Each year at Bravehearts Boxing Gym, we want to encourage more people to step out of their comfort zone and sign up to our fitness challenges and what better way to encourage this than to raise money for 3 charities that are close to our hearts (Read below to find out a bit more about them). Everyone has different fitness levels so we have a variety of events planned which allow everyone to take part and challenge themselves to set new fitness goals.

Bravehearts take on David Goggins for the 4x4x48 challenge

Friday 5th March at 4pm we will run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 miles in total finishing within 48 hours of starting.

Update - After our epic David Goggins 4x4x48 challenge, the team were feeling so good, they self organised a marathon run for Friday 2nd April. Just to be a wee bit different, we have decided to make it a Midnight Marathon and will pound the streets from Blantyre to Glasgow and back to run/jog/walk 26.2 miles in the dark! First marathon for many of the team.

Point to Point Cycle - Thursday 17th June - Sunday 20th June The team will cover approx 400 miles over 3 days cycling from the most Northerly Point on the Scottish Mainland (Dunnet Head) to the most Southerly (Mull of Galloway).

Our biggest event is a Triathlon with a difference called the 'Scotsathlon' which will take place on Saturday 3rd July. The challenge involves a 1.5 mile swim across Loch Lomond, an 8 mile hike/run up and down Ben Lomond and a 60 mile cycle around the Loch to finish. It is quite a challenge and many people who sign up have zero experience in open water swimming never mind a triathlon with these distances and a mountain thrown in for good measure.

Saturday 28th August - Bravehearts 5k/10k/Half Marathon - This is an event for all to get involved in, whether walking or running, you choose the distance to challenge you and give you something to train towards over the summer. Bring the kids too and get them out in the fresh air.

Ben Nevis Hike - Saturday 18th September - Now an annual event and with more and more signing up to the challenge, we will have 2 routes possible up Ben Nevis either via the mountain track or via the more challenging CMD arete route. If you still want to get involved but Ben Nevis is still a bit out of reach, you can opt for a shorter walk to the beautiful Steall Falls and still get those amazing mountain views.

Bravehearts Ultramarathon - Saturday 16th October - This will be approx 30miles trail running part of the West Highland Way (exact route tbc)

Eilidh's Rainbow

This is a small local charity set up by our close friends in memory of their daughter, Eilidh Dempsey, who passed away unexpectedly in 2016, aged 5. The charities aim is to offer much needed support to grieving families when a child dies. They would like to purchase a place where bereaved parents and siblings can retreat to and spend unhurried time as they feel this is something they would have benefited from in the time following Eilidh's death. They will also start up bereavement support groups and offer life saving first response awareness training to parents and carers. They will be involved in the support team for the Scotsathlon including a safety boat and aid stations which we are extremely grateful for. Huge respect to Debbie and Craig for setting up this fantastic charity, we will continue to support them in any way we can.

Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity

We recently visited the Glasgow Children's Hospital where the charity team showed us around and explained how donations are used to improve the experiences of children who are admitted to the hospital. From the second you walk in the front entrance, it is clear that they have done everything possible to make this a child friendly environment. There is a teddy hospital where children can learn about medical equipment that they might encounter, murals painted all over the hospital and even a real life cinema that plays all the latest movies, with room for beds and wheelchairs so that no one misses out. They even have clown doctors!

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team

As a team we spend lots of time in the Scottish Mountains and around the Glencoe area in general. Thank goodness we have never required the services of Mountain Rescue but the fact remains that many people do need their help each year. The teams are made up of volunteers who drop everything when that call comes in and do everything they can to bring people back home safe to their families. Even although the team members are unpaid, costs for the service in the Glencoe area alone runs into tens of thousands of pounds each year so they rely heavily on public donations. As a gym, we encourage people to get outdoors and if their fitness allows, join us hillwalking. The recent surge in popularity of outdoor pursuits is great for health and fitness but it will inevitably lead to more pressure on Mountain Rescue Services so we'd like to give something back and show our support for the amazing job they do.