GETLOST WITH: ALEX JAMES

Written By Getlostmcr

XS Manchester’s Alex James shares his favourite ways of “getting lost”…

You may best know Alex James for brightening up your morning on XS Manchester’s breakfast show… and now he’s here to brighten up your downtime as he shares his favourite ways of “getting lost” with us.

Alex is a resident Manc, radio presenter and broadcaster, voiceover, public speaking coach… and soon-to-be celebrant!

He can also add “all round good egg” to the mix as he recently ran the Manchester Marathon to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society, and isn’t planning on putting his fundraising efforts to a halt just yet.

Between his upcoming races and morning duties on XS Manchester, we caught up with the Manc-based legend to uncover his favourite places to recharge across the city and beyond.



Hey Alex! What are your favourite ways of getting lost?

I made a decision earlier this year, alongside running and gymming, to try and focus on the stuff we’re being constantly told is good for our heads and help escape everything that’s going on in the world.  

More walking was my first move, making sure that if a Saturday or Sunday was free to get up and get out. I’m lucky where I live that I can quickly get on to the River Mersey and get in 10,000 steps pretty easily, but just travelling a bit further you can get some more challenging walks on board with the hills in the Peaks to get some proper peace and perspective – mostly when the weather is good!  

I’ve always enjoyed reading, too. At the start of the pandemic I set myself a challenge of finishing at least one book a month — it’s amazing how quickly you get through so many more. I joined the local library this year which was probably the most obvious revelation of life that you can get anything you fancy without spending a penny, and books are great to share with friends and family if you find ones you enjoy. A bit like keeping track of miles run or steps taken, if you keep a little list of what you’ve read, it’s satisfying to see the list grow.  

It goes without saying, music is super important to me. Being able to get up every morning and spend four hours playing tunes to start people’s day on XS Manchester is a huge honour — you never forget how much of a difference the right music can make in setting you up for the day. I've also been able to massively regress back to my inner emo this year with being able to play ace new music from Paramore and Fall Out Boy.  

Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to try out new ways of “getting in the zone”?

If you’re looking for ideas on where to explore and go walking or running – apps and Instagram accounts are brilliant. It goes without saying that Getlostmcr’s content is great and I've used it loads to find new places I’d not realised were so close to me.  

I like using the Komoot app for picking up routes and trails that people have tried and tested previously so you don’t have to spend too long planning and their mapping tools are some of the best I’ve used. I tend to be a bit of a solo walker and runner but if you have a look online there are loads of lovely groups of people doing amazing things to help motivate people in a really positive way. 

Above all, though, I reckon the best thing you can do is to do what you enjoy as much as you can. Maybe keep a little journal of where you’ve been, what you’ve done, how it made you feel and then when you look back on it, you’ll feel a sense of achievement. It can also prompt you to re-visit the moments that made you feel good.  

This works for so many things — listening to albums, trips away finishing books, watching films, meals you’ve cooked or things you’ve baked. Get some designated photo albums on your phone set-up, take lots of pics and store all the great things you’ve done so you can see what you’ve done and experienced.  

Where are your favourite places to visit in the North West?

So far this year I’ve been trying to explore some places I haven’t visited before and really enjoyed a hike around Ladybower and Bamford Edge – I got lucky with weather and the views were amazing. There are some great accessible routes you can take if you park up at Lyme Park and you’ll get some awesome views of Manchester.  

Bamford Edge, Hope Valley, Derbyshire — @thisisalexjames

It's a popular one but if you get the train to Edale you can do a great walk over the edge of Mam Tor, down to Castleton for some food and beer, then loop along to Hope and then get the train back into Manchester really easily.  

Up in The Lakes, Keswick is one of my all-time favourite places to go at any time of year. My family used to go lots when I was a kid and more recently a friend of mine has been lucky enough to take over The Lingholm Estate where some friends have been able to get married. If you can base yourself there, it feels like a proper escape from the world and you can easily walk round Derwentwater and then take your pick of the many pubs in Keswick. 

Derwent Water, Keswick, Cumbria — @thisisalexjames

 

Congratulations on your recent Manchester Marathon! Could you tell us a little about your fundraising efforts? 

I ran my first Manchester Marathon in 2019, raising money for Alzheimer’s Society, when my Grandma was in a nursing home with Dementia. She passed away just before the pandemic and even though I continued to fundraise and completed the distance in 2020 I wanted to commit to pushing myself and raise more money this year. 

I’d originally planned to run the Paris Marathon as well as Manchester but wasn’t able to make it to Paris so decided to split up the distances and attempt a different event each month. The Wilmslow Half in March was my first ever official half distance event, followed by the Manchester Marathon and then the GM Run Half in May. 

It’ll be great to take on the half in May as it’ll be 20 years since I ran the first ever GM Run 10k back in 2003.  

Alzheimers and Dementia take an awful toll on patients and their families and even though amazing progress is being made with potential treatments, the incredible work of charities such as Alzhiemers Society needs as much support and attention as possible. The amount of support that I have received has been more than I ever imagined with loads of XS Manchester listeners coming forward to sponsor me and also share their stories of how their families have been impacted too – that kind of generosity is very Mancunian and has kept me going when out running.   

Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to get into running? 

I was never very good at most of the typical school sports when I was younger so I found that running was the best way for me to be active. It also helped that my Mum and Dad were also into running. If you’re just getting started there are so many great apps and tracking methods available now that it’s really easy to see how you’re progressing, the miles you’re building up and when you see those kind of stats visually it give you a great boost.  

Always try and stay on top of your stretching and flexibility. This year I’ve made a conscious effort to bring back more weight days into my training and tried to include plenty of yoga too. I’m still trying to overcome the fear of cold-water as a therapy to aid recovery but plenty of things I've read say it works wonders.  

It’s an obvious thing to say but the best part about running is that it's free and any distance covered is feels like an achievement.  

What are you working on at the moment? 

Getting up early to play the tunes and wake up Manchester on XS Manchester Breakfast. I've also almost completed my training to become a fully-fledged Celebrant – which you have to say twice when you tell people. So if you’re getting married anytime soon or have any kind of celebration on the cards, it means I’ll be officially endorsed to host and deliver the ceremony for you.

You can DM me for any info – Twitter and Instagram @thisisalexjames. 😊 

Enjoyed getting lost with Alex James? Follow his adventures on social, and check out his fundraising page for Alzheimer’s Society, here.

Getlostmcr https://getlostmcr.co.uk
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