A TRIO of friends are taking on a gruelling challenge for a crisis support charity.

Callum Davies, 25, from Wrexham, will be joined by Richard Austin and Finn Gibbens as they attempt to run a 46-mile ultramarathon across Wales, from the England/Wales border in Shropshire to Aberystwyth on the west coast.

The trio are aiming to raise money for the CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which provides important support and services for anyone who is struggling or in crisis, setting a fundraising target of £1,500.

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Callum said: "The three of us have run a number of races in the past, however after seeing a number of high-profile ultramarathon feats taking place across social media recently, we wanted to give our own challenge a go.

"I took up running during lockdown, and found it to have a huge positive impact on my mental health. We'd love to use this challenge as a platform to support CALM, and show others how transformative running or just spending time outdoors, can be for your mental health."

The runners have been working hard since the beginning of the year to prepare for the challenge. They currently run between 35 to 40 miles a week, made up of various different hill intervals, easy runs and long weekend runs.

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This number will rise to 50 miles plus over the next few weeks, as they enter the most intense stage of training before we start to reduce mileage in the couple of weeks before the challenge.

It's not just the physical effort involved, and Callum added: "There are many potential concerns at this stage. The weather has been so unpredictable this year, so we're really left guessing as to what May will offer. We're keeping our fingers crossed for dry weather, however Wales can be beautifully brutal all year round.

"The route is also a mix of remote trails and busy roads, which creates plenty of challenges, so we're planning some reccy visits to stretches of the route in the weeks beforehand to make sure we're as prepared as possible.

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"We've got a small support team which will be meeting us four or five times throughout the run, topping up our food and water supplies, as well as carrying spare clothes, extra first aid and so on. Something like this wouldn't be possible at all without the help we're receiving from families and friends.

"None of us have ever run a full marathon before, so we thought setting ourselves a challenge like this would give us something to remember while also raising a good amount of money for what is a great charity."

The run starts on Saturday, May 25 from the village of Anchor, running across Wales from east to west in an almost straight line. It will include the same elevation as one-and-a-half Yr Wyddfa (more than 1700 metres).

• If you would like to support Callum Richard and Finn, you can visit their JustGiving page at: tinyurl.com/2avnuy2c

For support or more information about CALM, visit: thecalmzone.net