BEFORE Chris Burchell, Leon Roberts and Chris Eagle ventured to the Peak District for the start of their endurance challenge, they had already raised £3,500.

The three childhood friends from Colchester had jumped feet first into the challenge of completing seven marathons in seven consecutive days.

Their chosen charities, Cancer Research UK, St Helena Hospice and Mind UK, represented something special to each of them; family members and friends who they had lost, or those they knew were impacted by mental health issues.

Mr Roberts, 30, who has worked with vulnerable adults in the community for four years, said: “All of us were just trying to do a selfless act.

“Because myself and Chris Eagle work within the mental health sector, we know people’s knowledge of mental health is still quite low in comparison to other physical illnesses.

“People don’t have the confidence to say they’re having trouble, but we understand, so we wanted to highlight there are charities with phone lines to call and you shouldn’t have to feel afraid to say you’re feeling down.

“We’ve all lost many people to cancer, some more recently than others, and we just need to get on top of it and try to find a cure.

“Although we’re not going to see the end of it soon, people are still going to need help and St Helena do such a great job. A lot of our family members who were suffering in their last days have stayed at the hospice.”

So far, the group are just hundreds of pounds from reaching their new goal of £7,000 - £1,000 to mark each day of the trial.

Despite not being natural runners, Mr Roberts said they went along with Chris Burchell’s plan anyway.

After completing a 24-hour charity run last year, the 30-year-old had wanted to up the ante and set the boys a personal challenge to cover 200-miles before arriving back at Colchester’s Castle Park.

It was slightly more than the 183.5-miles of a seven-day marathon, but their drive saw them through.

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He said: “There was no defining moment and none of us really enjoy running, but it was a necessity to raise the money.

“I knew the more difficult the challenge was, the better chance we had of doing that.

“When I set the target of £5,000, the other two were a bit dubious, but the support has been overwhelming and what we’ve achieved so far has made it all worthwhile.

“And it’s phenomenal to think of how much people we’ve reached and have been inspired to take on a challenge themselves, so hopefully it continues and has a ripple effect.”

Day one running was blighted by muscle cramps, which soon turned into knee injuries and severe blisters larger than a £2 coin.

The boys plotted the next morning’s route over dinner in budget hotels, where they sometimes missed out on vital ice baths and so recovered badly.

They rested their sore legs in the car among suitcases and water packs after more than seven hours walking, jogging and surviving.

Mr Roberts said: “On the last day we were out for 9.5 hours and although the adrenaline was pumping, none of us had the energy to run home, we just had to waddle – we were broken.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to run every single day, it was just a case of covering the marathon distance and it got to the point where we could just about walk.

“One night I had to sleep on the floor and had the worst dream, which ended up being a nightmare.

“I’d dreamt it was all over and then woke up in the middle of the night for the toilet and couldn’t get up I was so stiff.

“Then I realised we weren’t finished, we were just halfway done, it was horrible.

“That was when I thought, I don’t want to do this anymore.”

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But during the dark times, the three bonded together by reminiscing over lighter moments at Sir Charles Lucas School, now Colchester Academy, where they studied.

“It’s credit to our friendship,” Mr Roberts said.

“We all apologised to one another before we even set out because we thought they’d be a lot of arguments, but when one of us was low, the other two stepped up and the jokes followed.

“It just shows how much we supported and cared for each other because we weren’t going to let the other fail.

He added: “Also there were a lot of messages which came through to us and personal stories from people who are battling cancer or mental health.

“If we wanted to stop, no-one would’ve blamed us, but people who are sitting there having to deal with these diseases and issues can’t say they don’t want to be sick anymore, so that kept us going.”

The online fundraising page will remain open for a further three months and afterwards the donations will be split equally.

Between now and then, the group plan to do a second bucket collection, at Tesco, in Highwoods.

Chris Burchell hopes to plan another challenge even bigger and better than the last, while Leon is cycling the London to Paris bike ride next year.

To donate, visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Donate7in7.