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.

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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
• Gettin