A NURSERY school director is gearing up to take on a one-man ironman challenge in aid of two important causes.

Oli Marshall will be swimming 2.4 miles in the river Wye, biking 180km from Ross-on-Wye to Windsor Castle, and running 26.2 miles from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace during his aptly named 'Wyeonman' challenge in aid of two fantastic children's charities: Megan Baker House and Acorn Children's Hospice.

Oli has been training 10-14 hours per week for the last 5 months ahead of the July 10 challenge and you can follow that journey on his Wyeonman Instagram and Facebook pages.

Having worked in early years for almost 20 years, and having a young family of his own, Oli said he loves to see first-hand the fun, magic and happiness that comes from having young children around.

But too often, we can take our children's health for granted, switching off to the hard realities that face so many families. His wish is for people to stop for a moment, and remember just how lucky they are.

Megan Baker House is a self-funding charity that helps children and adults with a variety of motor disabilities to find ways to overcome them and live their lives as independently as possible, while Acorns Children's Hospice offers a network of care for life-limited and life-threatened children and young people - children who are not expected to reach adulthood.

“We are thrilled that Oli has undertaken this strenuous challenge supporting ourselves and Acorns, thank you Oli and your amazing support team,” said Lee Gough, chief executive officer of MBH.

Mel Hall from the fundraising team at Acorns, said: “We’re full of admiration for Oli for taking on this challenge. It will push him to the limit, but every penny raised will go towards the vital care of two fantastic causes. Thank you Oli, everyone at Acorns wishes you all the very best!”k

You can find out more and make a donation on Oli's fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/wyeonman/1