A NURSE from Dorchester is taking on an ultra-marathon challenge that will push her to the limit.

Joy White, 41, works in the intensive therapy unit at Dorset County Hospital and is set to take on the 55km Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc, which starts in Orsières, Switzerland and finishes in Chamonix, France.

Participants must complete the route, which is equivalent to 34 miles and includes 3,500m of elevation, in less than 14 hours and 45 minutes.

She must also meet three checkpoints along the route, within an allotted timescale, in order to stay in the race.

Joy will take on the challenge to raise money for two local charities - the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Safewise.

As if the enormous distance wasn't daunting enough, Joy's training has been compromised by an injury.

She said: "I sprained my big toe about three months ago and I have not really been running.

"In exchange, I have been doing quite a lot of body conditioning, so I have been doing parkour instead.

"It is gym-based and it's just quite a lot of leaping, jumping and rolling."

Joy has also been taking part in martial arts activities to keep fit.

She also overcame her injury to travel out to a week-long running training camp recently to prepare for the race, which will take place later this month.

Fundraiser Joy said that her work in hospital prompted her to raise money for the air ambulance and SafeWise, which aims to keep people safe on the roads.

She added: "It is a really busy catchment area [for the air ambulance] and they also help with incidents in remote locations.

"We live in a really busy world and you could be driving along and might find you are in an accident.

"They save lives and one day it could be yours."

Joy is targeting a total of £1,000 and has launched an online page for those who wish to donate.

The page has only been active for a few days and Joy is already more than halfway towards her fundraising target.

To sponsor Joy's run, visit mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/joylanonwhite