FOR the first time Oxford will be represented at an annual celebration and race through Holland that links our two countries.

A team of six former soldiers from around the UK – three able-bodied and three disabled – will represent the city at a 110km relay to Oxford’s twin city Leiden.

They will be up against teams from other countries who will set off from the town of Wageningen at midnight on Monday and race to their respective twin towns in the country. The race is held on Dutch Liberation Day, May 5 – the date when Nazi Germany surrendered to Holland at Wageningen in 1945.

The run has been held for years, but town leaders in Leiden said they particularly wanted Oxford to be involved this year, marking 70 years since the war ended.

Oxford Leiden twinning association jumped at the opportunity and hooked up with soldiers’ rehabilitation charity Help for Heroes to put together a team with military stamina and dedication.

Deputy president Don Rouse said: “These lads and lasses are willing to take part in a 110km run starting at midnight and running through the night.”The six former soldiers – Stuart Redmond, Rob Crombey-Hawke, Claire Edwards, Lee Hurst, Ian Ross and Anna Pollock – are being trained by Sergeant Major Roger Coates.

The Help for Heroes runners, wearing Oxford-Leiden tabards, will team up with runners from Leiden, and two runners will do a stint together then tag the next two. An Olympic-style torch is carried in a van, then handed to the runners on the final stretch.