The truth is, your mind, your courage, and your determination are far more powerful than you've given them credit for. And when you choose to work with them instead of against them, you can achieve incredible things no matter your age.
Welcome to RenewHer, a podcast for women over 50 ready to reignite their energy and explore what's next. I'm Genell Lemley, brain fitness coach. Here you'll hear real stories from women taking on new challenges after 50, along with brain health tips to boost focus, energy, and the mindset to move forward with confidence.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hey there, and welcome. I'm Genell, your host of the RenewHer podcast. In this episode, I wanna take you into the final part of this two-part series about my 29029 Everesting experience.
If you haven't listened to part one, I encourage you to do so. In the first part, I took you with me up the mountain through the physical and mental challenge. The final part is different. It's about what the climb revealed on the inside. The part that surprised me the most, the soul part. And when I say soul, I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about the inner experience, the part of us that finds meaning, purpose, and truth when we slow down, listen inward, and connect to something deeper than performance or outcomes. It's about identity, becoming, personal growth, connection, connection to ourselves, connection to others, and is something larger than us.
This is the part of the journey that changes who you are. The part you carry home long after the mountain is behind you. Soul is the part I didn't expect to feel so deeply. The part I didn't even realize I needed until I was in it. Mind got me to the starting line. Body carried me up the mountain. But soul, soul is what stayed with me long after I came home.
When I crossed the finish line, the emotions were real, the tears, the relief, the accomplishment. But what surprised me is that the deepest realization didn't arrive in that moment. It came later, after the noise faded, after the red hat, after my body rested and my mind stopped replaying the effort. That's when I noticed the quiet, not emptiness, alignment. A calm recognition that something had shifted inside me.
Not that I felt strong. 📍 But That I felt changed. I realized I had met a version of myself I'm proud of. And more than that, a version I want to keep becoming. Because 29029 isn't just a physical challenge. It isn't just a mindset challenge. It's a transformation challenge. It's a becoming challenge. It's a "who are you on the inside when everything else is stripped away?" challenge. And that's what I wanna share with you. The truth about what the mountain opened up in me, what it revealed, and what it returned to my life.
Looking back, I can see there's a moment in every big challenge when your mind is tired, and your body is drained, and the only thing left standing is your soul. It's quiet. It's honest. And it doesn't negotiate. The soul shows you what you believe about yourself when no one is watching, when you're on the side of a mountain, moving through the dark with a headlamp, feeling small and strong at the same time.
For me, that moment came somewhere between exhaustion, doubt, and the steady rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other. I started hearing myself more clearly, not the fearful 📍 version , not the too slow, too old version, but the deeper one underneath. The one I had almost forgotten, the one who still wants big things.
Before this event, I knew connection mattered. I teach it. I talk about it. I believe in it. But I don't think I ever fully understood just how much our souls are shaped by the people who walk with us. And 29029 is full of people walking with you. Your fellow climbers, your coaches, the volunteers, your family waiting at the base or the summit, strangers who call you by name, women who say, "you've got this" right when you need to hear it. It's impossible to be on that mountain and not feel held by something bigger than yourself.
At 63, doing something many people may never attempt, I realize that community isn't just helpful, it reaches something deeper. It strengthens the brain. It calms the nervous system. It gives you courage you didn't know you had.
Connection is one of the most powerful forms of brain health, but it's also one of the most powerful forms of soul health. And on that mountain, I felt the truth of that with every encouraging word, every high five, every hug from my husband, every coach who walked alongside me. You don't climb alone. Not in Whistler. And not in life.
I thought I signed up for this challenge to prove something to myself, to push myself to see what I could still do at this stage of life. But on the mountain, my why softened into something deeper. It wasn't about proving anything. It was about expanding, growing, awakening something inside me that had been quiet for a while. A sense of purpose, a sense of possibility, a sense of still becoming.
Purpose activates the higher parts of the brain, but it also feeds the soul. It reminds you that you're here on purpose and for a purpose, no matter your age. The soul grows the most in the places that test you.
