A socially distanced day-long relay race in Edinburgh has raised thousands for charity

Edinburgh University students have raised thousands of pounds for local mental health services through a 24-hour virtual relay race.

Geography student Emily Stammers was delighted to finish her one hour run in a good time.

The endurance run saw 31 members of the university’s Geography Society run in one-hour time slots throughout the night to raise cash for Edinburgh based charity Health in Mind.

To ensure social distance rules were adhered to, participants passed a virtual batten onto the next runner without meeting in person.

Each runner selected a different time slot between 6pm and 6am and completed their one hour run.

Run organiser Sophie Penman hopes the run will raise awareness of the mental health support available in Edinburgh.

After finishing their leg of the race they would press send an electronic notification to the next team mate telling them to start their run.

While most runners completed their run in Edinburgh some runners took part from other parts of the country and one runner completed his leg from Holland

Participants have trained hard throughout summer for the challenge with the fastest runner clocking an impressive 15km in one hour.

In total the team ran 325.8km in 24 hours, equivalent to the distance between Edinburgh and Manchester.

Geography student Isobel Ely is raring to go at the start of her one-hour evening run.

University student Sophie Penman was part of the organising committee for the race and said the team is delighted to have been able to raise cash for Health in Mind.

The geography student added that the society intends to continue supporting the charity as much as possible throughout Covid-19 as they are aware of how important the resources offered at this time are.

Last year Health in Mind helped 2600 people in the Capital struggling with their mental health through a variety of one-to-one counselling and support groups and this number is thought to have risen sharply through the pandemic.

Miss Penman said: “Whilst the relay is over, the conversation about mental health is not. We are living in very uncertain times and now it is more important than ever to look out for those around you and look after yourself.

Elena Henning feels flat out after finishing her one-hour run for charity.

“By continuing to support and fundraise for Health in Mind, the Edinburgh University Geographical Society hopes to keep raising awareness of mental health issues and encourage others to get involved and do the same.”

The geography student added that the charity’s resources are particularly important for university attendees many of whom have seen their mental health impacted negatively by Covid-19.

Communications Manager at Health in Mind, Alana Genge has thanked the students and staff for their hard work fundraising.

She said: “'It's an amazing achievement. We want to say a huge congratulations and thank you to the students at Edinburgh University for choosing to support Health in Mind.

“The students have been able to raise vital funds and awareness for mental health during this challenging time and have shown real commitment and energy to the cause. Looking after our mental health is always important but with Covid-19 that has never been truer. They are our Health in Mind Heroes!

“At Health in Mind we continue to support people in a flexible way. Please contact us if you would like to talk to someone about support.

To get in touch with Health and Mind visit their website or call 0131 225 8508.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to the Edinburgh Evening News online and enjoy unlimited access to trusted, fact-checked news and sport from Edinburgh and the Lothians. Visit https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director