About us
Helping people achieve extraordinary things in extraordinary places.
About BecomingX
World’s Highest Marathon is organised by BecomingX - a company founded to help people and organisations achieve extraordinary things. Alongside our work with ambitious corporates, we have a proven track record of delivering showcase world-first challenges in extreme environments - including the World’s Deepest Marathon, held 1,120 metres below sea level in a mine in Sweden, and the first World’s Highest Marathon in Chile. It was on Ojos del Salado in February 2026 where we set two Guinness World Record’s - ‘highest marathon’ and ‘highest marathon distance run’ - which is set at 4,340 metres. Across these events, 60 people have become world record holders, supported by expert teams, meticulous planning, and world-class logistics.
Beyond expedition events, BecomingX works with some of the world’s highest performing companies and people - including Olympic gold medallists, global leaders and elite athletes - to help individuals and organisations understand what it truly takes to realise extraordinary outcomes.
Our expert partners
The World’s Highest Marathon is delivered in partnership with Adventure Alternative, an award-winning responsible tourism company and global expedition specialist. Founded by elite mountaineer Gavin Bate, Adventure Alternative has been organising challenging expeditions and treks around the world for decades, with extensive experience operating in remote and high-altitude environments.
Their commitment to responsible tourism has earned international recognition, including multiple World Responsible Tourism Awards, reflecting a long-standing focus on safety, sustainability, and supporting local communities.
BecomingX has partnered with Adventure Alternative on numerous expeditions in the past, combining our shared experience in extreme environments to deliver safe, professionally managed adventures in some of the most demanding locations on Earth.
Safety and expertise
Safety sits at the centre of every expedition and event we deliver. We operate with meticulous risk management, detailed planning, and highly trained staff experienced in remote and high-altitude environments.
Contingency and redundancy are built into every element - from route planning and logistics to communications and medical support. Participants are supported with structured preparation and training throughout the journey, helping them build the skills and confidence needed to operate safely in this environment.
Our teams use modern expedition technology, including GPS tracking systems, radios, and satellite communications such as Starlink, ensuring reliable communication and real-time oversight across the group. A dedicated expedition doctor accompanies the team throughout, supported by trained staff and clear emergency protocols.
Expedition leaders
Paul Gurney
BecomingX CEO
Paul is the Founder and CEO of BecomingX, a company established to help people and organisations achieve extraordinary things. Through his work, he has partnered with some of the world’s most inspiring and accomplished individuals - including Presidents, Olympic Gold Medallists, CEOs, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Oscar-winning actors and astronauts - to understand what it really takes to succeed at the highest levels, and to help people and companies develop the capabilities to do the same.
Paul holds four world records, including organising and completing the deepest and highest marathons in history. He has travelled to more than 150 countries and territories and completed numerous endurance challenges, including racing to the Magnetic North Pole, finishing the Marathon des Sables, and climbing three of the Seven Summits - including Kilimanjaro five times. Along the way, he has helped raise over $5 million for charitable causes. He combines real-world expedition experience with deep expertise in human performance - helping others push beyond what they once believed possible.
Gavin Bate
Founder Adventure Alternative
Gavin Bate is the Founder and CEO of Adventure Alternative, an award-winning responsible tourism company that has been leading expeditions around the world for more than three decades. Since establishing the company in 1991, he has built a reputation for delivering challenging expeditions in remote environments, while creating a business model that supports sustainable development and charitable projects in the regions where the company operates.
Gavin is an experienced mountaineer and expedition leader who has climbed Mount Everest multiple times and led expeditions across some of the world’s most demanding environments. His early adventures included a six-month solo trek across the Sahara Desert at the age of twenty-one — an experience that set the direction for a lifetime of exploration and leadership. Alongside his expedition work, he founded the Moving Mountains Trust, a charity that supports communities in Kenya, Nepal and beyond through education and long-term development projects.
Today, Gavin continues to lead expeditions and train teams around the world, combining decades of hands-on leadership with deep expertise in safety, logistics and responsible travel. His qualifications include International Mountain Leader (BAIML), First Aid Trainer (FATC), Mental Health First Aid Trainer and Outdoor Safety Management.
Social impact
Our founding mission is to help people and organisations to achieve extraordinary things. We know that to achieve our goal, and to change the narrative of ‘success’, we need to be different. We have to be an organisation with conscience. With humanity. With purpose. We want to help everyone, not just those that can afford it, which requires a different way of thinking. We’re proud to call ourselves a B Corporation – a company certified to meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact. We are the highest scoring education B Corporation in the UK and the third highest in the world. As part of our commitment to social and environmental impact, we offset all emissions from our events by 200%, including World's Highest Marathon.
