Lockdown walks led to marathon for friends
Two friends from Oswestry who met at Slimming World made 2021 their year of exercise culminating in the Virtual Virgin London Marathon.
Slimming World consultant Claire Morris started her role in 2012 after herself losing seven and a half stone.
She said “In the first lockdown, I really started to struggle with my mental health after eight years of running my busy groups and seeing hundreds of members every week.
"On one of our zoom meetings we talked about exercise and Toni Hastings who I met through Slimming World messaged me asking if I fancied going for a walk with her.
"Toni lost an incredible 10 stone 11lbs in my group. I jumped at the chance and we made our walks a regular thing. We started pushing ourselves to go faster and further until we were climbing mountai2s.
"I’ve always loved running so I decided I needed another challenge and entered the Virtual Virgin London Marathon to help raise money for Hope House, a local childrens hospice. I mentioned this to Toni and she immediately entered too. "We trained hard and I loved seeing our strength and endurance improve. "
The duo took part in the virtual marathon on October 3rd and completed it in five hours and two seconds.
"To say I was proud is an understatement. We also raised £1,668 for Hope House and I can’t thank my friends and Slimming World members enough for all their support and generosity in our challenge."
If anyone would like to find out more about Claire’s Slimming World groups get in touch on 07882 174539 or visit the Slimming World website.
