Fitness heroes raise money for a local charity

It was a heroic effort from members of a popular gym at the weekend, as they worked together to raise money for a local charity.

CrossFit Pendle held a charity fundraiser on its site on the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate in Nelson to raise money for BK’s Heroes; a local charity raising money for brain and kidney disease.

The charity was set up by Ben King, who sadly died on February 28th after bravely battling inoperable brain tumours. His brother, Dan, is a keen member of the gym and his friends there wanted to do their bit for the charity.

Saturday’s event included a hero themed throwdown between the gym members, which consisted of three, tough CrossFit style workouts, incorporating bar and gymnastics movements. Catering was provided by local company Pauls Kitchen, there was a bouncy castle for the children, a raffle was held and various homemade cakes and treats were on sale.

Mike Rawson, owner at CrossFit Pendle said: “The event was a huge success for both our members and the wider community and it was great to do something for a local charity that means a lot to us.

“Overall, we raised a fantastic £1276, which is testament to the hard work and effort from everyone involved.”

Winners in the competition were Haydn Sibley and Jonathan Doney and runners up were Jason Manning and Michael Staffa.

Raffle prizes were kindly donated from local businesses including the Sparrow Hawk, Scruples Menswear and All About The Sparkle, in Barrowford.

The event was a great way to raise money for BK’s Heroes, and also inform the community about the forthcoming BK’s Box to Box Challenge; eight members of the gym, including Ben’s brother, will be travelling across Europe over six days to complete 21 CrossFit ‘benchmark’ workouts at 15 gyms in 9 countries. Mike added: “I’d like to thank all who supported the event, including our members, local businesses who donated some great prizes and the community of Burnley and Pendle for coming down to the gym to show their support.”