11 inspiring people from 11 years of Escape: Alastair Humphreys

When we first started Escape the City back in 2010, we had no idea how many incredibly inspiring people we'd meet along the way. We set out to help ambitious and talented people to do work that matters to them and the world, and through the years we've encountered thousands of people who demonstrate that it's possible to do something different with your career and make a difference in the process. While it was hard to choose just 11 stories, here we've outlined a few of the people who we come back to regularly when we're looking for a bit of inspiration ourselves.

We hope you enjoy reading their stories and that they can be an inspiration to you, too! This is the first in our series of inspiring people, check out the whole list here.

Alastair Humphreys - The Adventurer

About Al:

Alastair’s quest for adventure began young. Aged nine, he completed the 20 mile Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, then the National 3 Peaks in 24 hours aged 13. At 15 he cycled off-road across England. After leaving school, Alastair taught for a year in South Africa.

Whilst at university Alastair cycled from Pakistan to China, Land’s End to John O’Groats, Turkey to Italy, Mexico to Panama and across South America. He ran a charity project in the Philippines and the London marathon dressed as a rhino.

Since graduating Alastair has cycled round the world for four years, raced a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean, canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River and walked the length of the holy Kaveri river in India.

Alastair has also run the Marathon des Sables, (finishing as one of the ten fastest Brits despite breaking his foot during the race) and rowed to France with a paralysed soldier. In 2010 he completed an unsupported crossing of Iceland by foot and packraft. In 2012 Alastair rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, did an expedition in Greenland and walked across the Empty Quarter desert.

In 2011 Alastair decided to remain in the UK in order to encourage people to seek out adventure and wilderness closer to home, challenging themselves through microadventures. Since then he has concentrated on his microadventures, encouraging people to get out and fit more adventure into their busy lives. Alastair’s book, Microadventures, was an Amazon UK Top 20 Bestseller for all books and his Microadventure challenges have inspired thousands to get out in their own backyards and make adventure a part of their life, however, limited their time and resource might be.

In 2016 Alastair bravely attempted to busk his way across Spain in the footsteps of one of his literary heroes. Only living on the money he made busking each day and beginning as a novice in violin, he shared the ups and downs and the beauty of the simple things.

Alastair has published 12 books, is keen photographer and videographer, and pays the bills through motivational speaking at businesses.

He was chosen as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year in 2012 and won the Ordnance Survey Children’s Travel Book of the Year in 2019. 

What we love about Al’s story:

Al has lived a life full of adventure and managed to find a way to make it work for him as a career. Not through luck, but through hard work, grit and determination.

There are a lot of adventurers out there who make the lifestyle look glamourous and unachievable. Al doesn’t shy away from sharing the ups and downs of a career as an adventurer and the challenges he’s met along the way. Al generously shares all that he knows about making a career in adventure sustainable and achievable with anyone who wants to make the leap for themselves.

He’s committed to helping others to live adventurously every day, despite their circumstances and brings such enthusiasm and good humour to everything he does. We always look to Al when we’re in need of a bit of inspiration and demonstration that doing something different really is possible.