Hidden Gems: Meet Sue Skelly of Women Who Walk the World, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue Skelly.

Hi Sue, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At the age of 53, I walked 500 miles across from St. John Pied de port, France to Santiago de Compostelle, Spain on the camino de Santiago .
I loved it so much that the following year I went back and walked from the Swiss border to Rome on the Via Francigena.
As I was walking, I would post in my social media photos of the interesting people I met along the way, of the beautiful scenery and of all of my culinary discoveries.

I had several friends from every chapter of my life following along – schoolmates from kindergarten through college, past neighbors, old roommates, distant cousins and more. Since I was walking solo, the comments from these posts truly became a source of encouragement for me.

By the time I arrived into Rome, I had several people asking if they could join me in my next adventure.

Thats how Women Who walk the World began.
I realized that walking these pilgrimages changed my life.
I learned so many lessons about life and myself . I found strength I never knew I had . I silenced many limiting beliefs (lies) about myself.
What if I could empower other women to make a similar journey?

In 2021, Women Who Walk the World was launched. Since then I’ve led three 125-mile village-to-village walks across Southern France, two 80-mile walks through Tuscany and one week of day hikes in the Italian Dolomites. I’ve also personally walked through Switzerland on the Via Francigena, across Japan’s Kii Peninsula on the Kumano Kodo, completed a portion of the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites as well as hiked Machu Picchu.

I believe that long distance trekking is a way to “walk back to yourself”.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I am the least likely person to lead women on any athletic endeavor!
In elementary school, I hated PE/gym class. I know hate is a strong word. But I dreaded it with every fiber of my being.
We had a few “super jocks”.
They were the people that our teacher consistently designated to be the team captains when our clsss played softball, volleyball and kickball. (And occasionally the dreaded dodgeball)
The team captains would stand on opposing sides of the gym with the rest of the class standing in between waiting to be picked.
I was always picked last.
These humiliating experiences caused me tell myself that I’m not worthy of belonging and I’m not capable of doing hard things.
But the day I walked into Santiago and stood victorious in front of the Cathedral for the iconic “I did it!” photo, put the mute button on those lies I believed about myself.

Now I’m in a mission to help other women to step out of their comfort zone and into their most empowered self.

As you know, we’re big fans of Women Who Walk the World, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Women Who Walk the World was launched in 2021.
We lead village-to-village walks through southern France on the Camino de Santiago, through Tuscany on the Via Francigena and day hike adventures throughout the Italian Dolomites.
Our mission is to empower women one step at a time.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I joined a class called “Made to Do This” by my business coach and mentor, Cathy Heller. She is an expert of helping women discover their passions and help women to have the courage to live out their own personal destiny. My advice to any new entrepreneur is to find a community that believes in you and that can help you follow your intuition. I think we are all given a mission- its our job to discover what that is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://womenwhowalktheworld.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/womenwhowalktheworld