In Episode 136 we talk to Nick Kershaw, the brains behind the Colombia International Marathon due to take place on the 11th of February 2017. With a route mapped out from Minca in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada coastal mountains and culminating on the beach in Santa Marta, this marathon is set to make waves.

Kershaw has worked on some interesting marathons before this one, think Uganda! Since quitting his job in finance he has also worked on or planned future marathons in Guatemala, Malawi and Nepal.

So, what's this all about? Well, the Impact Marathon Series is in line with the UN Global Goals and all participants get to choose which local charity will receive their contribution. This, my friends, is meaningful travel.

The Impact Marathon Series is a social business designed to harness the simple power of running to sustainably build communities, bring people together around huge causes and leave a lasting impact on the world.

What are you waiting for? Sign up for February's 42km race (although there are 5km and 23km options too), I'll be there!

Having had the opportunity to visit a couple of prisons in South America including two in Quito, Ecuador and one in La Paz, Bolivia, I can vouch for the misery encountered within. So, in the light of recent articles regarding the poor state of Colombian prisons it was time to have someone on the show who can speak firsthand about this terrible situation here.

Wally Broderick is Colombian but with Irish and Australian roots and who, in the twists and turns of life, ended up visiting a school friend who was held in two Colombian prisons over the course of 11 years for rebellion.

We speak of the realities in Colombian prisons, the issues regarding the peace talks with the FARC guerrillas and the need to reform the penitenciary system and the atrocious human rights record found within these institutions.

Natalia Quintero speaks with an authority and passion about what she does and exudes the calm assured confidence of someone who knows what she's doing and where she's going!

In Episode 134 we learn how Quintero left Colombia aged 9 nine and settled in Los Angeles and how the twists and turns of her life took her to New York before now heading up a team at the Socialatom Group, an entity set up to invest, build and support tech entrepreneurs around the world and with an office here in Bogota.

So, we get the opportunity to sit down with Quintero and learn not only how she has brought her effervescent spirit back to Colombia to help economic development through technology and entrepreneurship but also about her reflections on how Bogota and Colombia have changed in her eyes.