Karen Darke has been a hero of mine for years. Paralympic athlete, gold medal winner, adventurer, author, hypnotherapist and student of all things sports psychology and therapy. 26 years after the accident on sea cliffs in Aberdeen that paralysed Karen from the chest down, she has climbed El Capitan, sit-skied across Greenland, won a gold in the Rio Paralympics and taken herself off on adventure after adventure. I caught her just after finishing the Camino de Santiago and World Championships, where she lost her place on the British Cycling team. We talked about her experience at Rio, her vast knowledge of sports psychology and brain training, getting injured in the immediate weeks before, the highs and lows of her decade of competing on the team, investing in learning, becoming a teacher and her memories of the accident that paralysed her, the grieving, acceptance and gratitude processes she's navigated since. process of grief and acceptance and her experience of visiting a spirit guide healer in Brazil. Karen's approach to life inspires me even more after speaking to her; not because she manages to pull off adventures and expeditions with paralysis, but rather her curiosity and fascination with exploring new corners of her mind and a life of learning.