Keegan Woodhall: Flying the flag from John O’Groats to Land’s End

We would like to share an enormous congratulations and thank you to Keegan Woodhall for completing his mammoth John O’Groats to Land’s End Challenge in aid of better mental health and raising an incredible £4,205.31 for Devon Mind. In August, Keegan began his mission flying the flag across the entire length of Great Britain, running an astonishing 1,444.4 km in 33 days. We were blown away by Keegan’s journey and efforts, and have been immensely proud and grateful to have been the chosen charity for such a huge personal challenge. We really couldn't continue to support as many people with their mental health and wellbeing without the generosity of such amazing supporters.

Last month, Keegan attended our team away day for a cheque presentation and to share more about his epic journey. The team was inspired by his story and commitment to our mission, and we invited Keegan to share his experiences with our supporters further. We are delighted to be sharing a blog post written by Keegan about his bucket list challenge. Check it out below!

• Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your recent fundraising challenge?

My name is Keegan Woodhall, and I am 31 years old. I live in Saltash, and I work as a postman in Plymouth. I very recently ran the length of Great Britain from John O’Groats to Land’s End in aid of Devon Mind. The challenge took me 33 days to complete, and I raised over £4,000.

• What inspired you to take on such an incredible challenge — running the full length of the UK?

I’ve wanted to run the length of the UK for so many years now. The idea first came into existence when I was a teenager. To tell the truth, I can’t remember specifically why this particular challenge. But I do know, I’ve always wanted to do something big and leave a mark. I’ve never been comfortable with just going through life existing. Maybe it’s a bit of an immortality complex, or a desire to find deeper meaning. I kept putting it off by always telling myself it would be something I will get around to eventually. However, in the last few years I’ve become more dedicated to running, and have taken part in many marathons and half marathons. I finally felt like I was in a position to put my mind towards this dream and to see if I could achieve it.

• Was there a personal reason or story behind choosing our cause?

I chose to use this challenge as a way to fundraise for Devon Mind for a few different reasons. I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression for much of my adult life. There are many things I do to keep myself in a good headspace, and running is one of the main contributors. I started running when I was around 14 years old. Initially, this was just a part of boxing training. I boxed for many of my teenage years, but I gave it up to preserve my good looks and because I was far too good at getting punched in the head. But running is something I continued to do. What I got out of it so early on was the fact that it was the only way I was able to beat the negative, self-doubting thoughts I had in my head. When your brain is telling you, you’re too tired, your legs can’t take any more, or you haven’t got it in you, pushing through that and coming out the other side was such a liberating feeling. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely improved my ability to combat anxious thoughts in other aspects of my life. But running was the first indicator that I was capable of doing so.

• How did you prepare for such a physically and mentally demanding journey?

I don’t think there is any way of fully preparing for a challenge like this — there’s no guidebook to running the length of a country. The furthest I had ever run before I began training was 42km. I was planning on doing this (and more) daily for approximately one month. I began training on December 27 2024. I dragged myself out for a run, full of Boxing Day leftovers, kicking and screaming. But this was day one. For the next 7 months, I committed to putting in the work every day to get myself as physically ready as I could. Initially, I ran 60km a week, then upped to 80km from March. From June up until the final weeks of July, I was running 100km a week. This was all on top of the average 10 miles of walking I was doing most days in my job as a postman. Mentally, I just stayed tunnel visioned on my end goal of reaching that signpost in Land’s End. Even when I first started my training, I was picturing the moment so vividly. I was also doing my best to process the fact that this was going to be the toughest thing I had ever done, anticipate all the challenges, injuries, and pain I would go through.

• What were some of the toughest moments during the run?

Four days into my challenge, I encountered Storm Floris whilst I was in the Scottish Highlands. I was doing my best to reach the town of Alness before the forecast storm was due to come in that afternoon. But it came early, whilst I was still out running down countryside roads. I was battered by 90mph winds, and the rain was beyond torrential. Due to bad service, I was unable to be found by my support vehicle. It was properly scary. Thankfully, I managed to find a farmhouse, and a lovely, kind woman named Susan took me in to hide from the elements for a bit. She then drove me to Alness so that I could be reunited with my Dad at the hotel we booked to shelter for the night. Towards the end of my time in Scotland, I was dealing with some insane heat. Dehydration and heat stroke meant I spent a few days feeling pretty rough, which impacted my running. On day 25, due to injuries I had previously sustained, I woke up and couldn’t put any weight on my foot. I could barely stand, let alone run. For a while, I thought my journey may have been over then, which was incredibly devastating as I was so close to the end. The day before, I had reached and passed through Bristol. Land’s End had felt just over the horizon, then within 24 hours, it had never felt further away. The final 5 days were single-handedly the toughest days of my life, mentally, physically, and emotionally. My body was completely broken down, I had an infection, the terrain was tough to navigate, and I made some big logistical errors that added more mileage to my journey.

