Doing Hard Shit: How Adventure, Motherhood, and Nature Shape Us

Join Celia Hogan, outdoor educator, play advocate, endurance athlete and mum, for a raw and real evening exploring a life lived through adventure.

Before kids, Celia’s days were filled with big expeditions: a month sea kayaking along the wild coastlines of Greenland, ski touring hut-to-hut in Norway, traversing Scotland coast-to-coast, summiting the 14 Peaks of Wales, multi-day mountain bike adventures and cycle touring through Europe. As an outdoor instructor, she spent years guiding others into wild places, watching firsthand how nature challenges and changes people.

Then came motherhood, and a new kind of challenge. Adventures shifted shape: racing in the Spring Challenge with a team of friends, discovering fast-packing, sea kayaking from Le Bons Bay to Lyttelton, and eventually taking on the 7 Day Southern Lakes Ultra. These challenges weren’t just physical; they became a way to find herself again, build deep connections with other women, and strengthen the relationships that matter most.

Adventure has taught Celia how to sit with discomfort, regulate emotions, and dig deep when it matters, lessons she now passes on to her tamariki through family adventures tramping, rafting, bikepacking and skiing. She’s passionate about raising kids who are connected to te taiao, who know it can sustain them for life, and who grow up with courage, curiosity, and resilience.

This is an honest, inspiring talk about the power of doing hard shit, whether it’s big, small, planned, or spontaneous and how those moments in the wild can be the greatest gift you give yourself and your children.

When: Wednesday, November 19th, 6.15 pm for a 6.30 pm start. 

Where: Further Faster, 57A Buchan St, Sydenham, Christchurch.

Tickets: $15 ($20 at the door, if not sold out), available via Humanitix.

All money raised from ticket sales will go to Adaptive Snow Sports Canterbury and Mandamus Preservation Reserve.