Summit different as gym members top Snowdon
NINETEEN walkers from the same Runcorn gym have completed a trek to the top of Snowdon in the first in a series of events aimed at overcoming the stresses of isolation during the pandemic.
The group – all members of The Heath Gym, aged 20 to 70 and from Runcorn, Widnes and Warrington – took part in the first “away day” on Saturday, July 31.
Club fitness co-ordinator Ann Brindley helped to organise the event and was on hand to offer encouragement and support to the trekkers during tough parts of the walk.
Paul Woods, a third member of the team, also supported the walkers.
Mark McGrath, the manager, has launched the “away day” challenges in a bid to help deal with the metal strains of over a year of lockdowns, with more events lined up including paddleboarding.
Mark said: “Lockdowns have been tough on everyone, and I was aware that lots of people have been struggling during this difficult time.
“Although The Heath Gym is back open, I felt we should offer our members the opportunity to meet others in fun and challenging activities outside of the normal gym environment.”
He added: “It took around three hours to reach the summit.
“After posing for the obligatory photographs, we then descended at quite a decent pace with the whole challenge taking around six hours to complete which was a pretty impressive performance.”
Mark Lightfoot, 58, a gym member from Runcorn, Cheshire said: “I really enjoyed the experience and have wanted to do the climb for a number of years but none of my family or friends were interested.
“In fact, they thought I was mad doing it for the first time at my age! I appreciate all the effort it took, especially behind the scenes, to organise something like this.”