewhere to wild camp for four to five days and then spend all our time climbing multi-pitch trad routes. We’d get up at about 5am and climb until about 8pm (I don’t do mornings, so this is proof we were having a great time). This trip has inspired the way I want to lead the rest of my life, making the most of incredible environments, being immersed in nature and doing what I love.

Emma’s roller-skating challenge involved plenty of fun and ‘giggles’.

What’s been your scariest or most worrying experience on one of your challenges?

Hearing elephants snapping down young trees as they stomp towards the tent you are sleeping in is possibly one of the most worrying moments in my adventures. People tell you so many different stories and give different advise about wildlife in Africa, that its hard to know what to think or how to deal with each situation but angry elephants are not something I ever want to deal with. I also got chased around one night by a scorpion when I left the tent for a pee and disturbed it catching its prey.

Watching your teammate sleep to make sure they are still breathing, while they have suspected malaria was one of the scariest things. Times like that make you doubt why you put yourself in these situations. But I suppose you can become seriously ill wherever you are in the world. I also worry about injury, especially when people have donated to the charities that I’ve run for. I would hate to leave a challenge incomplete due to injury and feel I have let people down.

One of Emma’s most terrifying moments in Africa involved an angry group of elephants.

How did it feel to win the award for Physical Endeavour at the National Adventure Awards 2015?

It was honestly completely unexpected. I was in Australia at the time and one of my closest friends attended on my behalf. We spoke earlier in the day to discuss the awards and she asked me what she should say if I did win and she had to do a speech. I told her that she didn’t need to worry about that as there was no way I would win as all the other contenders had done far more adventurous feats. Due to the time difference I was asleep as the ceremony took place so I got the news in the morning. I woke up everyone else in the dorm I was sleeping in as I was in such shock and couldn’t believe they chose me. I was so excited and overwhelmed. I have never won an award like that and it really meant a lot to receive that kind of recognition. I was very grateful, and still am now.

Emma’s run across Africa involved her covering a distance of 3,974km which is equivalent to 94 marathons.

Tell us more about the Great Alpine Fun Run and when does it take place?

Myself and my good friend Duncan Brown are attempting to run all Seven Peaks trail runs in Victoria, Australia, consecutively. We originally thought we could complete them within 24 hours but with having over 750km of driving between the routes it looks like that won’t be possible. All the trails distances added together is over 120km, plus they all have a lot of incline. We are however still going to try and complete them all in the best time that we can. Its going to be really tough, not only with the running itself but also the lack of sleep as we travel between trails. It looks like it will probably take more like 36 hours all together. It will be nice to share the journey with someone else though (and the pain!).

How can people get behind you and support what you do?

The best way to support is to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, comment on and share posts as much as possible. It’s really helpful, when you are working hard physically and mentally on these adventures, to know people are supporting you and interested in what you are doing. If you have a day where you are struggling, seeing a happy comment or some words of wisdom can turn your whole day around.

Emma pictured with her climbing partner Mike.