• How did you keep going when things got really hard — physically or emotionally?

To be completely honest, I’m kind of still asking myself the same thing in a way. As I mentioned before, keeping that signpost in my mind the whole time played a big part in me actually physically reaching it. Taking the whole experience day by day, and compartmentalising was vitally important. I did my best not to think about how far I had to run overall and just concentrate on getting to the next rest stop. This made the whole process feel much more manageable and less overwhelming. Once my injuries got really bad, I dropped my daily average from 50km to 40km. This was to ensure I was looking after my body as best I could, and that I was able to reach Land’s End altogether!

Throughout the process, I also wasn’t completely alone. I had a combination of my dad and my brother driving a camper van as my support vehicle. Here I was able to sleep, rest, and eat each day. The final five days of the challenge were the toughest days I’ve ever been through; I’ve never felt pain like it. My brother Taylor literally picked me up off the floor one day, and did everything he could to keep my morale up. He ensured I was properly fueled and made helpful logistical arrangements. I really couldn’t have done this without him.

The kindness of strangers was also massively uplifting during difficult moments. I mentioned Susan from Alness, but there were also countless people who stopped to chat to me during my rest breaks and offered me food and/or water. I received a lot of local knowledge and information from people across the country, which helped with route planning and figuring out places to stay. We got discounted rates at campsites and hotels. An old school friend even got in touch to offer to pay for me to have a night in a hotel. All the messages of support and encouragement I received played a massive part in keeping me going. Some of my family and close friends also came out to surprise me as I got closer to the finish line. These moments gave me a massive lift and filled me with more self-belief. Watching all the donations come flooding in for Devon Mind was also a great reminder of the importance of my mission, and helped me to remember the reasons why I was doing this. Throughout the whole experience, despite how rough it got at times, I kept reminding myself what a privileged position I was in.

1,444.4km in aid of better mental health across Devon!

• Were there any unexpected setbacks or surprises along the way?

I really didn’t anticipate how much I would struggle to force down massive amounts of food on a daily basis. This was something that was incredibly important to keep my body properly fueled, but it was such a battle at times. I will never touch porridge again. Shoveling down a bowl of the stuff at 6:30am every morning has scarred me for life. Although not unexpected, and as I mentioned, I did pick up some injuries. I badly damaged my Achilles, as well as developing some ligament and soft tissue damage in my ankle. Towards the end, I also had an absolute monster of a blister grow on my big toe, which got badly infected and left me feverish and in a lot of pain.

• What was the most memorable or uplifting moment from the entire journey?

I will never forget the penultimate day, when I arrived in Marazion, and I saw the sea for the first time in weeks. Feeling the breeze and smelling the sea air gave me the most unbelievable lift. I knew in that moment that I was all but home. When I finished my run for the day in Penzance, there was relief and tears of joy. All the suffering of the last week was over, and I knew the following day I would be reaching Land’s End. Also, all the moments friends and loved ones came to surprise, support, and run with me were also incredibly uplifting. I’m truly grateful that I have such loving and supportive people in my life.

• What did you learn about yourself during this experience?

I’m more resilient than I thought. The things I used to see as weaknesses are actually some of my biggest strengths. I have also learnt that through struggle come the most beautiful moments. I’d like to think I’ve always been a generous, caring, and empathic person. But knowing what a positive impact I was having on so many people, and knowing I was raising money for a hugely important cause, gave me a much bigger sense of pride than I could have anticipated.

• If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice before starting, what would it be?

Enjoy it. Don’t stress yourself out so much, and try not to rush! Everything will be okay in the end.

• What would you say to someone considering doing a major endurance challenge for charity?

Remember your why. But more importantly, believe in yourself wholeheartedly. Allow yourself to be comfortable with the fact that not everything is going to go according to plan, and things will go wrong. But these are the moments where that belief is more important than ever. Roll with the punches, keep calm, and just take it one step at a time (figuratively or literally!).

• Do you have any tips for someone thinking about taking on their own fundraising challenge?

Get the support and backing of your chosen charity. From my experience with Devon Mind, they were more than happy to help promote and also sent lots of encouraging messages of support. Set yourself a target, and create a fundraising page! You’ll be surprised at people’s generosity. Also, keep people updated with your progress. If people are keeping tabs on your efforts, they are more likely to contribute and support.

• What’s next for you — more running, more fundraising, or something else? And would you ever do something like this again?

For now, a lot of rest! But there will be plenty more running. For the last few years, I’ve participated in various different running events across the world. This is something I’d like to continue doing for as long as I can. It might be hard to top what I’ve just achieved, but there’s a massive part of me that is keen to find out if I can! Also, I’d love to continue fundraising for and supporting Devon Mind. I’ll always be grateful for all the support they’ve shown me personally. I fully believe their mission of supporting as many people who struggle with their mental health as they can is massively important, and I’ll always want to help out where I can.

• If you had to sum up your experience in one sentence, what would it be?

Just keep running.