This weekend, two teams from the John Radcliffe Hospital will go head to head as they take on the Endure 24 Challenge in Reading.

Endure 24 is the UK's largest 24-hour relay race - yes that's right, 24 hours!

Our two brave teams are made up of staff in the hospitals, well known for throwing themselves into extreme challenges and who are also long-standing supporters of the charity

Team Critical Miles is made up of Florian Stoemer, one of the Divisional Directors of Nursing, Rachel McMinnis and friend Paul.

They are aiming to cover at least 100 miles between them, running right through the day and night. The team is raising money for the Paediatric Critical Care Unit, helping to fund specialist equipment, enhanced support and improved facilities for critically ill children and their families.

Click here to sponsor Team Critical Miles

The brilliantly named "Wait for Me Willis" team is made up of the chief instigator of crazy challenges, Kumi Okamura, along with Catherine Lamb, Natalie Thrale, Hannah Parry-Jones from the JR, Helen Knott a community physiotherapist , Angelica Oxley from the Oxford Centre for Enablement and Liam Challis who are all running for the Neuroscience Unit and Oxford Major Trauma Centre.

They’re running to support patients whose lives have been transformed by neurological illness or injury, and the dedicated staff who care for them every day. 

Click here to sponsor the Wait for me Willis team

The teams will be pushing themselves against the clock to complete as many 8km laps as possible over a full day and night, tackling woodland trails and challenging terrain.

We know they have all been training for months for this epic challenge, and some are battling injury. 

So join us in wishing both teams the very best of luck and can't wait to hear all about it next week — rather them than us!