Running Panda Adventures - With Valerie Gagne

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In this gentle close to our episode, I sit down with Valerie Gagné, better known as The Running Panda, to reflect on what it means to find adventure close to home and give back to the communities that shape us.

LISTEN TO FULL EPISODE HERE

For Valerie, the pay-it-forward moment is clear: Impossible2Possible. It’s an organisation that helped open her eyes to what she was capable of and one she continues to champion. Through youth expeditions and immersive classroom connections, it sparks curiosity and courage far beyond the trails. Not everyone needs to go on an expedition, she says. But everyone can be inspired.

Her call to adventure? It doesn’t require a passport or a faraway summit. Just step outside. The local trail. The hill you pass each day. A new path through your own backyard. These are the places, she reminds us, where confidence is built and joy is found. Not just once, but again and again, in the rhythm of weekends and moments made.

From micro-missions to bigger dreams like her own journey along the eye of Quebec, Valerie’s message is clear: you don’t need to go far to go deep.

Connect with Valerie Gagné:

Instagram - Running Panda

• Follow her and Panda (the dog, not the metaphor) as they explore, inspire, and remind us all to keep moving.

Call to Adventure: Take a backyard adventure. One trail, one day, one small plan. Let it be enough. And then do it again next weekend.

Final Thought: Adventure isn’t a destination. It’s a practice. And sometimes, the most important journey is the one that begins just beyond your doorstep.

Transcript

 So this has been brilliant. I've thoroughly enjoyed this, and I wanna move on to the kinda two closing traditions, Valerie, which are a paid forward suggestion, and then a call to adventure. So the pay it forward is an opportunity to raise awareness for any worthy projects, organizations, or causes.

So what would you say is a paid forward suggestion? Well, to me it's pretty easy. It's impossible to possible. That organization did so much for me. I know that it brings a lot of value in a lot of people's lives, and it may not be for everyone to go. On an expedition, and that's okay. But for kids to be able to follow along in their classrooms, it can bring some motivation to their life that they can apply to whatever interest they have.

And it doesn't have to be sports related. So I think that because it reaches so many students. It just makes sense in every way. Fantastic. Yeah. Fantastic. Excellent. There's got to be some sort of award I do in this show for when things come up in time again, because that's probably the third time it's came up.

Oh, really? That's fantastic. So yeah, it's brilliant. It really is. It is Brilliant. Thank you. Yeah. And then finally a call to adventure. What would your call to adventure be? So to me it would really be to just go out there and do backyard adventures. They are so valuable in building those skills and those experiences, and then building someone's confidence.

Like myself, they just going outside and you don't have to go far to really have a. Great adventure. It can be just a one day adventure on your local trails, your local mountain, and even just going on a bigger adventure like I did on the eye of Quebec, but it's still being local. And it brings so much value to my progress as a beginner adventurer.

And I think those backyard adventures are incredibly important. And by trying to look at, okay, what's next? What other big adventure you've got planned to me to really concentrate on those? Little adventures every weekend is the way to keep going in life and to make sure that you stay active for a very long time because it's there and it's accessible.

Fantastic. Couldn't agree anymore. The, just the, the power and the beauty of green spaces. Blue spaces, yeah. Just getting outdoors. Fantastic. Excellent. Valerie, thank you ever so much for your time and sharing all your adventures with us today. It has been wonderful. Thank you for having me. It's been great.

Uh, so where can everyone find out more about Valerie before we wrap up to follow along? Most of my adventures I share on Instagram and on TikTok, and my handle is at the running panda. And Panda is my dog, and so he's featured in a lot of those videos on there. Excellent. Well, we'll get that listed as well, so Perfect.

Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you, Valerie. Thank you