Our Charlotte

Charlotte Marsden came along to the first bootcamp I ran in Portishead along with 23 other people looking to get fitter, leaner and healthier…..and right then she became a challenge to me!! She’d been coming along for a few sessions when she started to slow up bit and found she had real difficulty running as she had a pain in her foot. She soldiered on until she could hardly walk but still she wanted to keep coming. Then on this one particular occasion she said “I love it Donna, but I’m not sweating very much!”

“REALLY Charlotte!” I replied, “That’s because you’re not doing the cardio side of it!” So I had a little think and asked “Charlotte, can you ride a bike?”

“Yes I can!” replied Charlotte

“Right,” I said, “you’ll sweat next time, I guarantee it!”

So Wednesday bootcamp came around and I loaded my mountain bike on the back of my car at 5:30 in the morning and headed off for Portishead. They all turned up ready for action, chomping on the bit to get started and I turned to Charlotte and said, “That’s for you – you’re not allowed to change gear and you have to stay ahead of the rest of us!” She rose to the challenge, we warmed up and Charlotte hopped on the bike. We were doing sprints that day and I had set the bike in a really low gear, Charlotte got on that bike and started off across the park. She’d been going for about 10 minutes, jumping off the bike to perform the body weight exercises with the rest of the crew and then straight back on the bike and off across the park again. Her legs were whizzing round like Catherine wheels, the bike was just staying ahead of us and the sweat was lashing off her. “You’re sweating today Charlotte!!!” I shouted at her chuckling. She looked at me with this huge grin on her very pink face and just nodded – mission accomplished! And that’s how we did it that whole bootcamp and every session she worked her socks off.

At the end of the 4 weeks we have a week’s rest and I must admit I was very disappointed when Charlotte didn’t join up again, but the pain in her foot was restricting her so I could understand a bit of time off. That was back in July 2011.

I didn’t see Charlotte again for a few months, then in February 2012, Charlotte’s name came up on my bootcamp list. “I remember Charlotte” I thought. At the first session, we were getting reacquainted and she said, “Do you remember that pain I had in my foot?”

“Yes” I said. SHE HAD BROKEN A BONE IN HER FOOT!!!! She had still done a month of pretty hardcore bootcamp with a broken foot! Then I realised just how hardy this lady was and I was looking forward to putting her through her paces! It was great to have her back on board. Charlotte kept coming to boot camp all year. She hardly ever missed a session and at the end of every month when it came to sign up again,
there was Charlottes name heading the list. She got fitter, stronger, and leaner and I had to progress the exercises to keep up with her fitness level. Whoever Charlotte was teamed up with, she would shout encouragement and egg them on to do their best. People like being Charlotte’s team mate! She is great fun!

Seb and Olivia, I would be on your mummy’s team any day of the week. She gives everything her all and she does not quit and she is definitely one of the most fun, inspirational and stubbornly driven people I have ever met 🙂 ………and I absolutely adore her!

HUGE hugs.

Donna