Wokingham Today

Olympic heroes help reach Nirvana

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MEMBERS of a gym in Sindlesham pitted their fitness against staff members and Olympic athletes as part of a fundraisin­g cycle challenge last week.

Staff and club members of Pulse8, at Nirvana Spa, in Mole Road, took on a 10-hour cycling challenge to raise money for Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, with a little help from some celebrity athletes.

Olympic gold medallist Will Satch cycled against Gym Manager David Knights, while CEO Sean Barley took on Colin Blears, a Pulse 8 member who has recently broken the world record for the fastest transatlan­tic row.

Colin said: “I like the push myself and the staff at Pulse 8 really help me to challenge myself.

“When I set off on the transatlan­tic row, they gave me exercises that could be done during the two hours of down time.

“This is my way of giving a little something back and showing my appreciati­on.”

Sean said: “We really like to support a local charity, there are so many good causes nationally, but it’s lovely to be involved in something so local.

“We’ve been supporting the [Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice] for the last two years and will continue to do so.”

Community Manager at the hospice, Fionnuala Lawes said: “It’s a really lovely awareness piece and the support we’ve had from Nirvana and Pulse 8 has been phenomenal, they’ve funded our hydrothera­py pool, they’ve also given us the money to double it in size so that families can enjoy it together, and they’ve made a lifetime commitment to help us with the maintenanc­e as well.

“It’s really lovely that they are doing this for us today and raising the awareness, there’s still a lot of work to be done at the hospice before we open in the autumn, and, of course, it will cost a lot of money to keep us running so we are always going to need this help and support.”

For more informatio­n visit www.alexanderd­evine.org

 ?? Picture: Gemma Davidson ?? Sean Barley, Fionnuala Lawes and Colin Blears at Pulse 8
Picture: Gemma Davidson Sean Barley, Fionnuala Lawes and Colin Blears at Pulse 8

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