When I look back now, there were moments when the gratitude felt overwhelming and not the pretty polished kind. The gritty, real kind that shows up when you find the trail again after being lost in the dark. When someone tells you, you have enough time at the exact moment you weren't sure you did. When another coach walks part of ascent eight with you, just because your spirit looked like it needed steadying. When you reach an aid station and feel tears rise because you've made it farther than the version of you who started this race ever imagined.
Gratitude is powerful for the brain, but it's equally powerful for the soul. It's a recognition of grace, of presence, of support, of the small miracles that happen when you choose not to quit.
As the hours passed, I realized I'm not just climbing a mountain, I'm rewriting what I believed about myself. Rewriting who I am. Rewriting what I believe is possible. Rewriting the quiet story I had been carrying about speed, age, strength, and limits.
Somewhere on ascent eight, when I knew I was gonna make it, a shift happened. I stopped seeing myself as someone hoping to finish. I started seeing myself as someone who will. Someone who does hard things. Someone who rises. Someone who takes on challenges and meets them with heart and courage. That shift didn't happen in my mind. It didn't happen in my body. It happened in my soul.
Identity doesn't change when you cross the finish line. It changes in the thousands of steps that lead up to it. The hours of training before the mountain. The countless miles walked. The early mornings. The long afternoons. The days you pushed your body when it begged you to stop. The steps you take when you're scared or tired or doubting yourself or unsure. That's where your true story is written.
And to rewrite a story, you have to let go of the old one. Too slow. Too old. Not strong enough. These challenges are for other people. Those thoughts didn't disappear magically. They got replaced. Replaced by the steady proof of each ascent, each post, each breath, each moment of choosing not to quit.
I didn't leave 29029 the same woman who started it. And honestly, I didn't want to. There were moments on the mountain that 📍 felt sacred . Moments where nature, silence and struggle merged into something bigger. Sunrise lighting up the ridge. The hush of the forest on ascent seven. The moon reflecting off the trail. The quiet hum of hundreds of headlamps moving together in the dark. Awe changes the brain. It quiets the noise and expands your perception. It also changes the soul. It opens you, humbles you, connects you to something larger. Reminds you that life is both fragile and incredibly strong.
Those moments stayed with me. They still do. Crossing the finish line was emotional, but not for the reasons you'd expect. It wasn't the accomplishment. It wasn't the red hat, it wasn't the applause. What stayed with me as I reflected afterward was the inner quiet. A deep calm recognition that I had become someone new. That I had met a version of myself I'm proud of. A version of myself I wanna keep becoming. It wasn't that I felt strong, it was that I felt changed. Like something inside me had finally aligned: mind, body, and soul, into one clear voice. You can do hard things. You are capable of more than you think. And it's never too late to expand your life.
From 29029, I brought home a deeper confidence, a truer courage, a steadier spirit, a new identity, and a renewed sense of possibility.
I carried home a reminder that I'm still becoming, and so are you. Because that's really what this episode is about. Not climbing a mountain, but remembering who you are. Beneath the doubt, beneath the fear, beneath the old stories that were never yours to keep. This challenge didn't just change my body, it didn't just change my mind, it changed my soul.
And I want to leave you with this. There is a version of you, you haven't met yet, a version who is stronger, braver, more expansive, and more alive than you imagine. And she becomes real the moment you say yes to the challenge that calls you.
Your Everest may look different. Your mountain may be something personal, professional, emotional, or spiritual. But whatever it is, your soul already knows you're meant to climb it. One step at a time. One breath at a time. One brave, yes at a time. You are still becoming, and the world needs the woman you're stepping into.
As I close this chapter of the 29029 story, I wanna share what's coming next because this journey didn't end on that mountain. Over the next month, I'll be starting something new on the podcast. I'll be interviewing women over 50 who have said yes to their own challenges. Women who have taken brave steps, made bold pivots, stretched themselves, and rewritten what's possible in this season of life. I cannot wait to share their stories with you because they are powerful, honest, and deeply inspiring. Until next time, keep becoming.
Thank you for joining me for this episode of RenewHer. If today's conversation sparked something in you, don't let it fade. Take even a small step toward what's next. If you've found value in what you heard, please subscribe, leave a review, or share this podcast with a woman who's ready to take her next bold step.
Together we're building a community of strong, resilient women navigating what's next with courage and purpose. Until next time, stay energized and keep embracing what's possible.