Musician Charles Costa is more than 4,000 miles away from his home country of England, and the singer-songwriter is on track to cover more than half that distance along the Pacific Crest Trail with the ambitious goal of conquering 90 marathons in 90 days.

Costa is doing it all for charity. He’s running to support a pair of UK-based nonprofits dedicated to suicide prevention and protecting emotional health.

Costa’s West Coast running journey began July 20 at the Canadian border, and he will wrap up at the United States-Mexico border.

At the time of his interview with the Rogue Valley Times, Costa had made his way through the Washington state section of the Cascade Range and was taking a break in the northern part of Oregon. He expects to be in Southern Oregon sometime this coming week.

“I have another 75 days ahead of me, and I’m looking forward to it with nervous trepidation, but excitement,” he said. “My feet aren’t in a very pretty state right now; my energy levels are quite fragile, but I’ve come through Washington and am starting Oregon and all of California until I get to Mexico.”

The musician’s passion for running began around a decade ago as he was seeking a healthy habit to aid his mental health.

“I feel like running is a very healing activity for me; it’s something that is a very easily accessible remedy to a lot of the ways my mind can be tangled up in city life or any life,” Costa said. “It’s a therapeutic, meditative tool to alleviate life stresses.”

Costa’s causes — mental health and suicide prevention — have been close to him since he suffered a skiing accident 10 years ago.

“I had brain trauma from a skiing injury, and I realized the only way to get out of this terrifying mental state I was in was to get out into the outdoors and just run,” he said.

The two charities Costa is supporting are James’ Place — a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention for men — and the Jed Foundation, which is centered on protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults in the U.S.

“I’ve been hearing over this year more and more friends, and friends of friends, that have taken their lives, and with the impact being so profound, I felt like these are such great causes to raise money for,” Costa said.

He prepared for seven months with a trainer before beginning his odyssey along the West Coast.

“It involved some short runs, some integral runs, some long runs and some strength work and flexibility work, and just being on my feet a lot and running a lot to get used to impact and recovery,” Costa said.

While one might think the UK musician would be jamming to music throughout his running journey, Costa has been sparing with the tunes to keep his mental focus in check.

“For the first 10 days or so I didn’t listen to anything. … I was just thinking and getting into the groove and being able to relax,” he said. “If the music is not right, … it can be detrimental to your energy levels and be a force against you.”

Costa, formerly known as King Charles on stage, is set to release music for the first time under his new name in the midst of the 90-marathon journey, coming out with new singles in September.

“It’s going to be my first release as Charles Costa and a debut album, which is really exciting,” he said. “It’s going to be a wild genre change from my King Charles stuff, but it’s very much a new identity, a new positioning of my identity as an artist.”

To follow Costa’s running journey, check him out on Instagram.

His music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

More Information

To donate to James’ Place, visit bit.ly/3AgFPsD.

To donate to the Jed Foundation, go to jedfoundation.crowdchange.co/41734.