Forever-Strong raise £6,000 for charity

Members of Forever Strong after completing 'Born Survivor' mud run

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World Kettlebell champion and head coach at Forever-Strong, Gary Rothwell was keen to do something special to support the local community, hence a simple challenge of raising £5,000 through May was set to raise money for Springhill Hospice and Melanoma UK.

Mr Rothwell said: “At Forever-Strong, the gym members are challenged to achieve great things. They are challenged to progress and create new opportunities for themselves. This is not just with their bodies, but also their minds and their self-esteem.

“The gym members have created a community of belonging, support, guidance and accountability. A community that helps each other daily, with their challenges and obstacles.”

Throughout May, a month of madness for the dedicated gym-goers, members were asked to conduct a number of physical and mental tasks to achieve the target, which they eventually beat, reaching £6,000.

To kick things off, Forever-Strong members were challenged with completing a six-kilometre obstacle run called ‘Muddy Maniacs’ in Bury. Nine members of the gym braved the route containing 15 obstacles that had to be scaled and overcome.

Hot, sweaty and out of breath with the odd bump and bruise, the team completed the course and ran over the line hand-in-hand with huge smiles on their faces.

Next up was ‘Born Survivor’, a 10-km mud run in Cheshire with a ‘brutal’ rating.

Mr Rothwell added: “Fifteen brave people put themselves forward for the challenge, some of whom may have done this after having ‘one too many’ one evening.”

Another fine day greeted the intrepid bunch as they prepared to tackle the mud. The event really challenged individuals, both mentally and physically, as they tackled tunnels, closed spaces, heights, 10-foot walls- and more than a few mud pits.

Mums, dads, and even a grandma, were battered, bruised and near exhaustion as they overcame the last wall - called ‘The Blitz’ - in a real team effort. Hugs, backslaps, the odd tear of emotion and even a bottle of bubbly was shared after three-and-a-half hours of sustained effort.

Without leaving time to let the bruises heal, it was on to the next event, Kettlemania: a joint event that consisted of a 12-hour bootcamp marathon, split into 12 one-hour sessions plus an evening charity function to celebrate the first birthday for Forever-Strong.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/109813/foreverstrong-fitness-celebrate-first-birthday-anniversary

The day kicked off early at 6.00am with a full session of sweat, energy and more than a little mayhem as the trainers bounced around the room energetically for the whole 12 hours as gym members came, went - and even came back again.

As the sun started to set, the jaded participants donned their evening wear and embarked on an evening of food, drink and company at the Flying Horse in Rochdale. The food was donated by Amir Nazir, of the recently closed Asia restaurant, making a brief cameo in supporting the local community.

Mr Rothwell commented: “A fantastic night was had by all and a very generous amount of money for our chosen charities was raised by a charity raffle. Most of the prizes were donated by business owners from within the gym.”

With the £5,000 target looming as the month drew to a close, it all came down to the small team of 10k runners taking on the Great Manchester Run. 

The runners were greeted with supporters encouraging them along the route.

To ensure they hit their target, they agreed to conduct press-ups on the finish line for a final donation, causing a little chaos as organisers attempted to keep the area clear for other participants.

Mr Rothwell said: “May was full of mayhem, full of fun, smiles, determination and effort with the odd tear and bruise along the way.

“As the dust settled and we took stock of our achievements, our target of £5k through May was well and truly smashed as our total reached closer to £6k, including Gift Aid.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to all those that supported us in our manic month of May and a huge well done to those ‘very normal’ people who had taken part and generated such interest to raise such a fabulous amount of money for two very worthwhile causes.”