THREE friends have completed a gruelling challenge to raise awareness and funds for a crisis support charity.

Callum Davies, 25, from Wrexham, along with Richard Austin and Finn Gibbens, undertook an ultramarathon across Wales, from the England/Wales border in Shropshire to Aberystwyth on the west coast.

The trio's aim was to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which provides important support and services for anyone who is struggling or in crisis. They set themselves a target of at least £1,000 but more than tripled it!

Stunning scenery for the gruelling challenge.

Stunning scenery for the gruelling challenge.

The physically demanding run - originally believed to be 46 miles - started on Saturday, May 25, with the friends successfully running across Wales from east to west in an almost straight line.

Callum said: "The three of us set off at 7am and proceeded to run what turned out to be 51 miles, over 14 hours, across the entire width of Wales. The elevation came to over 2,100m, which is equivalent to climbing Eryri from sea level - twice!

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"The run itself was gruelling, with our route taking us through countless boggy fields, overgrown footpaths that hadn't been trodden for years, along narrow verges with large drops and even up to a summit of over 700m.

"It had rained non stop in the week prior, making the terrain tough going, however the day itself was dry and bright, which did a lot for our spirits when things got tough (which they often did across the 14 hours).

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"Our brilliant support team, consisting of partners and friends, met us along the way to provide food, water and all-round support.

"As we rolled into Aberystwyth at just gone 9pm, we were met by a huge group of family, friends and even strangers that had gathered to greet us as we finished the epic challenge draped in our Welsh shirts and flags."

A well earned cool off.

A well earned cool off.

None of the trio had ever run a full marathon before but were keen to support CALM.

They worked hard to prepare, running between 35 to 40 miles a week, made up of various different hill intervals, easy runs and long weekend runs, increasing to 50 miles plus.

Ahead of the challenge, Callum said: "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."

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The friends have since smashed their target. Callum added: "We've actually just ticked over the £3,000 raised mark for CALM, which we are absolutely buzzing about. This total could enable the CALM helpline to answer 256 potentially life-saving calls. We set off with an optimistic target of raising £1,000, so to triple that is unbelievable.

"As a proud Wrexham and Welsh lad, this was probably the proudest day of my life, completing a challenge that we'd all worked so hard for and one that will hopefully make a difference to people in need of CALM's support."

• If you would like to support Callum, Richard and Finn in their efforts, you can donate via their JustGiving page: tinyurl.com/2avnuy2c

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