The East Midlands’ only children’s hospice is calling on people in the community to take to the road, the water, the skies or the mountains to support youngsters with life-limiting and terminal illnesses.

Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People has launched its 2015 events calendar and is encouraging people to beat the post festive blues by signing up to a challenge. There is a wide range of activities to suit all ages and abilities whose New Year’s resolution is to get fit or do something exciting.

Challenges in the East Midlands include:

· Desford and Belvoir Triathlons

· Nottingham Rainbow Colour Run

· Nottingham Dragon Boat Challenge

· Mansfield Moonlight and Memories Walk on June 6th

· Leicester 10k

· Loughborough Moonlight Walk

· Derby Cathedral Abseil

· East Midlands Skydive

Some of the more extreme challenges include Snowdon Multi-Activity Challenge, Yorkshire 5 Activities Challenge, cycling off the beaten track in India, 3 Peaks Challenge:24 hours and the conquering Mount Kilimanjaro.

People can also sign up to national events such as the Virgin London Marathon and the Bupa Great North Run, all in aid of Rainbows.

Katie Baxter, community and events manager at Rainbows, said: “This year we have some new and really exciting challenges. The New Year is a perfect time to focus on setting a personal challenge as we often feel guilty about indulging over the festive period.

“This year we have challenges for walkers, runners, cyclists, swimmers and our events range from across the continent to here in the East Midlands. Some of the events are a lot tougher than others and people will need time to train so we would encourage them to sign up as soon as possible.

“All of our events are a fantastic opportunity to take on a challenge, get fit, meet other like-minded people and raise funds for Rainbows, which supports more than 318 children and young people with life-limited illnesses in the East Midlands.”

For more information, contact 0800 9521133, email [email protected] or visit www.rainbows.co.uk/challenges15