Sue Dennis is a physiotherapist from South Shields, who took part in two Northern Bootcamps, one in Weardale and one in Bamburgh, in order to train for the Marathon of the North in Sunderland.
Before bootcamp Sue had attended the local gym and also tried going running. She was first recommended to Northern Bootcamp through a friend who had seen a deal for the 4-day camp on ‘Groupon’. Sadly her friend couldn’t attend the bootcamp, so Sue decided to go alone. Sue had many expectations of what bootcamp may actually be like: “When I first booked in for the bootcamp I thought it would be a bit like a military operation with people shouting at you to do exercise, but when I got there it was completely different.”
When she began bootcamp Sue told the trainers Dan and Caroline that she was preparing for a marathon and they straight away created a tailored fitness plan for her. This meant Sue was given more running challenges with Dan and Caroline, who run the camp, each taking turns to run beside her. Sue valued highly the support she was constantly given: “Dan and Caroline are absolutely fantastic, they knew I was going to run the marathon so they constantly gave me breathing exercises and tips on how to pace myself.”
Throughout the camp Sue took part in a wide range of activities, as well as regular running, including: orienteering, archery, kayaking and circuit training. One thing Sue also found very useful was the nutritional advice given at the camp, she also found the food very enjoyable as it was catered specifically to the exercise they were doing. “The meals we had would either be very protein based or carbohydrate based depending on the type of exercise we were going to do. This allowed us to work the hardest we could and also burn the most fat.”
Sue also made some valuable friends at the camp who she still keeps in touch with today: “when I attended the second camp I recognised a lot of people from the first camp, making two really good friends who lived in my area, we added each other on facebook and also swapped contact details and since the camp we have kept in touch, exercising regularly together.”
After the camp Sue kept up her healthy eating and training and after few weeks people began commenting and noticing Sue’s weight loss. Sue ran the Marathon of the North in Sunderland on the 6th of May, finishing in a time of four hours twenty minutes, a massive achievement.
Throughout the duration of the first two camps Sue lost 11 pounds, she has since went on to lose another stone and a three pounds, bringing her total weight loss to two stone. Sue is looking forward to taking part in another bootcamp throughout the summer and recommends Northern Bootcamp to everyone.
*Results vary from person to person. Weight loss is dependent on campers sticking to meals as provided and taking part in all activities. We ask for 100% commitment and effort from all campers.
