Summary

Episode Promotional Partner: Kreatures of Habit

Use Code: Mile40 at www.kreaturesofhabit.com for 15% off a one-time purchase OR the first subscription order payment.

Sara is the epitome of a pit to peak journey, she literally rose up from the pits of a despair that was out of her control and rose up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Sara had every excuse to lose herself to isolation, depression, she had every opportunity to throw her life away and yet she keeps pushing. Sara is more than an athlete and a student on a relentless pursuit, she is a reflection of the power within. Her strength in the wake of her tribulations speaks volumes around her potential to leave a legacy.

Sara Kafka recently filmed a documentary where she and three other women who had never met in person climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together. Sara was born into a storm. Her father was a sexual predator. When she turned eight, she watched her father being arrested; her mother was the one who had turned him in. She lost a piece of both of her parents that day. She was forced to grow up quickly and did her best to keep everyone hanging on, protecting her older sisters and trying to instill humor into the family dynamics. Sara barely graduated high school, and college wasn't an option. After a brief stint in NYC at an acting conservatory, Sara went to work. She would use the years in her early twenties and thirties to work her way up to being on an executive board. Here she was met with limitations, bias, and glass ceilings.

Finally, at 32, she decided she was tired of fighting; she decided to take a chance on herself and her actual dreams and pursue a college degree. It's here that she was met with her most significant obstacles. Being older, with disabilities, in an affluent community, trying to make her way through the structural barriers of becoming a doctor. The financial pressures of having to succeed, the inequalities of the program, and the competition of her colleges spiraled her into a deep depression. She gained 50 pounds, stopped caring for herself, and sometimes washing her face that day was her most significant accomplishment. Sara wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro because she wanted the mountain to reveal to her who she really was. Was she the resilient little girl who survived all the horrible things in her past? Or was she this inept, weak, and unintelligent person who now resided in a body she didn't recognize. Mount Kilimanjaro would reveal to her- her fight. A fight she has taken with her towards the next descent of reclaiming her health and her power on the mission to becoming a doctor.

More on Mile 40:

⁠https://www.bishoytadros.com/mile-40-running-podcast/⁠

Instagram: @mile_40_podcast @bishoy_tadros