Training for a charity challenge

Training for a charity challenge




Medianett gets advice from some of our more 'active' peers as they train for charity events. Did you know there was an app for conquering a mud-ridden assault course..? .

Medianett gets advice from some of our more 'active' peers as they train for charity events. Did you know there was an app for conquering a mud-ridden assault course..? 
In the name of a good cause, many are willing to push their bodies to the limit - be it a sponsored bungee jump, sky dive or chucking an ice-cold bucket of water over their head.

But you don't just jump into this sort of test without prepping for it first. Those dedicated and daring enough to accept have to transform from average Joe to sports pro. 
 
One challenge that seems to have gone viral in the industry, is the Tough Mudder challenge. 
Not a challenge for the faint hearted, the Tough Mudder is an assault course and 12 mile mud run designed by the British Special Forces. Forget the Ice Bucket Challenge, because Tough Mudder participants will be jumping into a skip of ice. Also, gruelling climbs and lung-busting sprints are the last of their worries with the electric shocks around the corner. 

But this mountainous task hasn’t been enough to faze many in the alternative finance industry, with some of its survivors including Masthaven's Andrew Bloom, many of the Brightstar team and Voltaire Financial's Andrew Hosford. 

Fellow survivor of Andrew is colleague, James Thomlinson, who trained for over three months for the event. When asked what he used to assist their progresss, he noted tech apps, Nike + and Battle Ropes. The two of them managed to raise around £2,800.

 

 

 In whether the challenge was what he expected, he said it was: "much harder - the course was much more up and down and muddier due to the rain."

 Also getting in on the charitable assault course, Ying Tan and his team at the Buy to Let Club are taking the Tough Mudder training as no joke. Around 50 per cent of its office are getting involved and have even have employed the use of a trainer, as well as gadgets, namely an app known as ‘RunKeeper’. 

Ying commented: “We use RunKeeper to track activities - it has a leader board which helps push us on and drive each other. When you are looking at your phone on a Saturday morning in bed and a notification pops up that one of your colleagues has just completed a 10K run, it helps us to get out of bed and run!  

 

 “Equally, since we can’t always train together, seeing other people's times and distances via RunKeeper makes solo running all the more competitive. Nobody wants to have last active: ‘two weeks ago’ next to their name!” 

The team is set to have its first boot camp session next week - keep an eye out on twitter for those snaps. 

To help readers with tips on charity training regimes, Medianett decided to quiz Ying Tan on the team's own training progress:

What made you decide to do the Tough Mudder challenge? 

We are of varying abilities, shapes and sizes, however we have one thing in common - to raise money for Ollie Young Foundation! This is a charity about a boy who tragically died one day before his sixth birthday of an incurable brain tumour.  

It is very close to our heart as he played at the same football team as my two eldest boys. We thought Tough Mudder would test us to the limits and would be a small challenge to face in comparison to what Ollie’s family had to go through.

How is the training regime going at the moment? 

Training is going well – some better than others! We have a weekly PT trainer lined up for the last six weeks, and many of us have been training three-five times a week for the last two-three months. Training consists of running and strength training.

Sometimes it feels you are going backwards, but we keep persevering and spurring each other on.  

Training is starting to become more competitive - there are many sales people running after all!   However, ultimately it is a team event so we are motivating each other. The idea is we start as a team and finish as a family!

Are people monitoring each other's dietary habits? 

Interestingly, there is currently a challenge in the office that if anyone eats anything ‘unhealthy’ i.e. chocolate, crisps etc, they have to donate 50p to the charity and do 10 press ups! In a short space of time, the fund is building up quickly and some staff are already hitting 100 press ups in a day!

No stranger to intense training is Masthaven's Neil Molyneux. He has been training since March for Portsmouth's Bupa Great South Run. Once he has checked this off his list his eyes are set firmly on the goal of a half marathon. 

Neil commented: "My training has been steady and structured with smaller races to build stamina.  I’m on track for 10 miles and could quite happily throw in my running shoes and do seven miles."

On his charity of choice, Stand up to Cancer, Neil said: "One of the things that shocked me when talking to people about why I am doing this was the sheer number of people either directly or indirectly affect by cancer.  

"To help motivate me when I am pounding the streets, I decided that I wanted to create a list of people to run for. When people sponsor me I have asked them to tell the name of anyone close to them who has been affected by this disease.

"Sadly, the list isn’t small, but every one of their names will be printed onto my ‘Stand up to Cancer’ T-shirt which I intend to wear at the finish line. I thought this would be a small gesture to thank all of those who have sponsored me. If you want to sponsor me and have a name added to ‘the list’ please do so on the Just Giving website

In summary, Medianett is proud to salute the alternative finance industry's tests of endurance, made as a token of effort to better the situations of those less fortunate. 

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