Sash Jayasinghe’s 4LANKA: 1,400KM Around Sri Lanka – July 2027
Our Mission
In July 2027 I will run the entire coastline of Sri Lanka. 1,400 kilometres, Colombo to Colombo. 40 to 50 kilometres a day. Filmed every day, from the first step to the last.
My parents left Sri Lanka with nothing.
I was born in Rome, moved to London at 13, and became the one who dealt with the adult world for my family. Documents, doctors, schools, all of it.
I lost a few years after that. Got scammed, drank to fit in, nearly gave up. At 17 I went back to where my parents grew up. That trip flipped everything.
The run is the thing I owe them.
It’s not a record attempt. The distance is there because it forces the whole story. A diaspora kid going back to understand what Sinhalese and Tamil actually mean, told from the road, village by village, as an independent documentary.
Everything the public gives goes to the Foundation of Goodness and Child Autism UK, 50/50, with Gift Aid.
Partners fund the road and the film.
The Run – July 2027
1,400 KM – Colombo to Colombo
- 6,200+ followers
- 3.4M+ views in the last twelve months
- 89% of weekly reach from people who don’t follow me yet
- Two audiences: the island and the diaspora
- Four national features before 5,000 followers
- 200+ messages from strangers about the run
Where They Are
- United Kingdom – 34.7%
- Sri Lanka – 16.5%
- Australia – 10.7%
- United States – 6.0%
- Canada – 5.3%
How Old They Are
- 13–17 – 3.8%
- 18–24 – 26.4%
- 25–34 – 32.4%
- 35–44 – 17.5%
- 45–54 – 10.7%
- 55–64 – 5.6%
- 65+ – 3.6%
A third in the UK, a sixth in Sri Lanka, then Australia, the US and Canada: the diaspora corridor. Six in ten are 18 to 34. Instagram, September 2026.
Media Coverage
Daily Mirror Sri Lanka
Front cover of the Life supplement, Monday 11 May 2026. A full-page Q&A, printed next to Simon Cowell and David Attenborough’s hundredth.
Eastern Eye
A video interview on 25 May 2026, then a written feature on 28 May.
DesiBlitz
Feature, 9 June 2026.
Four national features ran on the story in May and June 2026, when I had 2,700 followers. Nobody pitched them for me.
The founder of the Foundation of Goodness replied to a cold email personally and asked for the call. We signed in September.
A group chairman in Colombo forwarded my email to his CEO, and I was on a call with their marketing team five days later.
Already In
- Foundation of Goodness – Signed Partner
- GiveStar – £1,000 AllStar Grant
- Product Support – ASICS, Garmin, Enertor
The Reels
3.4M views in the last twelve months. 89% from people who don’t follow me yet.
- 12,800 views – The first reel
- 141,000 views – The voice I wish I had
- 192,000 views – Growing up between cultures
- 342,000 views – The story in pictures
From 12,800 views on the first reel to 342,000. The same story, told four ways.
The Runner – Sash Jayasinghe
Age: 22
Founder: 4LANKA
Location: UK
Reason for Running
Born in Rome to Sri Lankan parents. My dad went to London first and did a year on his own, sleeping on a sofa, working day and night. When he came back to fly us over he looked skinny, kind of deprived, and that’s when I understood how serious all of this was.
At 13 I was the one signing us up for doctors, translating, looking for a school, just everything. Then my little brother’s autism diagnosis, which I had to work out and then explain to my parents, mixing Sinhalese and Italian. I hated it at the time. Looking back, it put me years ahead.
At 17 I visited Sri Lanka properly for the first time and saw kids dreaming of being exactly where I was, and I was wasting it. I came home and said yes to every opportunity. Three years later I’m documenting all of it for the people still where I was: lost, no clue what they want, afraid to try the thing they always wanted to try.
My mission is one line: create the voice I wish I had. The run is how the world pays attention to it, and how I give something back to the island my parents left.
Joining Me on the Road
Jess Rowe – 4X World Record Holder
Jess has rowed the Atlantic and the Pacific and holds four world records. She raised the sponsorship for two ocean campaigns, so she knows what a long, self-supported push does to a body and to a crew.
