Twenty men run from Skagen to Copenhagen for mental health

Twenty men from Copenhagen-based training group 5th Element are running nearly 500 kilometres from Skagen to Copenhagen without stopping to raise money for Psykiatrifonden, DR reports.

The challenge will last three days. The runners are divided into four teams of five, taking turns to run five-kilometre sections. As one runner finishes, the next prepares and sets off immediately.

“It is a physically and mentally demanding challenge, and that is exactly what we like about it,” said Benjamin Sandholdt Jensen, who organised the event.

The group is raising money for Psykiatrifonden because all of the runners have experienced mental health challenges closely in their lives. The event is also intended to raise awareness of mental health.

Each team has a driver, and every five-kilometre section is marked on a map so the participants can keep track of one another. Their diet consists mainly of protein shakes, electrolyte drinks and protein water, although they also stopped at McDonald’s on Friday to replenish their energy.

By Saturday afternoon, all four teams had reached Funen, putting them halfway to Copenhagen’s City Hall Square. The runners are trying to maintain morale with jokes and an internal competition over who completes their distance best.

“We make fun of each other a lot. That is how we keep up our motivation,” Sandholdt Jensen said.

The group has so far raised 15,000 kroner, half of its target of 30,000 kroner. The runners expect to reach City Hall Square on Sunday afternoon.