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alex@alexstaniforth.com

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Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth

Adversity Adventurer, Motivational Resilience Speaker, Author and Mental Health Activist

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Blog

June 27, 2023

Making a Comeback: The Frog Graham Round

It's time for a comeback challenge... On the 5th of August I’m attempting the Frog Graham Round - a classic swimrun challenge with almost 40 miles

Category iconChallenges,  UK Outdoors,  Ultra Running Tag iconfrog graham round,  long covid,  ultra running

March 26, 2023

Trusting Your Gut: how to deal with the unknown

Most athletes will be familiar with the phrase: “Listen to your body”. With time and experience you become pretty intuitive about when to push and

Category iconUncategorized Tag icontrusting experience,  trusting your gut

December 8, 2022

Feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone.

Last month I was grabbing lunch at Pret in London Euston before a speaking gig, when the inevitable suddenly hit me. It was coming faster than the

Category iconMental Health,  Motivation Tag iconchristmas mental health,  christmas overwhelm,  long covid,  long covid recovery,  mindset,  overcoming overwhelm,  overwhelm,  recovery,  tips for overwhelm

September 23, 2022

The Benefits of Being a Beginner

Nobody wants to look like a beginner. In a world of experts, there’s something scary and vulnerable about making ourselves appear foolish or asking an

Category iconUncategorized Tag iconbeginner mindset,  being a beginner,  wild swimming

July 15, 2022

Losing My Religion: How to Re-define Yourself

Most of us define ourselves by something. Whether that’s our job, family, hometown, or sport. Being in a box feels significant. It’s a human need to

Category iconMental Health,  Motivation,  Ultra Running Tag iconidentity crisis,  redefining myself,  rediscovering yourself,  self discovery

March 4, 2022

Embracing the Storms: How to take advantage of life challenges

After what felt like storm #306 in the last month alone, many of us probably started to ask: “what next?” The First World problems of rubbish

Category iconInspiration,  Motivation Tag iconalex adversity,  embracing the storms,  resilience,  storms will pass

February 1, 2022

How to Stay Committed to Your Goals

Try not! Do... or do not. There is no try” – Yoda You’re probably wondering where this is going… but with me, you must bear. Many of us set

Category iconUncategorized Tag icon2022,  commitment,  february,  goals,  goalsetting,  motivation,  new year goals,  quotes,  resolutions,  willpower,  yoda

November 4, 2021

Be Bold, Start Cold: Tips for Staying Motivated through Winter

The clocks going back can feel like an ode farewell to those long, midsummer nights of feeling like you could run forever, and send us reaching for

Category iconMotivation Tag iconcold,  get outside,  motivation tips,  staying motivated,  winter motivation,  winter training,  winter weather

September 28, 2021

Running on Empty: a race against post-pandemic burnout

Petrol stations across the UK have been running dry. But are we running low on fuel too? In the last month I’ve completed two ultra-running

Category iconUltra Running

August 18, 2021

Impostor Syndrome: the challenge of being good enough

‘Impostor syndrome’ refers to feelings of doubting our ability, not being worthy of one’s achievements and the fear of being exposed as a fraud. This

Category icon3 Peaks Run,  Challenges,  Endurance,  Mental Health,  Running

July 1, 2021

Trusting the Process: 42 peaks in 24 hours

‘Trusting the process’ first rose to fame within the NBA Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and their manager Sam Hinkie, who used three years of

Category iconUncategorized Tag iconbob graham,  bob graham round,  endurance,  mental health,  mindset,  motivation,  trust the process,  ultra running,  uncertainty

April 19, 2021

3 tips for dealing with post-lockdown anxiety

Feeling anxious about life after lockdown? Most of us probably can't wait, but others will have got comfortable with the routine of working from home

Category iconInspiration,  Mental Health Tag iconanxiety,  change,  covid lockdown,  lockdown,  mental health,  motivation,  new normal,  post-lockdown,  uncertainty

February 15, 2021

This Too Shall Pass – How to keep going when you can’t see the top

It feels like lockdown has gone on forever. One false summit another. Are we there yet? Even with the vaccine rapidly underway, there’s only so many

Category icon3 Peaks Run,  Inspiration,  Mental Health Tag iconanxiety,  injured runner,  injury,  lockdown,  mental health,  mental resilience,  motivation,  overcoming challenges,  permanence,  recovery,  this too shall pass,  uncertainty

December 31, 2020

What advice would you give yourself in 2020?

Well… where do we start? Any of us could be forgiven for wanting to toss 2020 into a heap; banished like those hideous school photos we’d rather never

Category icon3 Peaks Run,  Inspiration Tag icon2020,  2021 goals,  2021 resolutions,  new year resolutions,  reflections,  resolutions

November 1, 2020

Peaks and Troughs: dealing with the post-challenge blues

‘Flattening the curve’ has been of national interest this year. Peaks and troughs is one way to describe the emotional rollercoaster that we never

Category icon3 Peaks Run,  Marathons,  Mental Health Tag icon3 peaks run,  emotional rollercoaster,  endurance training,  mental health,  mindset,  peaks and troughs,  post marathon blues

October 9, 2020

The Power of Human Connection

World Mental Health Day seemed the perfect opportunity to talk about isolation. The outdoors can be a lonely place. Maybe that’s part of the magic.

