Success stories!

After giving birth for the second time, Ruth, 41 weighed 18 stone.  She decided it was time to shed the pounds.  She said: "After I gave birth to Daniel in May last year I was 18 stone. It was very difficult to get me off the sofa.  But I just decided I wanted to do something about it. It was for the kids as much as me because I wanted them to be healthy.   I started by eating better but then I joined Shape Up Notts! in about March 2007 and I have really seen a difference."

"Since registering on the website, I began swimming at weekends.  I then started running three times a week.  Once I felt confident in my fitness level, I signed up to my Local Authority gym and haven't looked back.

"I enjoy at least four classes a week, including box-fit, salsacise, fit-ball and spinning. Through joining classes I have made friends, and we all support each other. The trainers all take an active interest in our progress and motivate us to achieve our goals. I can now run 3k in less than 25 minutes. At one stage, I couldn't walk for 25 minutes without a rest."

When you register on the website you are given points for the exercise you do, this really inspired Ruth to keep going: "It is really addictive to see your points go up and up, probably more addictive than the exercise itself.  And you can see a comparison based on how much exercise you do in a week.  One week I did the equivalent of running a half-marathon."

Cathy, 38 from Woodthorpe, was really sporty as a child and into her 20s but once she had her daughter it got a lot harder to exercise.  Since registering with Shape Up Notts! last year she has gone from a non-runner to completing the Robin Hood half marathon and has just joined Redhill Running Club.

"As a single mum driving to the gym, doing a class and getting home is not really viable if you have to find a babysitter every time you go.  Now my daughter's older I find myself just being a taxi service for her so it's even more difficult to find the time.  Before joining Shape Up Notts! I had done no exercise for at least six years."
 
"I started work at Sport England in October 2006 and was really impressed at how active everybody was. I started running a couple of times a week with others in the office. At first we couldn't even run a mile but we built up gradually and after about two months could manage three miles in a lunch break!  I took part in a couple of fun runs and then moved on to 10ks. I was very slow but who cares, I just plodded along."

Cathy applied to become part of the Shape Up Notts! team for the 2007 Robin Hood half marathon.  Together with fellow Sport England worker Tricia Quinn, Cathy trained hard with running programmes designed by New Balance.
 
"By February 2007 I was losing interest in running and felt I wasn't getting anywhere. Any weight I had lost started to creep back on as my exercise regime staggered to a halt.  I heard about the Shape Up Notts! campaign and the team they were putting together for the half marathon and thought that might give me the goal I needed to kick start my training again.

 "I wanted to do a half marathon for the personal challenge, and to try to drop a dress size along the way! Getting through my first fun run without stopping felt like I'd won an Olympic gold, and getting across the finish line of the half marathon under my goal time gave me an amazing sense of satisfaction because I had stuck at something even though it wasn't always easy.
 
"Sometimes it has been hard to keep my motivation going especially as I don't always enjoy running.  But the Shape Up Notts! website has kept my interest.  I log my activity and love the statistics it generates, especially when you've had a rough patch and you can see that you need to get things back on track.
 
"Since joining Shape Up Notts! my fitness has improved, my body shape has changed and my clothes are looser, but the impact has been much deeper than that.  I always used to sleep fitfully and would be up as early as 4am.  Now I sleep like a log and don't wake until my alarm goes.  I also feel so much better about myself and feel like I'm doing something really positive just for me.  I also have more energy and seem much more upbeat.  Now if I don't exercise I feel awful and sluggish.

Zach, 25, from California, is here in Nottingham on an 18-month contract as Gym Manager at Hoofers Gym and Health Club in the Victoria Centre.

As the Manager of a gym, Zach is pretty fit.  He trains almost every day combining weights with cardiovascular exercise such as running and cycling. 

"I want to be the best at the sports I do, which include baseball, badminton, running and cycling, so I train hard.  I am hoping to start work on my swimming soon and enter a triathlon.

Zach became a member of Shape Up Notts! a couple of months ago and is hooked!

"I think Shape Up Notts! is a great idea, it really appeals to the competitive streak in me.  When I saw the leaderboard on the website, I made it my goal to get in the top 10. 

"It becomes an addiction!  When I think about slacking off and not training for a few days, I worry about slipping down the leaderboard, so I get back in the gym! 

Kevin Campbell, 49, from Hucknall, was referred to the Shape Up Notts! campaign at the beginning of 2007 by his GP as he was seriously overweight and suffering badly with diabetes.  He was selected to be part of the Shape Up Notts! team for the Robin Hood Marathon (Sept 16) with his wife, Dawn, 53, and was provided with specialist running gear from New Balance and a bespoke training programme to help him train for the event.
 
Within the first few months of training the couple lost over a stone each and Kevin was able to dramatically reduce his insulin intake.  Despite being the oldest and least fit members of the marathon team, Kevin and Dawn did not shy away from training and entered numerous walks and runs in the lead up to the big day, as well as attending the gym three times a week. 
 
Kevin wanted to be part of the team to show his children the importance of keeping yourself fit.  He did a lot of his training with his children and and both his daughter, Emma, 15 and son, Dale, 12 took part in the Robin Hood Fun Run.  Dale is in his fourth year of remission from leukaemia and Kevin and Dawn ran the half marathon to raise money for Leukaemia Research.
 
Kevin said, "I have wanted to do this marathon for years but you have got to spur yourself and I have just faded off.  But with Shape Up Notts! coming along it has spurred me on."
 
Kevin just wanted to finish the half marathon, whether it be running or walking.  He managed to run the first 6 miles and then completed the rest with a mixture of running and walking.  He completed the half marathon in just over 3 hours with Dawn not far behind him.  It was a magnificent achievement for the couple and they are determined to keep their fitness up.