Besides improving fitness and raising money for charity, participants in Sunday’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run will be forging friendships through a support initiative.

Runners from Mitzvah Day will partner with those from Langdon, which helps young adults with learning disabilities to lead independent lives.

The link-up is the brainchild of Dan Rickman, Mitzvah Day’s executive director, who once worked for Langdon.

“Langdon has remained very, very important to me,” he said. “After leaving, I stayed in touch with one of their members, Andrew Pievsky, and have seen him every week since then.

“He came to my wedding in October and we speak every day. We don’t focus on how we’re different but things we have in common. We both love football, sci-fi films and food.”

The idea came to Mr Rickman while he was out running. “I thought: ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to get people who run regularly to team up with members of Langdon?’ It’s about trying to break down barriers.”

They will meet their Langdon partners an hour before the start.

“Andrew isn’t a runner, so I’ve partnered with a guy called Ben and I will be running at his pace,” Mr Rickman said. “We will get to know each other on the way round. Our number-one priority is building connections.”

Added Gary Skovron, Langdon’s chief executive: “Helping each other to impact positively on the community is the foundation of charitable work.

“I am delighted that Dan Rickman and his team of 12 at Mitzvah Day are pairing with Langdon members.”

Fun run organisers are expecting 5,000 people representing 70 Jewish charities and schools at the north London event.