446 Mountains. One Mission. Alex Staniforth on Project 446 & Mental Resilience 

He failed on Everest. Twice. But that didn’t stop him setting out to climb all 446 mountains in England and Wales.

This week, Gary and Ben are joined on the sofa by adventurer, ultra runner, author, and mental health campaigner Alex Staniforth. Alex’s journey has been anything but straightforward. At 16 he was sidelined by injury, at 18 he attempted Everest twice — both times turned back by tragedy and disaster. Those experiences might have ended most people’s ambitions. For Alex, they became the spark for something bigger.

From the National Three Peaks to his latest mission, Project 446, Alex has built a life around testing limits, learning from setbacks, and finding purpose in adversity. Along the way he’s battled anxiety, eating disorders, and lives with epilepsy, but has turned those challenges into fuel for inspiring others.

In this unfiltered conversation Alex opens up about:

– The shift from Everest dreams to UK-based challenges

– How the Three Peaks prepared him for something bigger

– The highs, lows and hallucinations of Project 446

– Fuelling on chickpea curry, Celia’s pizza and yellow-sticker bargains

– Saying “no” when sponsors told him to quit

– Living and running with epilepsy

– The big goals still to come

Alex is also co-founder of Mind Over Mountains, a charity bringing people together to improve mental health through walking and talking in nature. His story is a reminder that the toughest mountains aren’t always physical.

Find out more about Alex and Project 446 here: https://www.alexstaniforth.com/

#Project446 #AlexStaniforth #RUNcensored #TrailRunning #UltraRunning #MountainRunning #EnduranceRunning #ThreePeaksChallenge #MentalHealthAwareness #EpilepsyAwareness #AdventureMindset #RunningPodcast #Resilience #FellRunning #ClimbEveryMountain

RUNcensored Podcast 🎙

The unfiltered running podcast with Gary House & Ben Mounsey — honest chats with athletes, coaches and characters from the world of running.

👉 Subscribe and leave us a review — it helps more runners find the show.

👉 Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RUNcensored

👉 Listen to all episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZGfMfc5i9Q&list=PL_pklymQxtluqvkNmf41MYI7fOk8Ki_YT

👉 Have your say in our listener survey: http://bit.ly/runcensored-survey

🌍 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runcensoredpod

📩 Get in touch: [email protected]

Produced by Chris Davies, Eastwood Media

www.eastwood-media.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.