People from as far away as Russia joined in.
The Lamp 5k Round the World Challenge held earlier this year in May has been recognised with an award.
Off the back of the event, Lamp (Leicestershire Action for Mental Health Project) has won the Community Event of the Year Award 2021. It's been awarded by the Leicestershire Community Champions Awards.
The awards ceremony took place on November 18 at the Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Richard Kotulecki, Lamp’s CEO received the award on behalf of the charity. He said: "Huge thanks are due to many people both inside and outside the charity.
“While the award highlights the Lamp 5K initiative, it also recognises the other work that Lamp does - work that makes a huge difference to the people in our community.
"It was an honour to be a finalist in two categories and to win one of those is tremendous.”
The award recognises how Lamp's event brought the community in a creative way and raising collective spirits.
The Round the World Challenge was held during Mental Health Awareness Week May 10-16. Lamp challenged people to ‘go around the world’ by walking, running, cycling, skating or swimming 5km.
The initiative was a resounding success which saw thousands of people locally, nationally and internationally taking part.
In addition, around 1,500 people joined the dedicated Strava running group from all over the world, as far away as Russia, Vietnam and India.
The aim was to cover enough distance to travel around the world once and this was not only achieved, but doubled by the end of the week.
The Lamp 5k campaign was set up to raise awareness of mental health and the benefits of physical exercise to improve mental wellbeing.
During Covid, it was essential to encourage people to get outdoors and exercise as it relieves tension and stress, boosts physical and mental energy and enhances well-being through the release of endorphins. The campaign provided that extra motivation.
The Leicestershire Community Champions Awards is an annual event which celebrates the endeavours of Leicestershire individuals and organisations who continually go above and beyond to help and improve the lives of those in need.
Written by Kerry Smith.
Kerry is editor of Cross Production's Niche Magazine in Leicester and has a degree in film and journalism. She writes about business news, entertainment, and local people.
