A DEDICATED team are back in action for another month-long sporting challenge to raise funds in honour of a local teenager with a serious genetic disorder.

#TeamElla is completing at least 30 minutes of exercise every day for the whole of January to raise money for Ella Dixon’s Muscular Dystrophy UK fund, which has so far raised more than £75,000 in ten years.

The fund was created by Clare and Craig Dixon from Kendal, after daughter Ella, 16, was diagnosed as a manifesting carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a serious condition which causes the muscles to weaken.

The 30-day challenge is the group’s third, with last year’s mission managing to raise more than 5,000.

This year’s challenge is also something of a family affair with Ella’s grandmother, cousins and aunties taking on daily exercise alongside Mr and Mrs Dixon.

“We have got Ella’s nana doing it, she’s in her 70s and she’s done a lot of walking and we’ve got Ella’s cousin who is the same age as her and Ella’s two aunties,” said Mrs Dixon.

“Most of us are doing a lot more than 30 minutes a day.

“It’s pushing yourself and we’ve got people doing all sorts, swimming, doing fitness videos and Ella’s cousin is a dancer so she’s been doing ballet.

“I’d say the team is more like a family.

“We get people who keep doing the challenges with us as well as new people joining in.”

And Mrs Dixon hopes people can get behind the 25-strong team with donations that will go towards finding a cure for the condition.

“The money will go to towards research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” she said.

“So that money is helping to find that cure, there’s a lot of testing going on and new treatments becoming available all the time so we just try and stay positive.”

The group’s next challenge will be the Great North Run in September.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/craig-dixon17