Fitness fanatics work up a sweat for stroke charity

Widnes fitness fans worked up a sweat and raised over £200 for the Stroke Association,
at a boot camp fundraiser on Saturday 2 August.

Fitness studio, Sweat Camp, on Highfield Road, Widnes, teamed up with inspirational Runcorn stroke survivor, Emma Pitt, to host the fundraising event where visitors could take part in a 40 minute boot camp session, followed by several hours of fitness based games.

Emma Ptt, 39, had a major stroke while on her honeymoon in Malaysia in 2009. Five yars’ later, Emma has made an extraordinary recovery and recently completed te demanding BTR Tour of Merseyside, where she raised more than £700 for the Stroke Association. The challenge saw her complete 52 miles over six days as one of just 160 runners in six separate races across the county.

For the past year, Emma trained regularly with personal trainer, Paul Atkinson, co-owner of Sweat Camp. Paul and his business partner, Steve Cooper, were so inspired by Emma’s story they organised the boot camp event to raise funds for the Stroke Association.  

Paul said: “Emma is the most positive person I train. We work out in groups and all the others love the energy she brings to the sessions. My grandmother Sylvia also sadly passed away of a stroke 16 years ago, so the Stroke Association is a cause close to my heart. We had around 25 people down to the studio on the day and are really pleased with the amount raised. I’ve even signed myself up to take part in an abseil for the Stroke Association next year!”

Emma said: “Paul has been a great support to me throughout not only my training for the BTR Tour, but for the past year. He has helped me to become not just fit, but strong, and has trained me to life weights I never thought possible, all of which have helped me to become a better runner. I’m really grateful to him and the Sweat Camp team for organising the boot camp fundraiser to raise funds for the Stroke Association. The charity supports stroke survivors to make their best possible recovery and does a lot to raise awareness of this devastating condition.”

Louise Kay, Community and Events Fundraising Manager at the Stroke Association, added:
“There are around 152,000 strokes a year in the UK – that’s around one every three and a half minutes. We’re so thankful that people like Paul and Emma are raising funds to ensure we can be there for more families affected by stroke.”

For more information about stroke visit www.stroke.org.uk or call the Helpline on 0303 303 3100.