International Women's Day: Blackpool adventurer aims to swim three lakes, climb three peaks, and cycle 800km - in just five days

The 39-year-old had a full hysterectomy after years of health battles, including endometriosis, cervical cancer, adenomyosis, and multiple fibroids.

Following surgery, she has continued to push her body to the limit with endurance challenges while raising awareness of female reproductive conditions through the charity she founded in

2020, Lady Talk Matters.

With her next challenge – to swim three UK lakes, climb three peaks, and cycle 800km in just five days – on the horizon, Andrea is hoping to inspire other women to speak about and take

care of their health.

Andrea said: “This year’s challenge is scary but I’m incredibly passionate about my charity, Lady Talk Matters, and determined to inspire as much support as I can.

“To this day, people still find it difficult to talk openly about women’s reproductive health matters.

“This should not be the case; we should talk about periods and related conditions such as endometriosis like we talk about a common cold.

“Lady Talk Matters strongly believes that promoting awareness and educating people around the globe is the only way to remove the taboo.”

Andrea spoke about her next endurance feat – Sea to Summit Extreme Lakes Edition – to mark International Women’s Day today.

The five-day challenge will see Andrea swim across Lake Bala in Wales, cycle to and run Snowdon; swim Lake Windermere, cycle to and run Scafell; and swim Loch Awe in Scotland,

cycle to and run Ben Nevis.

When The Sea to Summit Extreme Lakes Edition challenge was postponed in 2020 and rescheduled to this summer, Andrea took on the Blanc Triple Crown – a 330 mile triathlon in the

French Alps – last September instead.

And in 2019, she swam the Channel, cycled from Calais to Chamonix in France then climbed to the top of Mont Blanc, all in five days.

Andrea, who is an ambassador for multi-sport retailer Wiggle, is also launching her ‘Awareness Starts With You!’ campaign.

Taking place throughout Endometriosis Awareness Month in March, the campaign challenges people to create a star on an activity map such as Map my Run or Strava by going for a run,

walk, swim, or cycle.

Sarah Pain, Wiggle’s head of marketing, said: “These are hugely ambitious challenges for a very important charity and Andrea has our full support.”

For more information about Andrea’s charity, Lady Talk Matters, visit https://ladytalkmatters.org/

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