Category icon3 Peaks Run,  Mental Health Tag icon3 peaks run,  alex staniforth,  getoutside,  mental health,  mental health day,  mind over mountains,  world mental health day

September 13, 2020

Relentless Forward Motion

Life's pretty simple when you just have to run, eat, sleep, ice, elevate, and repeat. The 9 1/2 days spent running/hobbling the National Three Peaks

Category icon3 Peaks Run Tag icon3 peaks run,  alex staniforth,  barefoot,  mental health,  mind over mountains,  national three peaks,  three peaks challenge,  three peaks run,  ultra running

August 9, 2020

3 Peaks Run Challenge: the Kit List

After conveniently spraining my ankle a couple of weeks ago and having to delay the start of my 3 Peaks Run, fine-tuning my kit list and preparation

Category icon3 Peaks Run Tag icon3 peaks run,  alertacall,  alex staniforth,  awesome walls,  ellis brigham,  inov-8,  kit list,  mind over mountains,  multi-day kit list,  nicholas associates,  omm,  rab skyline,  thomson hayton winkley,  three peaks challenge,  three peaks run,  ultra running,  untamed entrepreneur,  westgrove group

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Mind Over Mountains is a charity restoring mental health naturally through therapeutic outdoor experiences.

Read more and join us at: www.mindovermountains.org.uk

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alexstaniforth_

Climbing mountains and the mind.
Charity Founder @mindomountains
🌎 The Lake District #GetOutside
Athlete @inov_8 @ordnancesurvey @ellisbrigham

Alex Staniforth - Adventurer
Back where it all began. Running with my old man! Back where it all began. Running with my old man!

Last March I got my Parkrun PB at Keswick and this weekend got my slowest at Fell Foot.

The plan was to keep my heart rate under 145bpm to avoid another crash of fatigue, which meant walking most of the hills. It took the discipline of Yoda not to set off chasing people like the good old days, especially when my dad overtook me in the first km. 

I hated exercise as a kid. On holiday in France my stepmum bribed me with €2 to run a mile with him. That was a lot of money back then... I hated every minute but dad inspired me to enter a 10km race for charity, and the rest is history. Dad came to watch every race since, as I happily claimed the family record at every distance from 5km to marathon, whilst he retired to become a Parkrun tourist. 

Never thought he'd beat me again, but never forget where you started.
.
#LongCovid #TheComeback #MatchingJackets #parkrun #loveparkrun #fellfootpark
#LakeDistrict #lakedistrictuk #runninginspiration #Fellfoot #windermere #parkruntourist #fatherson
Much-needed adventure inspiration from @mrmarkbeau Much-needed adventure inspiration from @mrmarkbeaumont on his Faster tour at Rheged last weekend. 

Mark is the fastest person to cycle around the world in 80 days (that's 240 miles a day... for perspective) amongst many other records. He's been a huge personal inspiration and kindly endorsed my 2nd book.

So much resonated, but a few favourite takeaways: 

- Trust the process, the bigger picture will always take care of itself. 

- Remove the faff. His team had to ensure he was on the bike by 4am, not 4:05am. That would have added an entire day to his record.

- Mark had 40 people working on his world record. He knew that if he failed, the whole team failed. 

- Good times won't last forever, but that means the bad ones won't either... 

Thanks Mark. Grab his books, talks and films if you're needing some adventure inspiration! 

#faster #worldcycle #ultracycling #markbeaumont #inspiration #80days #mindset #cyclingheroes #rheged #ultracyclist 
@speakersfromtheedge
214/214 Wainwrights complete! Somehow it's taken 214/214 Wainwrights complete! 

Somehow it's taken 12 years, 8 months and 25 days since my first summit, Souther Fell, aged 14 (swipe for evidence). For those who don't know, the Wainwrights are a list of 214 summits created by legendary writer Alfred Wainwright. There was no better hill to finish than the aptly named 'Great Cockup', with a great crowd of friends.

The record is 5 days 12 hrs 14 mins... If only we hadn't stopped for a sandwich 😂 

Meanwhile @thehodfather666 is currently climbing all 214 with a 4 stone hod of house bricks, to raise money for @mindomountains.

However fast you go, there's something strangely addictive about this collection of fells. It's been a fun project to explore the Lakes and maybe one day I'll start again to see how fast I can get around... 

📸@danobeaumont

#GreatCockup #Wainwrights #LakeDistrict #Hillwalking  #GetOutside #Lakes #peakbagging #wainwrightswalks
A big welcome to the first CEO of @mindomountains, A big welcome to the first CEO of @mindomountains, Ian Sansbury! 

When Chris and I founded the charity in 2020 we never imagined how big it would become. From the flagship event with @adventureuncovered to delivering 27 events last year, supporting 300+ people with their mental health, including the NHS, Police and Ambulance Service.

Leadership is about creating a vision, and building a great team to achieve it - like our wonderful trustees, team and 50+ freelance staff who continually go above and beyond. 

It’s also knowing your strengths and weaknesses, when ironically it's compromised my own mental health sometimes too. As the charity grows I'm not the right person to take it where it needs to be, so it can reach everyone who needs our help.

Feeling like a proud parent sending their kids off to start school, with less crying, but I'm super excited to see the charity grow and support even more people with Ian’s expertise. 

I’ll remain heavily involved as a trustee (and Chief Interference Officer) to support the team, tell the story and raise money through daft adventures… 

Thanks to everyone who's been part of the first chapter. Onwards!

#NewChapter #MyBaby  #MentalHealthCharity #MindOverMountains
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