Ioana Barbu – Ultra Runner - Winning the Ice & Highland Ultra and Tackling the Beyond the Ultimate Series in One Year.

In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, meet Ioana Barbu—an unstoppable ultra runner with big goals, bold energy, and a fierce belief in betting on herself. After winning the Ice Ultra (230km at the Arctic Circle) and the Highland Ultra (125km in the Scottish Highlands) in 2025—each by hours and against stacked fields—Ioana is now going all-in to complete the entire Beyond the Ultimate series in one calendar year. That means racing across jungles, deserts, mountains, and ice—self-funded, self-motivated, and 100% committed. We dive into her mindset, training strategy, and what it takes to juggle full-time work while prepping for some of the toughest foot races on Earth. From selling her flat to afford the journey, to building her endurance and community from scratch, Ioana’s story is raw, real, and massively inspiring. Explicit language: This episode contains one F-bomb. If you’re chasing big goals or need a fire lit under you—this is the one to listen to.  New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.  Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.  Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x Show notes Who is Ioana  Based in London  Working in post production of video production  Being an ultra runner Growing up in Europe Moving to the UK at 18  Living in New Zealand and Canada Being into Snowboarding  Getting into running  Her younger years  Growing up with her grandparents in the countryside Getting into swimming, ballet  Starting snowboarding in her early 20s and how it changed her life Wanting to get good at the sport Book: Power Speed Endurance : A Skill-Based Approach to Endurance Training. By Brian Mackenzie  Breathe work, breathing, posture Running on a treadmill for training  Training with Altitude Centre in London, in an altitude chamber   Living in Wellington, New Zealand Working with a snowboarding coach Don’t think about it too much or you will catch fear Always end on a high  Moving back to the UK and fast forward a few years Getting back into running during lockdown in 2020 Starting to sign up for races  Royal Parks Half Marathon  How her running journey progressed Running the London Marathon for charity  Make Some Noise  Giving a voice to small charities  Working with Spencer Matthews on his Big Fish Podcast  Deciding to sign up for the - Beyond the Ultimate Jungle ultra - 230km  Being surrounded by people who encourage you and support you Being told she couldn’t do a 30 miler I’ll prove you wrong Julian Morgan-Ayres  The Early Birds  Is it a race or is it an event? Emma Kirk-Odunubi - Running Coach  To The Finish Line  Having a lovely time running the marathon  Adam Kimble - Running Coach  Kris King Never quit at the end of the day Doing the right volume of training (6 days a week) but doing the wrong type of training  Averaging about 30k - 50k a week max - which wasn’t enough Running 70k - 100k weeks  More running and less hyrox/strength training Beyond The Ultimate - Jungle Ultra  Palate fatigue  Needing to be her own hero Winning Races Arctic Race - 230km race  Going out to race and win Getting her period in the jungle and ending up doing the short course Wanting to make ultra running a full time job Global Expedition Medics  Going into the ice-ultra with such a strong mindset Knowing what to expect with snow and ice 2025 - Racing the full series in one year (calendar year) Self funding the challenge  Harry Edmonds - youngest racer to compete the extreme sport series  How much will it cost?! Selling her flat and using the money to pay for the race series Needing to buy specialist kit  Approx £30k so far… Wanting to quit her job and do this full time Dr Freya Bayne - London Southbank Uni Sports Department  Heat acclimatisation in a heat chamber and why it was one of the best things to do before the desert race All female researchers How can people connect and follow along  Final words of advice  Find people who are like minded, don’t be afraid to join a community Inspiring other women to start running    Social Media Website makesomenoise.enthuse.com/pf/ioana-barbu  Instagram @ioanabarboux