About us
In 2019, a group of students from the University of Manchester launched The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness. Born from a desire to make a difference in a city they loved, the unique relay event saw participants completing 5km laps through the city for 24 hours to raise money for The Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity.
Fast forward six years, and the annual event just keeps growing. Bringing together runners and walkers from across the country, everyone involved shares the same goal: ending homelessness. Expanding across five cities, and raising money for five local charities, we are incredibly proud to have raised a cumulative total of £109,703.77 - funding 3000 warm beds, meals, and full wrap-around support for those who really needed it.
2019
Members of the University of Manchester student running club, Run Wild MCR, organised and hosted the first event at the University of Manchester's Students' Union.
Not knowing what to expect, we set an initial fundraising target of £500, and hoped we'd have enough participants to carry on through the night. When the first two laps were completed by just one runner, we began to worry a little. 314 runners and £2826.84 later, our worries were long gone.
2020
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a change of plans, and we hosted the event virtually. Run leaders from Run Wild MCR kept a continuous relay going in Manchester, while participants were able to log their own runs online from all over the world. An incredible distance of 2721km was run by 226 participants, and we raised a total of £4270.
2021
In 2021 we were excited to be back running as a group, and we returned to our mass relay format. For the first time, we organised four walking waves to welcome walkers alongside runners. We beat our fundraising target again and were proud to raise £5079 for The Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity.
2022
A new city centre venue, a visit from the Mayor, and a huge effort from volunteers and participants helped us to raise £10,824.50 in 2022! The number of supporters blew us away, and we raised almost as much as our first three events combined. By 2022, the core volunteer time had graduated from university, but many have made Manchester their permanent home and didn't want to stop making a difference.
2023
2023 was the year we truly saw the Manchester running community come together and unite behind the same goal. An incredible number of running clubs, groups, and individuals from across Manchester (and beyond) joined us to run and walk laps throughout the 24 hours. We raised an astounding £26,435.49 - funding 881 beds and more than doubling the overall total raised, in a single year.
2024
In 2024, The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness just kept growing. Our team expanded and we hosted a new event in Birmingham, which shared the same aim of supporting local organisations that help people experiencing homelessness.
Our Manchester event welcomed over 70 running clubs and organisations, with over 1000 runners and walkers completing laps, supported by 68 amazing volunteers. We're proud to have reached a cumulative total of over £100,000 raised.
2025
This year we’re preparing to do even more. The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness is coming to Leeds, Sheffield, and Hereford for the first time, as well as returning to Manchester and Birmingham to welcome an even bigger community of runners.
How does it work?
Each event is a mass participation relay that continues for a full 24 hours. The relay consists of repeated 5km laps which will be led by our run leaders, who will maintain a comfortable pace that keeps everyone together for a social run. Participants can take part in as many, or as few, laps as they would like. We aim to have a relay group set off around every 30 minutes - however, this will vary due to groups running at different paces.
Taking part is simple - just turn up to the venue anytime during the event and join in with the next lap.
Who do we raise money for?
In each of our host cities, we support local organisations that work to provide a bed and vital personal support for people facing a night on the streets.
In Manchester, we have been partnered with the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity since 2019, raising money for their "A Bed Every Night" scheme. The Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity has supported over 4000 individuals and 165 organisations since 2019. They have funded 70,000 nights of accommodation through the "A Bed Every Night" scheme, and awarded over £3m in grants to local causes.
In Birmingham, we have partnered with St Basils Charity and SIFA Fireside, both of whom do incredible work in supporting people who are experiencing homelessness in the local area.
Want to get more involved?
We would love for you to get involved in one of our events, whether that's as an individual runner, walker, running club, or business. If you're interested in setting up a new event in a new city, please get in touch via the Contact Us page.