Kendal adventurer with Long Covid takes on challenge for own charity

Alex Staniforth, 28, from Kendal, will take on the ‘Frog Graham Round’ swim-run challenge on August 5 – a challenge which less than 200 people have successfully completed to date.

The round trip, starting from the Keswick Moot Hall, entails running nearly 40 miles around the Lake District fells with over 15,000ft of height gain, and swimming two miles across Bassenthwaite, Crummock Water, Buttermere and Derwentwater.

He hopes to raise £3,000 for Mind Over Mountains, a mental health charity that he co-founded in 2020.

The charity offers guided day walks and retreats combined with coaching, counselling, mindfulness and inspirational speakers to retore mental health through nature.

And Alex is no stranger to embarking on tough challenges. He is best known for his double attempts to scale Mount Everest as a teenager in 2014 and 2015, as well as climbing all 100 UK county tops in the fastest time in 2017.

However, he was only able to resume full training in March with a Couch to 5k program after suffering with Long Covid since April 2022.

The 28-year-old only discovered open swimming last year as a way of maintaining his mental health because of the aftereffects he suffered from catching COVID-19.

He said: “Being in open water was one of the few activities I could manage without exacerbating symptoms, and it was a chance to find some joy every day, to live in the moment and reconnect with nature. You always have to find the opportunity in these situations.

“This won’t be my furthest or hardest run to date, but the real challenge will be the transitions from running to swimming after many hours on the go. I’m just grateful to be back in the place I love most and making a comeback in style!”

To sponsor Alex’s attempt and support Mind Over Mountains, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/froggraham

You can find out more about Alex and follow his progress by visiting: www.alexstaniforth.com