Forever Ambassador climbs highest mountain in Europe

Marcus Leach, one of Forever’s global ambassadors, has just returned from Russia after successfully reaching the summit of Mount Elbrus. We caught up with Marcus to ask him how he prepares for such enormous challenges and what advice he would give to others.

How do you prepare yourself physically for such a big challenge?

I get up at 5am every morning and cycle for two hours in my garden shed! It might sound strange, but it has been converted to accommodate a state-of–the-art bike which is linked up to high-tech videos featuring extreme mountain biking in some of the most incredible mountain ranges all over the world. The gradient of my bike changes with the gradient of the cyclists in the videos so it really brings the experience to life. Whilst doing my morning training, I also listen to personal development audio books which feature all sorts of mind-set techniques such as goal-setting and motivational speeches which really help to push and inspire me.

What products did you use before, during and after your expedition?

I am a huge advocate of ARGI+ and drank it during all of my pre-training and during the climb itself. ARGI+ helps me to perform at my optimum level and reduces feelings of fatigue so I can be physically active for longer periods of time. I also drank Forever Freedom every morning in preparation for the climb, and took Arctic Sea, Forever Daily and Forever Active Probiotics.

During the ascent to the summit, I continued to drink ARGI+, and ate Forever Fast Break bars. There were times when I had to walk through the night from 11pm until 8am in the morning which was exhausting! The conditions on the trip were fairly unsanitary with no fresh running water, so I was continually applying the Forever Hand Sanitizer and due to the harsh elements, I applied the Forever Sun Lips liberally each day all over my face.

Once the expedition was complete, I used the Forever Aloe Scrub to remove all the dry skin on my face that had occurred as a result of the harsh Russian elements, along with the Aloe Moisturising Lotion and Aloe Lips.

What advice would you give others who are about to embark on an important challenge?

First and foremost, believe in your own ability and understand that there will be ups and downs along the way with any big challenge, but learn to embrace them rather than avoid them.

Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve and learn the power of visualisation – picture yourself achieving what you want to achieve before you actually do, to help your subconscious to realise it will become a reality.

Break down any challenge into smaller sections. A mountain climb is a good analogy for this point – for example, to begin with you should only focus on getting from base camp to the first checkpoint as this will help to build your confidence as you achieve each small step in order to achieve your main goal of reaching the summit.

Marcus will soon be releasing his latest blog entry about his journey to the top of Elbrus, which will detail the highlights of the climb along with some of the more gruelling parts of the expedition and how he managed to overcome adversity in order to complete his challenge. Watch this space and congratulations Marcus!