She’s on the road for the whole lap as support crew, and between now and the start line she’s advising on sponsorship, content and strategy.
The rest of the crew on the road, a videographer, a running coach and a driver, is still being put together.
The People Helping Make This Happen
Kushil Gunasekera
Founder, Foundation of Goodness – Signed Partner
Twenty-five years building 24 centres across Sri Lanka, five of them in the north. He replied to my cold email personally and asked for the call, and in September 2026 we signed a partnership agreement. A mentor, and my partner on the ground.
Tharaka
Co-Founder, Project Roots
Documentary partner on the ground in the north. Project Roots reconnects the diaspora to Sri Lanka, which is exactly the story this film tells.
Leah Marikkar
Strategic Brand Leader
Director at Dentsu Grant, Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest agency. Twenty years across London, Dubai and Colombo. Brand, strategy and the advice behind every partnership conversation.
Desh Balasubramaniam
Advisor – Founder, Nūl
Advisor to the project. Founder of Nūl, a social enterprise in Sri Lanka.
Our Causes
Foundation of Goodness – Sri Lanka
Foundation of Goodness. Founded by Kushil Gunasekera in his home village of Seenigama on the south coast. Over twenty-five years it has grown to 24 centres across the island, five of them in the north, with the flagship at Seenigama.
The centres give rural communities education, sport, healthcare and skills, and they’re the network that lets a camera into the villages this run passes through.
Kushil and I signed a partnership agreement in September 2026, and the centres are stops on the route.
UK registered charity 1205949.
Child Autism UK – United Kingdom
Child Autism UK runs the only autism helpline in the UK, supporting families from the first worry through diagnosis and beyond.
My little brother is autistic. At thirteen, in a country my parents were still learning, I was the one who worked out what the diagnosis meant, found the special school, and explained autism to my parents in a mix of Sinhalese and Italian.
This is the charity I wish we had known about then.
Registered charity 1063982.
GiveStar – AllStar Programme
The fundraising platform behind Russ Cook’s Project Africa. I was selected for their AllStar Programme, which backs endurance challenges like this one: a £1,000 grant, the only cash in so far, and their team behind the page.
“Sash’s challenge is awesome. Our platform is built for adventurous endurance challenges like this.”
Hannah Jacobson, GiveStar
Everything the public gives is split 50/50 between the two charities, with Gift Aid, through GiveStar. Sponsor money funds the road and the film. The two never mix.
A Message from Kushil Gunasekera
Founder and Chief Trustee, Foundation of Goodness
“Sash’s extraordinary 1,400km journey around Sri Lanka is more than a test of endurance—it is a powerful symbol of courage, purpose and the limitless potential of youth. The Foundation of Goodness is proud to join hands with a young changemaker who proves that every step forward can inspire others and create a lasting footprint of goodness. May every kilometer Sash completes become not merely a footprint around Sri Lanka, but a footprint in the minds of young people who realise that their strength can serve a greater good.”
Kushil Gunasekera – Written Endorsement, 10 August 2026 – Partnership Agreement Signed 25 September 2026
The Challenge
1,400km is about the distance from Rome to London. The move that started all of this.
1,400 KM – One Month – 40 to 50 KM Every Day – Not a Record Attempt
I’ll run 40 to 50 kilometres every day, in July heat, around the entire coastline of the island. 1,400 kilometres. 33 marathons back to back.
A small crew travels with me in one van, we sleep in a bed every night, and the cameras are on all the time.
On the way round we stop in the villages for talks, community runs and cooking with people, and at the Foundation of Goodness centres. The story is the coast and who lives on it.
Training is coached, with a physio and a nutritionist between now and the start line, and heat prep before we fly.
My first ultra was 50km from my front door on 20 July 2026. The build to 40 to 50km a day is on camera every week.
Timeline
Autumn 2026: Partners come in. Raising funds.
Early 2027: Production locks. The crew in place for the documentary.
Spring 2027: Final build.
July 2027: The run.
