At 4am on Sunday, May 3 a jar of chutney made by Amber Rosenthal began its 86-mile journey along the Dorset coast in a unique and poignant fundraising challenge.
Amber died in January 2024. She loved to make a chutney to use up all their spare allotment produce and jam jars. Her partner, Woodroffe teacher Justin Loveland, loved a challenge – especially one involving the Dorset coast and running in the dark.
He had the idea to run a relay, passing Amber’s chutney 86 miles from Studland to Lyme Regis. But tragedy struck again – Justin was killed in a cycling accident in Dorchester on his journey to work in May 2025.
Amber and Justin’s friends and family worked together to bring his idea to life and remember them both. They have so far raised nearly £7,000 for the mental health charity MIND in the process.
It took the group of 57 friends and family a total of 18 hours to carry the chutney, in a specially made bum bag with their names inscribed on the front, all the way.
The route was divided into 14 sections, with between two and 15 people taking part in each section. The 6km section from the King’s Statue in Weymouth to Smallmouth Beach at the start of the Portland Beach Road was run by a group of six children who lived on the same street as Justin and Amber and loved going on camping trips and walks with them.
The 10km section from Ferrybridge to Langton Herring was run at a very fast pace by Justin’s brother and two of Justin’s nephews.
Participants shared their sightings of butterflies and native plants along the way for Amber, knowing how much she loved them. Amber worked in wildlife conservation and spent many hours looking for dormouse nests, butterflies and rare orchids throughout Dorset.
The longest section of the chutney run was a 27 km stretch from Swanage to Worbarrow Bay near Tyneham, which started at 5.15 am and was completed in just over three hours. The last section of the chutney run coming into Lyme Regis from Charmouth involved the biggest group of people. Many teachers who used to work with Justin at Woodroffe School joined with this stretch of the route.
The event finished with head torches at 10pm on Monmouth Beach, with a group of ex-students from Woodroffe School welcoming the final group into the town. Then the group celebrated the finish with sparklers (an Amber favourite) on the beach.
The group of friends and family met after the challenge at Hardy Monument to open the special, and very well travelled, jar of chutney and enjoy a shared picnic.
The fundraising page for the chutney run is still open. To donate, head to Justin and Amber’s Chutney Challenge on JustGiving.
