Running Industry Alliance (RIA) team member Dan Keeley will take on his latest challenge ‘Home to Rome’ at the end of this month.
Starting on Saturday, April 29th, 2023, ultra-runner and mental health advocate Dan Keeley will set 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.’
Keeley’s mental health journey includes underlying childhood trauma, which wasn’t known to him until his early 20s. He suffered 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 six months of debilitating depression which left him wanting to take his life.
Home to Rome – a decade on from a defining chapter in the ultra runner’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. 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 title sponsor, and whilst Rome to Home was solo and self-supported in 2017, Keeley’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.
The 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, Keeley crosses the spine of Italy to the eastern coastline before continuing on through Siena in Tuscany then onwards to Rome.
Dan is aiming to complete the 1,100-miles in 35 days on June 2nd 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 three years we’ve all experienced together.”
Keeley is part of the Membership Team at RIA, with his connection to the running industry spring-boarded after his 1250-mile solo running adventure from the Colosseum in Rome back to the London Eye in 2017.
RIA Co-Leads Rebecca Richardson and Jonathan Midwood said “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.”
The Running Industry Alliance (RIA) is an independent national trade organisation built for the UK & Ireland running industry. It aims to collectively help its members to drive the running industry forward to improve the sport and business of running.
www.hometorome.run
www.runningindustryalliance.com