After: The after campaign. The awareness the run raises goes into the launch of the documentary and the community work being developed after the run. The run is me learning about my roots, to inspire more of the diaspora back to the island.
Safety and Planning
Planned Day by Day – In Progress
The coastal route is measured: 1,432km on OpenStreetMap road data, split into 40km days with a checkpoint every 10km and the nearest hospital for every day, in a separate planning deck. Beds, water stops and phone numbers are being confirmed on the island now.
The Crew – In Progress
Jess Rowe, 4x world record holder, confirmed as support crew. A director of photography, a running coach and a driver being recruited, with a local production crew and fixer on the island. Target: all seats filled by spring 2027.
Medical – Pending
A physio and a nutritionist between now and the start line. Heat preparation before we fly. A medical float on the road. Budget line: safety and medical, £7,267.
Insurance and Permits – Pending
Crew, runner and gear insured. Filming permits and media visas applied for through a local fixer before departure. Budget lines: insurance £1,900, permits and officialdom £1,500.
The Money Never Mixes – Confirmed
Sponsor money funds the road and the film and is re-costed before anything is signed, with 20% held back for what goes wrong. Everything the public gives goes to the two charities through GiveStar.
Advisers – Confirmed
The plan is built with two advisers who have rowed and run expeditions of this length, and with the Foundation of Goodness on the ground.
What a Partner Gets
The Van
Your name on the moving base, in shot every day, all 1,400km.
The Kit
What I run in is in every frame of the film, every reel, every photo. A month of wear, documented.
The Film
The thank-you at the end of the documentary: this happened because of these people. The part an audience actually watches.
The Month on the Road
One or two posts a day for the whole run, 30 to 60 pieces, to both audiences: the island and the diaspora.
Every Week Until July
You’re in the story from now until the start line, not just race month. The build to 40 to 50km a day is on camera every week, nine months of it.
The Community Days
The Foundation of Goodness centres on the route, the number agreed with them, plus the village runs and the talks, filmed, with you there.
Your Room
A talk at your office, the story told in person. First look at the film.
Cover a Line, Own It
Cover the van and your name’s on the van. Cover the beds, the food or the fuel for the runner, and that’s what you’re known for on the road.
Placements, quantities and the usage rights for your own channels are agreed in writing, partner by partner, with a report on reach and engagement after the run.
Sponsorship Options
Headline Partner
To be the headline partner, you cover most of this.
One name on the whole road. The van, the kit, the film, every daily reel, the training story from now to July. We agree the number in the room.
Sponsorship Budget
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| The Film on the Road | £19,200 |
| The Crew | £9,934 |
| Getting There | £6,900 |
| Safety and Medical | £7,267 |
| Beds and Food | £6,867 |
| On the Ground | £4,180 |
| The Van | £4,267 |
| Fuel for the Runner | £3,933 |
| Weather | £1,400 |
| Contingency, 20% | £12,790 |
Total Budget: £76,738
The whole road, planned on one month, every line costed and re-costed before signing. The full ledger is in the planning deck.
£1,000 in
Cash confirmed so far: the GiveStar AllStar grant. Product support in from Asics, Garmin, Enertor and Water-to-Go, counted as kit, never as cash.
£75,738 to Raise
The 20% held back is for what goes wrong on the road: a cancelled bed, a lost drive, a crew member who has to fly home, a day the drone cannot fly.
Which of this can you cover? A line, a share of one, or product instead of cash. Shoes, nutrition, kit, insurance.
Put Your Name on the Road
One headline partner, and a handful of brands who each cover a line.
01 – A Short Call
You tell me what your brand needs from next year. I tell you what the road looks like.
02 – We Shape It Around You
A line of the budget, a share of one, or product instead of cash.
03 – A One-Page Agreement
The same simple format the Foundation of Goodness signed.
04 – We Announce Together
You’re in the story from that day to the finish line, and in the film after it.
Contact Sash Jayasinghe
Email: SASH@SASHJAYASINGHE.COM
Phone: +44 7503 730938
Website: SASHJAYASINGHE.COM
Instagram: @SASH.JM
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Thanks.
eLanka team
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