A TEAM of eight wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans - including Joe Townsend from Eastbourne - are taking part in the Race Across America Challenge.

The group aim to raise £100,000 for Help for Heroes as a way of giving back to the charity which has supported them in rebuilding their lives.

The team will be captained by former 40 Commando Royal Marine and now military Paralympian Joe Townsend, 29.

Joe was injured in 2008 after standing on an improvised explosive device and lost both of his legs in the blast.

Following 14 hours of surgery at Camp Bastion, he was flown back to the UK where he spent five weeks in a critical care ward.

He said: “Sport has given me a purpose in life after having my career ripped away from me.

“It is the reason I get out of bed every morning, it’s my job and it shapes my choices in life.

“I love a challenge and having completed some of the toughest sporting challenges, I need to keep pushing myself.

“Post-Rio 2016 I wanted to do something for myself because training for a four-year cycle is incredibly hard, especially to keep motivated psychologically.

“I want another taste of the military humour and camaraderie that cannot be found in civilian life.

“ I need a top up of this every now and again to remind me of how I operate as a person.”

Starting in Oceanside, under one of the longest piers in California, the event, which takes place in June, spans 3000 miles, climbs 175,000 feet, crosses 12 states and finishes in Annapolis, Maryland, the east coast sailing mecca.

The team, plus two reserves, is made up of individuals who suffer from psychological and physical wounds.

They will push themselves to the limit both physically and mentally in the pursuit of finishing the RAAM in under seven days.

The RAAM is the world’s longest running endurance cycling race and is considered by many to be the one of the world’s toughest endurance cycling events.

To achieve their seven-day target, the team will need to maintain an average speed of over 18.3 mph covering a minimum of 440 miles a day.

wounds and, hopefully, overcome all the self-doubts that I will ultimately face.”

Jon-Paul Nevin, the lead strength and conditioning coach at Help for Heroes charity, said: “A challenge like Race Across America helps to emphasise the power of sport in the recovery process for our wounded, injured and sick.”