The Run Wigan Festival is organised by Joining Jack, a charity set up in 2012 by the parents of Jack Johnson, who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystropy (DMD) at the age of three. Duchenne is a debilitating muscle-wasting condition for which there is currently no cure.

Joining Jack raises money for ALL boys living with Duchenne, funding research into potential treatments, clinical posts and the hope one day of a cure.

Run Wigan Festival was launched in 2017 and has been staged in March, including a virtual 13 for 13 challenge, during the global pandemic. It is Joining Jack's flagship fundraising event and every penny raised on the day will go to the charity in the continuing fight to end Duchenne.