'Great British run' sees Bognor Regis man running an ultra marathon a day for charity

Robert Dunlop, a personal trainer from Bognor Regis, and Matt Goodman, a train operator from London, might describe themselves as 'ordinary, run of the mill guys' but they've embarked on a truly extraordinary challenge.

Just over two weeks ago, they set off on an epic, island-spanning run across the UK, covering 650 miles over three weeks- which works out to an ultra marathon a day. Now over half-way through, it's the thought of helping others that keeps them going.

The pair are running for mental health charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which offers a 'free and confidential' mental health helpline everyday from 5pm to midnight, and said their efforts have been inspired by the challenges of the last 18 months.

"Me and Matt wanted to do something that could help support the charity," Mr Dunlop, 30, said, "and we came up with this mad idea of running the UK. Everyone had a really tough time (last year) and we wanted to help give people that chance to talk. Hopefully we can get people to donate and make a difference."

Starting out in Edinburgh, the pair headed down to Belfast and made their way to Dublin, before crossing back into Cardiff. They are due to finish their run outside Buckingham Palace, London, later this month.

They've dubbed their challenge 'The Great British Run' and, with no prior endurance running experience, both men had to train for well over a year to get fit and strong enough to run well over 30 miles a day.

"It doesn't make it easy," Mr Dunlop said, laughing. "You feel like you reach a new ceiling every day."

To find out more about the run and donate, click here.