Two members of the mental fitness charity Talk Club, which has a club in Monmouthshire, are planning a mammoth charity trek to raise funds.

The sponsored 177 mile run will take place over seven days next month.

Every day in the UK, millions of men suffer from mental health issues. That‘s why Kelvin Buchanan and Matt Ruse (and friends) are running a million steps in a week, to help every man take their next step to mental fitness.

As part of Talk Club’s annual “Miles for Miles” event, they aim to run a marathon a day for seven days, from the top of Wales to the bottom to raise money and awareness for the Male Mental Fitness Charity Talk Club.

The route follows the Offas Dyke Path, an 8th Century fortification bordering England. And they are asking for 10p sponsorship per step, all 1 million of them.

The goal is to raise £100K, with funds going to increase the number of Talk clubs nationally, provide subsidised counselling for men in need and to ensure organisational sustainability.

Setting off at 8am on Sunda June 13 from Prestatyn, (and ending in Chepstow on Saturday the 19th) Kelvin and Matt will run the 177 mile trail, which works out roughly 330,000 steps each.

Then for each day they will be joined by mates and celebs to run their own marathon.

During the trek they will talk about their own mental fitness and collectively get to a million steps.

Their reason for doing this is to prevent mental ill health - suicide is still the biggest killer of men under 50.

So Talk Club was created to help men become mentally fitter.

Founded in 2019, the grassroots talking movement, Talk Club has now helped thousands of men to look after their mental health better just by creating a safe space so that men can talk openly about their stresses and worries.

“Talk Club is all about numbers. Each session begins with ”How are you? Out of 10?” So to highlight that we thought what was a nice big number we can aim for? A million seemed good. Hard, but good.” says Kelvin.

“When it comes to my mental health, running has helped me so much.

If I’ve had a bad day or I’m feeling down I‘ve always used running to get me out of the darkness.” says Matt.

“I’ve used exercise as part of my mental fitness routine but when I couldn‘t exercise through an injury, talking, actually with Kelvin, helped me get through some dark times,” says Talk Club co-founder Blue O’Connor.

If you would like to sponsor Kelvin and Matt‘s epic Journey for 10p a step at https://www.wetalkclub.com/fundraising

Follow them on Instagram: @7Days1MillionSteps

Matt on TikTok: @Rusey_reels Instagram: @runnerrusey

Kelvin on Instagram: @forever_trailing

Kelvin and Matt will be supported daily by sports massage and injury therapist Lana Ashton @PerformEffectiv

Talk Club is a grassroots male mental fitness movement.

Formed in Southville, Bristol, in March 2019 by Neil Harrison, Claire Wilkinson, Ben Akers, Tom Watson, Gavin Thorpe and Blue O’Connor who all believe in the benefit of talking about our worries and preventing mental ill health, through positively promoting mental fitness.

It has now grown into a force for good, with more than 2000 men around the globe regularly opening up about their feelings in 52 groups by answering: How are you? Out of 10? At its simplest form it‘s a safe male talking community. But it has developed into something far bigger and more important than that. It has grown into a symbol of positivity for mental health. Talk Club achieved Charity Status in April 2021 and this is their first big fund- raising event.

*Abergavenny has a Talk Club which meets on Wednesday evenings , to sign up follow their private Facebook page for details.