Three incredible speakers dive into their motivations behind their biggest athletic accomplishments yet:
Alex Staniforth: Record-breaking adventurer, ultra-runner, author and founder of the mental health charity, Mind Over Mountains. By the age of 19 years old he had already survived the two biggest disasters in Mt Everest history, yet his biggest challenges have been much closer to home. In 2017 he climbed all 100 UK county tops by bike, foot and kayak in the fastest time ever of 72 days. In 2020 he completed the National 3 Peaks entirely on foot, running over 452 miles in just 9 days 12 hours.
Most recently he climbed all 446 mountains (Nuttalls) in the fastest time ever – running and cycling over 3,000km and climbing over 100,000m in just 45 days, to raise awareness of suicide in young people on his 30th birthday. Now based in Kendal, he is usually found running around the local hills which he calls his ‘Natural Health Service’.
Katie Mackay: Climbing and mountaineering instructor based between Scotland and the Lake District. She’s climbed across the UK and further afield in Patagonia and the Alps, and was the first woman to complete the Lake District Classic Rock challenge in under 24 hours.
Alongside her friend Kirsty Gillan, Katie undertook a self-powered journey to link 100 climbing routes across the UK, covering 1,600km by bike and 10,000m of climbing in 32 days — an adventure fuelled by friendship, resilience, and a love for doing hard things just to see if they’re possible.
Markus Stitz: Ultra-endurance racer, explorer, route designer, film-maker, photographer and writer, based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Originally from Germany he has explored Scotland extensively since he moved here in 2009. Before cycling 34,000 kilometres unsupported around the world on a single-speed mountain bike, he mapped his first bikepacking route, the Capital Trail. On his return he founded Bikepacking Scotland (bikepackingscotland.com) and has worked in many corners of Scotland, designing bikepacking and gravel routes. He is a co-director of the Cateran Ecomuseum, and founder of Dirt Dash events and the Edinburgh Dawn Patrol.
His recent trips include bikepacking in Norway, Nova Scotia in Canada, Arkansas in the US and Spain. Markus’s writing has appeared in a wide variety of magazines and online publications in English and German. He is the author of Great British Gravel Rides, Bikepacking Scotland, Gravel Rides Cairngorms & Perthshire and Gravel Rides Loch Lomond & The Trossachs. He also co-edited Big Rides: Great Britain & Ireland.
Following our three speakers the event will culminate in a Q & A with opportunities for questions from the audience exploring the ‘why’ behind these adventures and what motivates people to seek out moving in this way.