HEREFORDSHIRE Mind wants runners and riders for the Herefordshire Festival of Sport.

The charity has a special "been there, done it, got the T-shirt" offer to mark Mental Health Awareness week.

As an organiser of the Cotswold BMW Hereford - Herefordshire Festival of Sport - along with Fit+Healthy and NFTO Race Club – Mind is inviting event entrants to run or cycle on its behalf for a 40 per cent discount on the entry fee.

And if entrants raise £50 or more for Mind they get a free T-shirt.

May 11 marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week for which Mind and the 2gether NHS Mental Health Trust will be out and about promoting with an eye on the Festival of Sport weekend and its mental health message over September 19-20.

A feature of the weekend will be the Time to Change Village to help educate the community about mental health and try to remove the stigma which surrounds mental health issues.

To run or ride for Mind contact Becky Loader on 01432 271643 or at becky.loader@herefordshire-mind.org.uk.

Mind is also offering volunteering opportunities for which adrian.wilcox@herefordshire-mind.org.uk can be contacted to find out more and get behind the campaign #thumbsupforwellbeing.

 To push ahead of last year's success, the Hereford Times backed festival now features a long distance cycle race the envy of any in the country, with the county’s own fast-rising NFTO Race Club is ready to go the distance as an event partner – and competitor.

This year’s draw attraction is the Hitter Road Race, a top-level cycle competition organised by NFTO, challenging the best teams and riders in the UK, and maybe beyond, with 113km of the Golden Valley.

Running is where the festival's roots are, and the event keeps its feet on the ground with a marathon championship, half marathon, and mini-marathon competitions and a series of races aimed at attracting younger competitors.

* For where Herefordshire Mind will be during Mental Health Awareness week ‘like’ their Facebook page and ‘follow’ them on Twitter for updates.

The discounted entry fee offer excludes the festival's mini sportive and mini marathon.