Santa may not need his sleigh to get back home from Lancashire this year, as the county’s residents are being encouraged to take part in a virtual fun run that will take them all the way to Lapland — just in time for Christmas.
Christmas is coming early for mental health charity Lancashire Mind, which is opening sign-ups for its annual Mental Elf race this year – but there’s a twist. Lancashire Mind is hosting the race online this year, with the purpose of accumulating enough collective miles to reach all the way from South Lancashire to Santa Claus’s front door – a grand total of 3226km.
This year’s challenge will run from Tuesday 1st December until Saturday 12th December, giving those taking part just under two weeks to walk, run or skip as many miles as possible whilst raising money for Lancashire Mind.
Emma Bateson, Fundraising Manager said: “We’re all really excited about having the Mental Elf event online this year. We’re asking participants to log as many kilometres as possible so that by the end date, we’ll have racked up enough to reach from Lancashire to Lapland!
The great thing about doing it virtually is that anyone in Lancashire can take part at any time, any place – we’re not confined by the weather or by the distance. You can log five kilometres or fifty – it’s completely up to you”
The Christmas spirit will be kept alive as entrants will be encouraged to dress up for the challenge and share their ‘elfies’ with Lancashire Mind, with prizes being given for the best dressed and best picture locations.
Emma continued: “Mental Elf is so much fun to do every year, and I’m sure doing it online will be just as exciting. Christmas can be a stressful time for many people, so by having a collective goal for everyone to achieve, we’re able to bring the people of Lancashire together and give them something fun and positive to focus on after an incredibly challenging year.”
It isn’t just Mental Elf that COVID has affected. Unfortunately, Lancashire Mind has suffered significant loss this year, through both cancelled fundraising events and increased pressure due to the pandemic – meaning the charity needs more people than ever to take part in Mental Elf this year.
Not only will runners receive a Mental Elf welcome pack and a medal and certificate for taking part, but they’ll also have access to a private Facebook group which will include festive-themed warmups, exclusive entertainment from Lancashire musicians, ideas for Christmas-themed activities and games and a score tracker so everyone can see progress in real-time.
If that wasn’t enough, the charity is also bringing their Mental Elf market online – offering independent businesses the opportunity to have their business advertised on Lancashire Mind’s social media and the Mental Elf Facebook group.
If you’d like to take part, visit https://bit.ly/MentalElf2020Tickets – but be quick, as there is a 20% discount available as part of the Eager Elf offer until 20th October 2020. From there on in, sign up cost is £10 per person or £35 for a family of four.
