Dr Phoebe Sneddon is a paediatric registrar in the NHS.
She’s a mum to four year old daughter.
She’s also a cyclocross racer for Team Magspeed and a Specialized ambassador.
She is passionate about everyone (especially children, young people and women) finding something they love doing, to improve mental health, to give joy and to give something other than likes on social media to think about.
I found Phoebe to be exactly as I had expected she would be from following her on Instagram: funny, authentic, self-deprecating, passionate about her job, her sport and her patients and bit cross about the state of the UK (and not afraid to say so).
We talk about her childhood being keen but “a bit rubbish” at sport, to her dismal attempts to be a soldier in Officer Training Corps at university and how she wishes sport could be a bit less competitive sometimes so that nobody felt embarrassed or worried about having a go.
She cares deeply about her patients and their lives, worries how children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will get the support they need to find something they love, take up a sport or get out of the cycle they are often in.
She talks proudly about her family history of doctors, how she came to be a paediatrician and how she kind of just fell into bike racing because her then boyfriend (now soon to be ex-husband) was a racer and she thought “it didn’t look too hard”.
As a Specialized ambassador, she encourages women to get on their bikes and just give it a go, to help with self-confidence, body image, mental health and realising they have so much more within themselves.
We finish by talking about the big, scary ride she planned and executed to raise money for a friend’s new wheelchair and how privileged she always feels riding her bike when she knows so many people are not as lucky.
You can follow Phoebe on:
IG: @snedatron
Twitter: @snedatron
Website: https://phoebesneddon.wordpress.com/
#challengecatie
In a new addition to the podcast, I am asking my guests to set me a challenge within their area of expertise.
Phoebe challenged me to ride my bike to the top of a very steep hill (I live in the Alps so I have plenty of choice) as soon as the snow has melted and then ride it again at the end of the summer to see how much faster I am!
Challenge accepted! You can follow the hashtag on social media and follow me on Strava if you fancy it.