Alexandra Panayotou

Ultra endurance athlete, motivational and inspirational corporate speaker Alexandra Panayotou ran 2010 km in 31 days and is enjoying the success of her first book, The Smile of Endurance. A personal and professional motivational coach, Alex's mantra is to approach life with a positive attitude.

Having achieved all 13 challenges that she set herself, Alex displays not only outstanding physical stamina but also dedication, and extreme mental strength. Alex completed her last extreme solo challenge in 2014 - 400km non-stop for the Running 4 Her challenge - a breakthrough educational project and charity event. This challenge was the subject of a TV documentary.

Born in Ireland, and raised in Greece, Ireland and Spain, Alexandra was a late starter when it came to running. She started at the age of 30 and never looked back – this is why Alexandra maintains that it is never too late to start doing what you love.

She began by running marathons, which then evolved into ultra-distance running, specializing in solo extreme endurance events. In all her challenges she tests her physical and mental endurance and links each of her solo events with a sporting cause or charity.

Alexandra believes that success isn’t only about reaching goals; it’s about making every step count. When she shouts ¡Kilometrate! She’s not only referring to running kilometres, but more to an attitude to life, a call to continue and to never give up no matter what the odds.

Setting herself a goal of 13 challenges to complete, Alex proved that with the right mindset anyone is capable of extreme mental and physical strength. Setting up a charity sports day in Spain, her country of residence, Alex has been instrumental in taking charity sports events to Spain.

She studied psychology and philosophy, and graduated with an honours degree. Combing her acute understanding of the human mind rooted in her academic background with her own success as an endurance athlete, Alexandra has a keen insight into human processes, which she can draw upon in her speech.

A successful writer, Alex’s books, magazine articles and journals have received critical success, as her stories of her endurance running appeal to the masses. She is an advocate of respecting your body and the environment, she is a vegetarian, loves nature, and faces life’s obstacles with enduring positivity and optimism.

Alexandra runs development workshops and sports camps for sports people, executive management delegates and motivational talks for companies and business schools. Focusing her speech on key take-away philosophies, Alex’s methods are easily applicable to both work and home life. Inspirational and eloquent, Alex is sure to instil a positive attitude in all those who hear her story.