Lunchtime HIIT training sessions are helping Forth Valley College lecturer Julie Warnock to prepare for her Sahara desert challenge, as she sets her sights on a charity fundraising night on Friday 4 October.
Business lecturer Julie, who turns 50 years of age this year, hopes to raise £1550 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support – by running through the UNESCO World Heritage Draa Valley in Morocco, on a worthy Saharan adventure (between 10-15 October), where she will cover two marathon distances in two days across endless sand dunes and rocky trails.
Help has been at hand in the form of FVC’s Leisure Facilities Coordinator Wai Mun Lee, who along with Gym assistant Kasia Slapek, have been putting Julie through her paces during the daily High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions at the Falkirk Campus gym, which are proving extremely popular with college staff.
Julie, who is currently selling tickets for her ‘Evening of Clairvoyance’ in the Plough Hotel in Larbert on Friday 4 October, with Monique Guy and Maria Sharp, said: “I am turning 50 years of age this year and I just wanted to do something a wee bit different, and at the same time raise some money for McMillan Cancer Support.
“Wai and Kasia have been a great support during my training and they have really been helping me to reach the peak fitness I will need to complete the run. The lunchtime HIIT classes are really varied and enjoyable and there is a great bunch of regulars who really support and encourage each other through the 20-25 minute sessions. I would recommend them to my colleagues to give them a try.
“Macmillan were brilliant when my mum died three years ago and I can’t really explain to people who have not had their own experience of them, how good they were.
“I am really looking forward to the challenge and flying into Marrakesh in Morocco to start the trek. I hope my colleagues will want to help me raise my ideal total of £1550 and they can donate through my JustGiving page. I have even told my students who think I am a bit out there, but hopefully they too will drop a few coins in the bucket!”
FVC’s Leisure Facilities Coordinator, Wai Mun Lee, said: “Julie is an amazing individual who has shown commitment and enthusiasm throughout the years of using our gyms and has been a great role model encouraging other staff to get fit and healthy as well. It’s brilliant that Julie has signed up for this challenge as it allows her to put all her hard training into a worthwhile cause, she is still short of reaching the full £1550 required and to put her mind at ease it would be good if everyone could donate to not only help meet the required total, but hopefully smash it out of the park! Good luck Julie keep on training.”
Anyone wishing to buy a ticket for the Evening of Clairvoyance to help Julie reach her target should contact her on julie.warnock@forthvalley.ac.uk , or to make a donation visit her JustGiving page at the following link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/juliewarnock
Anyone looking for information on how to join the lunchtime HIIT sessions should pop into the Falkirk Campus gym and speak to Wai or Kasia.