BIO

Former British Army Major, multi-record-breaking adventure athlete, passionate mental health campaigner and inspirational speaker Sally Orange MBE has crammed a lot into her 49 years on the planet and she’s nowhere near done.

When she’s not undertaking record-breaking endurance achievements (often dressed in thoughtfully chosen costumes to raise a smile and start conversations around mental health), Sally is the focus of inspirational speaking engagements, attended by audiences of all ages at a variety of events, including at Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade, and has featured in the media numerous times. Everyone is captivated by the modest, engaging and approachable way she shares the mental health and resilience learnings she has gathered from a career in the British Army and decades of volunteering and undertaking gruelling physical challenges all over the world.

Sally is the only person to complete a marathon on every continent dressed as different pieces of fruit. She has completed 8 full Ironman triathlons and the ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ triathlon, which included swimming across the treacherous waters around the infamous prison. Sally did this dressed in a convict costume to symbolise the way mental illness can make people feel like a prisoner in their own mind. She’s also completed 82 marathons (including the iconic World Marathon Challenge – 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 consecutive days ­– the first female veteran and one of only 5 British women ever to do so) as well as the ‘Everest Marathon’, the highest marathon in the world. She founded and captained the first team of injured and ill women to complete the world’s toughest cycle race, the 3000+ mile Race Across America (RAAM). She has cycled the length of New Zealand and the length of Britain on 3 separate occasions. She has run the toughest footrace on earth, the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, and run the length of Iceland dressed as a pod of peas. She has also rowed and swum the English Channel. She holds 6 Guinness World Records and 4 Invictus Games medals. Her adventure skillset also includes jungle survival, skiing, mountaineering, kayaking and scuba diving.

Sally is the first and only female National Ambassador for the Army Cadet Force and is passionate about supporting and inspiring young people. She served as a physiotherapist in the British Army for 22 years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan treating severely injured casualties. She has volunteered for over 30 years, raising more than £800,000 for 50 charities. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sally returned to the frontline at the NHS Nightingale Hospital and, while there, ran a marathon in hospital scrubs and a facemask around the Excel centre (the site of the hospital). She dedicated each mile to an NHS worker and raised thousands of pounds for NHS Charities Together. She also completed a virtual London marathon in the moat of the Tower of London, and another on a treadmill in a pod of the London Eye to symbolise the highs and lows of mental health during the pandemic. Six days later, on World Mental Health Day, she ran the world’s deepest underground marathon in a mine (in complete darkness wearing a helmet, head torch, safety goggles and face mask).

Sally has been honoured with the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award and a place in Captain Sir Tom Moore’s book One Hundred Reasons to Hope. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the highly prestigious University of Nottingham in 2022 for her services to physiotherapy and mental health. And, in 2023, she was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE), for services to charity and mental health, in the King’s first Birthday Honours. 

Behind the records and public speaking is a humble, warm, open, funny and, at times, vulnerable woman, whose own experience of severe chronic clinical depression and anxiety makes Sally uniquely placed to share her fascinating stories and resilience learnings from extreme environments, which she has a knack of making universally relevant. Sally’s approach to life (and her challenges) isn’t about strict diets and intense regimes, it’s about developing strategies to help her get out of bed when she’s depressed – strategies which also get her through epic endurance events. She’s not one for grabbing the limelight or clocking her ‘best times’, she prefers to bring light to others while having the time of her life. Her goal isn’t to raise her own public profile, it’s to start interesting, inspirational and open conversations to raise awareness of mental health.

Video interview: https://youtu.be/I0KHOrRJ4Ok

TESTIMONIALS

"Simply put, Sally is formidable! From running marathons in far flung places dressed as a piece of fruit to speaking with authenticity to a mixed and challenging audience, Sally does it all with consummate grace. Sally is genuinely admirable and equally humble which is a rare and highly effective blend, and it is an honour to know her.  I can wholeheartedly recommend Sally as a speaker, mentor, or ambassador.  I would, however, hesitate to recommend Sally as a training partner unless you are super fit!."
Divisional Director, Pinnacle Group

"While our employees have been working from home, Sally Orange joined us on a video call to talk about her ultra-marathon running and ways of overcoming adversity.

We were fortunate to enjoy much more than a conversation; the interview became an open discussion about mental health and education. A topic that is vitally important, but is so often challenging to discuss. 

What Sally has achieved is an inspiration to us all but I am sure the best is still yet to come. Sally is now a friend of Avanti and we will support her along the next chapter of her journey.”
CEO, Avanti Communications

“Sally is an exceptional speaker, delivering a very personal, heartfelt message on a very emotive subject. The way Sally manages to keep her audience smiling with her is exceptional; she is truly an ambassador of promoting positive mental health!”

Impact and Technical Solutions Manager, The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust

“When Sally speaks, you're not just hearing a story; you're living it with her. She has got this natural ability to connect, to make you feel like you're part of her journey. And honestly, her journey is a remarkable one. She's funny, energetic, and her passion for making a difference in the world is palpable. So, if you're looking for a speaker who brings authenticity, inspiration, and a real desire to help others, Sally Orange is the one.”

Founder of Impacting the Young Speaker Agency

“Sally is an enthusiastic, humorous, honest speaker. The tales of her wacky but tough adventures are filled with adventure, empathy and food for thought.”

Al Humphreys - Adventurer, Author and Motivational Speaker

Further information, please get in touch with Deborah:

hello@papillonspeakers.com

07814 934740