A TEACHER in York will be taking on a 24-hour running challenge outside his own home to raise funds for a mental health charity.

Richard Mann, a teacher at All Saint’s RC School, will be taking on the 24-hour running challenge on his driveway outside his home in Bishopthorpe.

He will be running laps of his driveway, which are 43 metres in length, on Friday April 24.

He will be running from 12pm on the Friday until 12pm the next day.

Richard, who is 40 on Sunday, said: “I’m an active person, I had a few 100-mile runs planned for later in the year but they have all been cancelled.

“So I thought what can I do instead? I came up with the idea earlier this week.

“I am aiming to run 100 miles if I can, which will be 3,750 laps of the drive.

“It gives me something to focus on, to keep me from going crazy.”

Richard is also a football coach with Bishopthorpe White Rose.

Garry Flitcroft, a friend of Richard, said: “This will be amazing effort from Rich.

“But its not suprising, he does things like this all the time.”

All of the funds that Richard raises will be donated to MIND, a mental health charity.

Richard said: “This fantastic cause has given myself and people that I know massive amounts of support over the years.

“MIND will be supporting a lot of people struggling with mental health through the lock down as well.”

He is aiming to raise £400.

Richard will be streaming the 24-hour challenge on Facebook to allow his family and friends to support him from their own homes.

He will be using a lap counter and a GPS watch to track the distance he travels over the 24 hours.

To donate to Richard and support his effort, visit: bit.ly/2wFSQvc

Richard is part of the ‘Thirsty Thursday’ running group, who helped him with the idea.