Risk and fear

Risk and fear are bed fellows. It's difficult not to feel some fear when you are taking a risk... But as some people are fond of saying "The biggest risk is not taking any risk at all". So how do we best assess risk and control our fears to perform at our very best? We have lined up four amazing guests who have spent their entire lives actively putting in to practice the philosophies and theories on how best to control our fears and take the right kind of risks. Sometimes guests really surprise us and not always in a good way! But since Not by the Playbook started exactly a year ago, we've not had the pleasure of many more fascinating people than Diego Poncelet. A two-time downhill skateboarding world champion we expected a grungy, laid back, skater boi... Well shame on us for falling for so many stereotypes. Sure, Diego hurtles down mountains at over 100 kilometres an hour, but his thoughtful philosophy that guides him through sport, and his entire life is a fascinating mix of risk taking and challenging fear. Steve Judge had always been a keen runner, it was his escape from a challenging job as an engineer. Today he goes around the world as a motivational speaker, inspiring people with his story of how having lost the ability to walk, he managed somehow to prove the world wrong and not only walk again, but get back to running and become a World Champion triathlete... Dr. Marcia Goddard is a neuroscientist on a mission. Having studied for many years Marcia wanted to use what she had learned in as practical way as possible. And if she could combine that with her love of fast cars, well, all the better! And that's exactly what Marcia has carved out for her career. Combining her knowledge as a psychologist she became a high performance expert coaching teams in Formula One. Ultra marathons are as much about the mind as the physical challenge... and it's 20 years since Scott Jurek, one of the world's best ultramarathon runners, travelled to the remote canyons of Northern Mexico to race runners from an ancient Mexican tribe. The experience inspired the best-selling book, "Born To Run". Photo: Diego Poncelet Sanchez-Cuenca, 2x World Champion Downhill Skater & Filmmaker, makes his way swiftly down a mountain run. (CREDIT: Red Bull)

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Risk and fear is an episode from Sportshour by BBC.

This episode is 55:13 long.

This episode was published on Apr 3, 2026.

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