Mammoth sport challenge raises £10,000 for amputee charities
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Three charities are set to benefit from a share of more than £10,000 after a gruelling 12 hour charity challenge by amputee Therese Mitchell.
In 2020, just weeks before the pandemic, Therese underwent an above knee amputation to bring an end to years of issues caused by an injury she sustained in 1992.
Despite almost three decades of pain and suffering, Therese never lost her love of an active lifestyle and while lockdown and restrictions brought new issues following her amputation it also pushed Therese to find new ways to pursue the things she loved.
It was this fresh perspective which inspired Therese to undertake a gruelling 12 hour challenge to raise money for three organisations that had supported her in her journey - NHS Physiotherapy Department of Woodend Hospital, Finding Your Feet and Scottish Disability Sport.
She set herself the challenge of completing an hour each of 10 different sporting activities in a 12 hour period on Friday, January 14th.
Her day kickstarted with an hour cycling through the early morning fog at 7am, followed by target shooting then a spin session before hitting the pool for an hour.
After a short break Therese took to the climbing wall, with lunch being followed by circuits in the gym.
The afternoon saw her take on wheelchair basketball, a rowing session and sitting volleyball.
The challenge ended with a full body pilates workout.
With support from friends, family and Deveron Sports Centre staff she was able to push herself to the finish line.
Commenting after the challenge, she said: "In the days running up to the challenge I was thinking 'what have I taken on?', but when the day came it was okay.
"I was training hard before Christmas but toned it down for a few weeks under the advice of my personal trainer, and it worked really well.
"I had plenty energy on the day and even had energy left at the end of the challenge, and my body has been fine in the days since which is fantastic.
"It was a lot of fun, it was a really good day.
"Having lots of different activities really helped and pushed me to keep going.
"I was dreading the climbing most, and once it was past the day felt a lot easier - I even managed to make it to the top twice!
"I started the day in the rain, you could see the rain coming sideways in the floodlights, so unfortunately I felt cold once I moved inside and when I was doing spin I was worried that I was starting to struggle but my daughter was there (with snacks) to keep me going and she did really well.
"The pool was warm and after my swim I was fine again.
"I was joined by different people throughout the day and it was a lot of fun, we laughed a lot.
"With the amount of money raised I felt there was a lot of pressure on me to do well - I shared my fundraiser at 5pm and by midnight I had passed my £2000 target, it was absolutely incredible.
"It's such a fantastic total, and there is still money coming in.
"A lot of people feel like they can't relate, they don't think that they'll be an amputee but the reality is that anybody can become an amputee at any time - I certainly never thought this would be my life!
"There are so many reasons that people require amputation - your life can literally change overnight - but people don't think about that."
Therese is passionate about inspiring and encouraging amputees and those living with disabilities to live their life to the fullest and find ways to overcome the hurdles which they feel disadvantage them in sporting activities.
Anybody wishing to donate can do so online at: www.gofundme.com/f/10-activities-in-12-hours-challenge
