RUNNING up an Austrian mountain is a pretty tough challenge for even the fittest of athletes.

Add to that the fact that your only mode of transport to get to the start line is a bike.

Throw in a warm-up run up The Old Man of Coniston and you have the fearsome challenge that Paul Hickey and Tommy Sutton are taking on in a bid to raise £10,000 for St Rocco’s Hospice.

Their 11-day charity mission takes them from The Old Man to the young girl as they tackle their 10th consecutive running of the Austrian mountain up Jung Frau, which stands for young girl.

Paul, aged 47, from Linden Close, Woolston, said: “It was a couple of years ago when we saw the 10th year coming towards us then we started to think let’s mark 10 years with an event.

“A couple of the girls who work at St Rocco’s Hospice have run the marathon before so that’s why we decided that because it’s our 10th consecutive year we should do it for Rocco’s.”

He and 48-year-old Tommy, from Stratton Road, Great Sankey, have been training since deciding to try the mammoth journey.

But as they are no strangers to running the tough marathon they decided to add on the 1,000-mile cycle ride for good measure.

“We have always trained and run for the past 10 to 15 years so the cycling bit we did as part of the training – it’s just become a bigger part. Every night we train we are either running or cycling,” Paul added.

Along with another friend from Manchester who is raising money for other charities, the pair will set off on Friday, August 27, 24 hours before Warrington Wolves play in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley.

Both rugby league fans, the pals have arranged to set off on their first cycle earlier than planned to make sure they reach Warrington to watch the game before returning to the challenge.

The pair are being helped along the way by a support team who will be driving a van full of provisions including spare bikes.

And with help from sponsor Alfred Jones, which runs Spar shops in Warrington, every penny they raise will go directly to the hospice.

Collection boxes for the challenge have been placed in every Spar shop in the town.

Aternatively you can donate at justgiving.com/Paul-Hickey