Personal trainer from Stratford faces charity challenge which starts at 4am
MANY of us might settle for a 5K in the park to raise money for charity but personal trainer James Purdy is going a step further this Saturday when he runs 95 kilometres in 19 hours for Escape Arts in the Meon Escape Run.
He admits it’s daunting but he wanted a challenge to help a local charity and now he’s got one and it starts at 4am and finishes at 11pm and takes place on a woodland trail next to the Meon Vale estate.
At 41, James, who is a personal trainer at Gloo Fitness in Stratford, has taken on big challenges before like triathlons, ironman and The Three Peaks but 95 kilometres in 19 hours – seriously?
”This is by far the most physical challenge I have attempted as I’ll have to do five kilometres every hour. In the past I’ve focused on triathlons having done every distance up to ironman which I did at Hever castle in 2018. I did The Three Peaks challenge with a driver and climbed all three peaks solo in 18 hours which was part of the inspiration for doing a challenge involving the hours of daylight. Last year I did the HYROX fitness race - its similar to a CrossFit competition. I felt if I can do something for charity and it’s nice to now get involved,” James said.
He chose to raise money for Escape Arts because he knows Karen Williams the chief executive officer and he also firmly believes in the benefits exercise offers to mental and physical health well-being. Escape Arts is all about bringing people together through creativity to address isolation and improve wellbeing.
James said: “Mental health wise, exercise stimulates serotonin, dopamine and endorphins - feel good hormones. Meaning it makes us feel good. It’s a great way to break old habits or remove yourself from a stressful situation. Getting out walking, running, cycling can be a great excuse to see friends and enjoy this beautiful country that we live in. Achieving and completing physical activities fills you with pride and confidence and inspires a positive drive.”
His ironman and marathon friends have said he’s taking on a really big challenge and, is he sure about it? But the good news is he won’t be out there in the woodland on his own because anyone who wants to join in and support James by walking or running the route can do so and dogs are welcome too. James’s partner – Vanessa - will also be by his side on a few of the laps on her bicycle lending her support on Saturday.
Karen Williams said: “Gloo Fitness have chosen to fund raise for Escape Arts and have been really supportive of our mental health and wellbeing projects and our youth services. James is so kind to support us so we’re taking the Escape bus and a team along to support him on the day.”
If all goes according to plan, James might push himself that bit further and keep on running.
“When I hit the wall I will use our mantra at Gloo “Stick to it” which we say to our clients regarding nutrition, mindset and exercise.
Assuming I can still stand on Saturday night, I will be very tempted to try and get to 100k with one last 5K in the dark. More realistically I will be thanking those who are supporting me and sleeping for a day afterwards,” he said.
For more information about how to support this special Escape Arts fundraising challenge and how to join in the walk or run, visit the charity’s page: www.localgiving.org/charity/escapearts/project/MeonEscapeRun/