Big Winter Workout - Reviews & Thank Yous!

The creativity shown by entrants and their choice of exercise was incredible! We saw everything from the more traditional options of walking, swimming, running and cycling through to HIIT workouts, hospital workouts, dancing, hula-hooping, football and even surfing! The great news is that this fantastically flexible challenge raised over £400,000 – a truly staggering amount. 

One of our fabulous fundraisers, Emily Roberts from Shropshire, told us what the challenge was like for her:

Crohn’s and Colitis UK is a cause that’s extremely close to my heart in more ways than one. I’m an IBD Clinical Nurse Specialist as well as a Crohn’s Disease warrior myself and I’m always looking for a new way of fundraising for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, to support the charity’s fantastic work. This fitted in perfectly with my busy working life and my current health. I couldn’t have imagined a more worthwhile way to spend 31 minutes of each day in January, as well as some great motivation for the January blues! 

I tried to mix up my exercise and do some things out of my usual routine to make it a bit more of a challenge; I managed to do some boxing, swimming, yoga classes, HIIT, spinning, walking and running.

Two of my fellow IBD Nurses, Michelle Gadsden and Sally Edwards, also took part and this often boosted our motivation as we would discuss our exercises each day in the office, which was great. I also really enjoyed seeing everyone else’s posts on the Facebook feed and getting that real sense of teamwork: what a community!

Once it was over, I took some well-earned rest days and reflected on how much I had enjoyed the challenge. I felt really proud of all the hard work I did – my efforts equated to nearly 22 hours of exercise in the end!

Thanks very much indeed to Emily – it means so much to us here at Crohn’s & Colitis UK to hear such a positive story. Here’s to the next big fundraiser!