Alastair Humphreys cycled around the world (4 years, 5 continents, 46000 miles),
has run the world's toughest race (the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara) and is publishing two books.

He is now preparing for the first ever unsupported return journey to the South Pole. This will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history.

2000 people have raced yachts round the globe, 1300 have scaled Everest, 450 have been into space, 200 have walked to the South Pole, 150 have rowed the Atlantic. Alastair says he was "looking for something a little more original."

Two years after cycling round the world Ben is not ready to settle down. He is still hungry for adventure, curious about my potential, excited by life. It was time to set his mind to a new project. There are few good challenges left in life; this is one.

SOUTH will be the first return journey to the South Pole on foot, and the longest unsupported (human-powered) polar journey in history. This 1800 mile journey will take up to 4 months to complete.

The culmination of more than four years' training and preparation, and the input of experts in fields as diverse as satellite communications to the manufacture of carbon composites and next-generation solar fabrics, SOUTH is not a throwback to the Elizabethan age of exploration, it is a statement about what we are collectively capable of achieving. SOUTH encapsulates the drive to push the boundaries of human capability and break new ground for others to follow.


SOUTH is the brainchild and long-term ambition of Alastair's good friend Ben Saunders. Ben is the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest Arctic journey by a Britain. They are both determined to do whatever it takes to pull off this audacious challenge.

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"

Speaking


Imagine you had to recruit somebody to take over YOUR job.
What would you look for in the dream candidate?

If you wrote a list Alastair believes you would emphasise words like:

Energetic
Determined
Communicator
Ambitious
Enthusiastic
Reliable
Focussed
Initiative
Confident
Motivated

Three things are essential for success: knowledge, skills and attitude. The words above, describing the perfect person to be doing your job, are about attitude. Attitude. More than skills or knowledge. There is no mention of "must have certificate x,y and z" or "must be an expert in corporate tax strategy". Just Attitude.

So why is there such focus on improving skills and knowledge in the development of staff (refreshment training seminars, IT days) when what you really want and need is motivated people with the attitudes needed for success? The attitudes that got Alastair Humphreys round the world.

Alastair's inspiring, funny, educational and challenging talks provide a fascinating, spectacular case study of motivation, setting small targets to achieve outrageous goals, the rewards of risk, the power of communication and trust, and a call to arms that nothing is achieved without being bold enough to begin it.

Testimonials

"The first great adventure of the new millennium" - Sir Ranulph Fiennes

"The best lecture and the longest applause in 15 years"- Royal Geographical Society

"A call to arms" - The Guardian

"A marathon man"- The Daily Telegraph