People across Oxfordshire are being invited to sign up for an annual five-mile charity run.

The OX5 Run, a yearly event at Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, has been raising money to improve the lives of young patients at the Oxford Children's Hospital for more than two decades.

Organised by Oxford Hospitals Charity, the event will take place on Sunday, March 23 next year, and invites anyone aged 10 or older to run, jog, or walk the route.

The OX5 Run 2024The OX5 Run 2024 (Image: Joe Baker/Oxford Hospitals Charity) The OX5 Run 2024The OX5 Run 2024 (Image: Joe Baker/Oxford Hospitals Charity) Claire Hughes, events officer at Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: "We’re calling on our friends across Oxfordshire to lace up their trainers, grab a friend or two, and run five miles in 2025.

"The OX5 Run is our biggest annual event for the Oxford Children’s Hospital and children’s areas across our NHS trust, and we hope to raise over £100,000 to help local children in hospital.

"We are so grateful to everyone who supports this very special local event which allows us to fund the very latest medical technology, and make our hospital spaces more welcoming for our young patients and their families.

"We’re urging people to sign up now to get the early bird entry fee."

Phil Rose, from Abingdon, is one of the first to sign up for the fundraiser.

Phil Rose and his daughter MaiziePhil Rose and his daughter Maizie (Image: Joe Baker/Oxford Hospitals Charity) He has taken part every year since 2013, when his daughter Maizie was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer called neuroblastoma.

Mr Rose said: "Maizie spent months on Kamrans Ward in the children’s hospital when she was just two years old.

"The care was just incredible - that’s what first motivated me to take part in the OX5 Run and I just haven’t stopped.

"Maizie continues to get a lot of support from the hospitals because of the effects the cancer has had on her.

The OX5 Run 2024The OX5 Run 2024 (Image: Joe Baker/Oxford Hospitals Charity) "She has had several major operations on her legs recently - so the hospital still means such a lot to us.

"She is my motivation. She is such a courageous kid, with everything she has been through five miles of running doesn’t feel like too much to ask.

"The charity does such a lot to help children like Maizie, and it’s such a brilliant atmosphere on the day - I really urge others to get involved and take part."

Last year, the OX5 Run raised more than £100,000 to help local children in hospital, and organisers hope the 2025 event will be even bigger.

Entry costs £29 for adults and £16 for children aged 10 to 17 for those who sign up early.