Frome’s sponsored slimmers put their best foot forward!

Members of the Slimming World fundraising party.

SLIMMERS from Frome have raced 5k or walked 2.5k to raise £500 for Cancer Research UK.

The 15 women, men and children, who are all members of the Slimming World group, were taking part in their own Race at Your Place event to raise money for Slimming World’s fundraising arm SMILES (Slimmers Making It a Little Easier for Someone), which is supporting Cancer Research UK for 2013.

Slimming World and Cancer Research UK have teamed up to help people live healthier lives and raise awareness of the links between being overweight and developing cancer.

The Frome Tuesday Evening Group’s race, starting at Frome Cricket Club, was part of a national event running in all Slimming World groups across the UK.

Between 22nd July and 10th August Slimming World challenged its groups to hold their own Race at Your Place. The group’s members could choose the distance they wanted to cover and everyone could get involved. Members could get sponsored to do as much or a little as they liked and could walk or run the distance. The Frome Tuesday Evening Slimming World group opted to cover both options; some members ran 5k and others walked 2.5k.

Debbie Hills, who runs the Frome Slimming World group every week at Frome Cricket Club said, “I would like to thank my lovely member Kate Wareham who worked out the route for us.”

The aim of Race at Your Place was to raise money for charity while raising awareness about the amazing benefits of getting active, including increasing energy levels, reducing stress, building self-esteem, improving health and helping to maintain a healthy weight.

Having an active lifestyle also reduces the risk of developing a range of conditions including all types of cancer. All of the money raised for Cancer Research UK will go towards helping the charity to fund pioneering, life-saving research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Debbie says her members jumped at the chance to try something new and raise money for the charity. She said, “Our Race at Your Place event was a great reason for all of us to get active and to do as much or as little as we could – it was all in a good cause!

“When you’re overweight you can struggle with doing any exercise, so it can be daunting to take the first steps to becoming more active – but it’s definitely worth it. The key is to start small and find something that you enjoy. There’s no rule that says being active has to involve a gym or running shorts, it can be as simple as walking to collect the children from school or hitting the dance floor on a night out.

“Lots of my members started to become more active by taking part in our Body Magic programme and discovered something they really love doing. Alongside our Food Optimising eating plan, it helps members to live a healthier life and they’ve seen huge benefits including toning up their muscles and feeling much happier and more confident. I’m hoping our Race at Your Place event will have helped to inspire even more people to get moving too.

“Every week at group as well as sharing recipes and tips, celebrating each other’s success and helping everyone to prepare for the week ahead, we talk about activity and the different options available in our area and lots of the members do these activities together now.

“Taking part in Race at Your Place together was great fun, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to raise a fantastic £500 for such a wonderful charity.”

For more information about the Frome Slimming World group contact Debbie Hills on 01373 472327 / 07849 536189 or pop along to the group which is held every Tuesday at 5.15pm or 7.15pm at Frome Cricket Club.