Students take to streets in 24-hour relay

Students from The University of Manchester are putting their hearts and soles into a 24-hour relay run for a homelessness charity.

The event will take place from midday on 17 November to the same time the next day with students and staff completing 5km loops into the city from the Student Union building on Oxford Road.

Virtual runners will also be able upload their times to the event website if they can’t make it to Manchester.

Organised by the student Run Wild Society, they will be running to raise funds for “A Bed Every Night", a scheme supported by the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity.

To donate, visit the Just Giving page. There will also be a Facebook event and you can join in the fun by clicking here.

In its third year, the organisers hope to better the £3000 raised in 2020’s virtual event during the Lockdown.

More details are available on the Run Society website and anyone who wants to donate can visit the Society’s Just Giving page.

Anyone of any ability is invited to join the event in which the organisers are targeting a distance of 1,407 km - the distance to Land’s End to John O’ Groats

But they’ll have to pull out all the stops if they are to beat last year’s virtual event- in which runners logged a massive 2,700Km.

James Bannister is a fourth year physics student and President of the Run Wild Society.

He said: “We were delighted with the response to last year’s virtual event in the depths of Lockdown, but it’s always great to be part of the event in person.

“And we want to make it as inclusive as possible, because running is for pretty much anyone so it’s not a race.

“Of course participants can run for as long as they like, but some people new to running may out in an enormous effort to run 5k which could be seen as a greater achievement.

“There’ll also be a couple of walking waves, so whatever your ability, please do come and join us!”

A Bed Every night provides a bed, warm welcome, and personal support for anyone who is sleeping rough or at imminent risk of sleeping rough in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raises vital funds to support the front line as well as invest in homeless prevention projects and counts Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester as its patron.