Running Industry Alliance Team Member Dan Keeley will take on his latest challenge “Home to Rome” this month.

Starting Saturday 29^th April 2023, Ultra-Runner and Mental Health Advocate Dan Keeley sets off from the London Eye to run 1,100-miles in 35 days to the Colosseum in Rome. Having already run the reverse route in 2017 to celebrate his 5-year journey of recovery with bipolar disorder, ‘Home to Rome’ is set to project a wider social message around the power of putting yourself and your mental-wellbeing first when you need to.

Dan’s mental health journey includes underlying childhood trauma which wasn’t known to him until his early 20’s; a full-scale psychotic episode in the summer of 2012 which culminated with him ‘preaching’ from the central lane of a motorway in northern Italy; time in psychiatric wards; his diagnoses of bipolar disorder; followed by 6 months of debilitating depression which left him wanting to take his life.

Dan’s journey back to a healthy and stable frame of mind took 5 years, during which he received excellent support from the NHS coupled with an extensive amount of love, patience and compassion from those closest to him.

Home to Rome – a decade on from that defining chapter in Dan’s life – is a celebration of living intentionally, remembering what really matters most, and ultimately putting yourself first when you need to, a heartfelt message which Dan delivers regularly to audiences across the UK.

Home to Rome is in support of CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) with a minimum fundraising target of £20,000 to support their life-saving work, united against suicide across the UK. Every £8 raised will fund a potentially life-saving call or response via the CALM helpline or webchat service.

Home to Rome is powered by Swift as the title sponsor, and whilst Rome to Home was solo and self-supported in 2017, Dan’s wife and two young children will be joining him for the adventure this time in their branded Swift Voyager 584.

RIA Members supporting Dan on his journey include Mountain Fuel , Salomon and 2XU .

Dan’s route runs from the London Eye to Greenwich Park before continuing to Rochester, Canterbury and the English Channel at Folkstone. From Calais, it’s a straight line to Lake Geneva, Montreaux and Martigny in Switzerland before climbing up and over the Great St Bernard Pass and dropping down to the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps. From Ivrea onwards, Dan crosses the spine of Italy to the eastern coastline before continuing on through Siena in Tuscany then onwards to Rome.

Dan’s aiming to complete the 1,100-miles in 35 days on Friday 2^nd June at the Colosseum in Rome, averaging between 32 and 35 miles per day.

Dan Keeley said: “Home to Rome is another dream come true. With the memories from Rome to Home still fresh in my mind, and given where I was 10 years ago when I simply didn’t want to be here anymore, to be setting off with my family on this life-affirming adventure is something I’m not taking for granted for a second. Given the momentum that’s building for Home to Rome, I can feel that the ‘putting yourself first’ message is already resonating with a lot of people out there, particularly on the back of the past 3 years we’ve all experienced together.”

Co-Leads Rebecca Richardson and Jonathan Midwood from RIA commented: “We are proud of Dan and we wish him all the best for his upcoming challenge! Dan is a huge inspiration to many and an amazing Mental Health Advocate, and we will all be following his journey from Home to Rome closely and supporting from afar. Living intentionally and remembering what matters the most is something we all need to be mindful of, and it’s great that Dan can share his latest running adventure with his family. Have a great trip all!”

Dan is part of the Membership Team at RIA, with his connection to the running industry springboarded after his 1250-mile solo running adventure from the Colosseum in Rome back to the London Eye in 2017.

Running Industry Alliance (RIA) is an independent National Trade Organisation built for the UK & Ireland Running Industry with the aim to collectively help its Members to drive the Running Industry forward to improve the Sport and Business of Running.

For further info on Home to Rome, the route map, live tracker and to make a donation go to hometorome.run . You can also follow Dan’s adventure on his social channels including Instagram and Facebook .

Further details about Running Industry Alliance can be found on this website and the LinkedIn company page.