Businesswomen in Redbridge will be backing each other to complete a 7.5km challenge of obstacles, adventure and mud to fund hospice care.

Ilford Recorder: (l-r) Dawn Gomes, Carol Darvell, Belinda Moss and Paula Hardy(l-r) Dawn Gomes, Carol Darvell, Belinda Moss and Paula Hardy (Image: Archant)

The eleven hardy women, who met through South Woodford business group The Athena Network, hope to complete the Mud ‘N’ Madness charity race in Upminster on Saturday.

They will tackle army-style obstacles up and down “Heartbreak Hill”, take part in a “beasting session” with a boot camp instructor before a freezing dip in the river and on to the finish line.

Their endeavours will raise money for Saint Francis Hospice in Havering-atte-Bower and Cancer Research UK.

Team member Belinda Moss, 44, of The Charter Road, Woodford Green, said: “We’ve got to egg each other on and make sure we all finish.

“We support each other in our businesses and in our personal lives.

“There’s a big team spirit.”

Belinda, a lower back pain practitioner who runs Envigour Pilates, previously ran the London Marathon but said she would have to do more training this week to get ready.

A staff member from the hospice told the group about its work through The Athena Network, which meets in Prezzo restaurant, High Road, South Woodford, every month.

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/gettingdownanddirty.