Five simultaneous endurance events, five teams, 25 different characters, 1810km of hard slog - all for one common cause!

The Nivea 5x5 Challenge, which is being held today, is the culmination of months of dedication, commitment and hard training by 25 participating athletes. The aim is to raise €100,000 in aid of The Ladybird Foundation.

These 25 ordinary people and all those who support them through their donations, will help fulfill the dreams of critically or terminally sick children supported by the Foundation - whether by sending them to watch their favourite football team, to meet their beloved Disney characters, or to spend precious quality time with their families in a special setting.

The Run - 51km

The run, which will start in Mdina, will see the runners cover 51km each, battling the raging sun in their quest to cover this ultra-marathon distance.

The Kayak - 75km

The kayakers will go all the way round Malta, a distance of 75km. That means approximately 14 hours of non-stop paddling, and for many hours, they will be fully exposed to the winds and currents coming from the open sea.

The Walk - 45km

Our hardened walkers, the irrepressible nannakolas, will trek from Mdina down to the coast and towards St Julian's for a total of 45km, longer than a full marathon.

The Swim - 16km

Any open water swim of 10km or more is defined as a marathon, so our swimmers will be doing more than a marathon and a half as they make their way from Ghadira all the way to St Julian's, hopefully in a time of around 6 hours.

The Cycle - 175km

Covering 175km on a 27km long island means that our cyclists will have to make quite a few loops, cycling for around 10 hours on their way to the finishing line.

On the day, the athletes will be supported by a team of volunteers working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the athletes are tracked and kept safe, and that the general public is kept updated and encouraged to donate towards this worthy cause. All five events are timed to end today between 1 and 2pm at the Radisson Blu Resort, St Julian's.

Donations to the Ladybird Foundation (VO/0661) can be made as follows: PayPal: http://theladybirdfoundation.org/donate/

Bank Deposits: HSBC 054145941001 or IBAN - MT15MMEB44543000000054145941001

SMS: 50619289 (each SMS is a donation of €11.65)

More information on the Ladybird Foundation and its work can be found on https://www.facebook.com/TheLadybirdFoundation?fref=ts or http://theladybirdfoundation.org/event/nivea-5x5-challenge/