This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series Badass Women of OCR
Robyn Baldwin to me is the definition of a strong “Alpha Female”. She has worn many hats in her life including being involved in the Marketing industry, recording her own weekly podcast called “The Alpha Female”, sharing her thoughts with the world via her blog, or just getting out there and participating in OCR world. I choose to feature her in my “Bad Ass Women of OCR” article series, is because I wanted the world to know that being a “badass” in the OCR community isn’t just about going hardcore at races, but it is also about being a strong woman overall in life. Robyn radiates strength, as she doesn’t let her PCOS or her MS stop her from going after what she wants.
You have held many hats in your journey – marketing, OCR racer, cheerleader, and even bikini fitness model. What has been your favorite role so far and why?
All of them, I can’t pick a favorite. I recently just interviewed for a podcast on chronic pain and the host said you seem like a multi-potentialist. It was such an astute observation. I love trying out different roles to see which ones I succeed at. Thankfully I’ve really thrived in an advertising and marketing role as a full-time day job. I’ve been obstacle course racing since 2012 and I’ve been blogging (writing) and now publishing a book since 2009 so I think I’ve found my groove there. The cheerleading days were perfect in my last year of University and my first year working full-time as it gave me a great social network of friends and I got to continue my dance days outside of childhood. The bikini fitness model and competitor served me well because it helped launch my personal brand and my fitness and health journey. So they each have a purpose and have been favorites for one reason or another.
I can’t image how being diagnosed with MS has changed your life. Do you feel it has inspired you to work that much harder and be a role model for your family and those around you?
Being diagnosed with MS and how I deal with it is very personal and my actions are never based on inspiring others. If that is a by-product of how I take care of myself then I’m doing a really good job of sharing my journey publicly. But first and foremost, living with MS and choosing to treat it positively is because if I don’t I could very easily get depressed or have a woe is me mentality about something. So I choose to call MS my sidekick and say that it’s teaching me to take the best care possible of myself because it truly is teaching me how to nourish myself, honour my physical body capabilities and how I move it daily, how I supplement, how I relax, how I deal with stress, how I sleep, how I work, how I have relationships. It’s teaching me all encompassing, 360 care.
Tell us a neat trick or technique you have learned to conquer the rope climb (the bane for many women racers out there).
I had to learn how to wrap the rope around my leg. For the life of me I tried the J hook technique and my body just never mastered it. As long as that rope is wrapped around my leg and I can step on it every time I inch higher I’m locked in there. Now getting down is another story. Having that rope wrapped around your leg vs. J hook means amazing sexy rope burn scars on your legs <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/72x72/1f642.png" alt="