CHESTER will welcome four exhausted but determined runners this Sunday at the end of a gruelling 150-mile relay.
The Deva Stadium and Chester Racecourse will feature in the final stretch of their journey, which begins at Whitby Lighthouse, North Yorkshire.
Charley Rich, Dan Lloyd, Danny Bennett and Jack Watson, from Manchester-based brand Thinkers Project, are taking on the 'Race to the Walls' challenge for Manchester Mind.
Setting off from Whitby at 1pm on Saturday, June 6, the team aim to complete the entire distance without any breaks or rest stops, targeting an arrival at Chester's Deva Stadium at around 1pm on Sunday, June 7, before completing the final leg to Chester Racecourse to finish and celebrate with family, friends and supporters.
At every moment of the relay, one runner will be on the road, keeping the team moving closer to Chester without pause.
This is not the first time the group has taken on a physical challenge for Manchester Mind.
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In July 2025, co-founders Charley Rich and Dan Lloyd completed the Tough Mudder Infinity Marathon for the charity — a gruelling endurance event that cemented their commitment to the cause.
"The continued work Manchester Mind does is not only vital, but also incredibly close to home for us — both geographically and personally,” said Thinkers Project co-founder, Charley.
“We lost one of our best friends to suicide when he was just 19 years old, so raising funds for a charity that benefits the lives of so many people, families and friend groups, to help prevent them from going through what we did, is hugely important to us."
Dan Lloyd admitted the idea may have started out far more modest: "This challenge is essentially the result of me and Charley being somewhere between extremely ambitious and borderline delusional.
“I guarantee this idea was probably first put forward as something like a half marathon fun run… yet here we are getting ready to run 150 miles across the entire country."
But behind the humour lies a deeply serious message.
The group say they have been struck by how widely mental health struggles affect people they have met during the process of organising the event.
Dan said: “I cannot remember a single person I've spoken to who doesn't have some experience similar to our own.
“Everyone deserves to feel enjoyment in their life and think positively of themselves.
“It's so easy to forget sometimes that mental health and physical health are two sides of the very same coin — both equally as important.”
Manchester Mind provides vital mental health support to over 11,000 people a year across Greater Manchester.
The team's JustGiving page is now live and open for donations.
The team are being supported in their Race to the Walls journey by partners Solace Performance and Vista Insurance Brokers Ltd.
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