Jacqui Bell
The youngest person in the world to conquer ultra-marathons on 7 Continents and Mental Health Ambassador
Profile
Imagine running almost 2,000 kilometres – mostly through gruelling desert terrain – all while your toenails keep falling off: 10 of them, to be precise.
For most, it sounds like a form of torture. Not so for ultramarathon runner Jacqui Bell, especially when you consider what she’s already been through.
Jacqui has a big story to tell and the way she delivers it is both relatable and inspirational.
In 2016 she suffered a series of sport-related injuries, breaking both wrists, a finger and a toe. She fought back after each episode only to fall prey to painkiller addication while recovering from tonsil removal surgery. In an attempt to return to wellness, Jacqui took a job as a fitness instructor in Bali. On the second week of her new job, Jacqui was mugged while riding her scooter, suffering gruesome injuries that required a two-week hospital stay and roughly 200 stitches from her head to her feet. The pain, frustration, and depression she’d left home to resolve threatened to overtake her life. At the crossroads yet again, she looked for answers – and found them on the road.
In 2018 at the age of 23, Jacqui became The Youngest Female in The World to complete Racing Planets 4 Desert Grand Slam, which includes running 250 kilometre gruelling staged races through Chile’s Atacama Desert, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, the Namib Desert in Africa, and Antarctica.
Whilst completing this Jacqui also raised over $23,000 for The White Cloud Foundation Mental Health Charity.
Jacqui’s next endeavour was to be The Youngest Person in history to run not only an Ultra Marathon but a Multi-Stage Ultra Marathon on all 7 continents.
Jacqui achieved that record in August 2019 with two final races in Iceland and the Grand Canyon and fortunately, this incredible achievement was captured by stunning drone and steady-cam vision which Jacqui incorporates into her empowering keynotes.
Jacqui loves sharing her experiences to inspire others to take on challenges they think aren’t possible, and provides a personal window into her pathway to mental health, resilience, purpose and how to create a performance mindset.
Media
Feedback
Jacqui spoke at our recent Inspiring Leaders Breakfast event for students, parents, community members and staff. She spoke confidently, she was engaging and entertaining, and she gave her time generously after the session to not only meet and greet many of the attendees, but to comfortably answer many questions about her career so far and her future goals. She was a joy to work with and we would highly recommend Jacqui as a guest speaker.
Jacqui was a fantastic addition to the match day function. She had guests enthralled and in awe of her determination and achievements. Her raw honesty and sense of humour added immeasurably to the occasion. She was also delightful company, mingling and mixing comfortably and engaging with guests after her appearance.
(Jacqui) was both delightfully entertaining and humbly inspiring…. She has a powerful story to tell and does so with appropriate attention to detail, amusing anecdotes and honest reflection. We look forward to hearing more of Jacqui in the future and wholeheartedly recommend her as an honest and engaging guest speaker. Jacqui, on behalf of QORF / Outdoors Queensland - thank you for your enthusiasm for what you do, for sharing your story with us and for being part of our evening.
