Unit 1 Fitness & Martial Arts instructor Hannah Kendall puts herself to the test in Ashgate Hospice fundraiser

Hannah and her friend Bekki Priestley have set themselves an exhausting schedule to help the highly valued Chesterfield-based charity.

“We started by climbing 355 flights of stairs, which was the equivalent of climbing Snowden and that was followed by going 437 times round the garden to match a half-marathon,” Hannah explained.

“We then did 50,000 steps around the house in a day, which was the equivalent of a marathon. Then we took on an ‘Everest stair climb’, taking in 3,403 flights of stairs, both up and down, over the course of three days. We camped at the bottom of the stairs as well!”

“Our latest one was a side-kick challenge, completing 10,000 kicks. We are planning to do some rowing challenges and then get hold of an exercise bike to take on others.”

Hannah teaches fitness classes at Unit 1 Fitness & Martial Arts in Chesterfield. She is a level 2 gym instructor and qualified to teach boxercise, Fitness Pilates and Strong by Zumba.

On Unit 1’s website, Hannah said: “I have a passion for staying fit and healthy and love to push myself and see how much I can achieve.”

Dave Cartawick, owner of Unit1 Fitness & Martial, praised the pair, saying: “They have done really well and deserve recognition for their efforts. It keeps them going and motivates our members while raising some money for Ashgate.”

Unit1, who run a variety of fitness and martial arts classes including karate, kickboxing and boxercise classes, at their Brimington Road premises, have also been donating funds from their online coaching sessions.

Dave added: “We usually organise an annual fundraising event, which we haven’t been able to do this year, so that’s why we came up with the idea of raising money for Ashgate via our online sessions. They need donations more than ever at this challenging time and we are pleased to be able to help.”

If you would like to donate to Unit1’s JustGiving page, where £567 of a £1,000 target has been raised so far , go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/unit12020