It’s coming up to the one-year anniversary of losing my wonderful father – 3 days before his year anniversary, myself and 7 other wonderful friends will be embarking on a Hyrox Challenge at London Olympia.

When daddy was poorly last year, I told him that I was planning on doing a half marathon, his reply was “don’t be so bloody stupid’. In typical Gemma fashion I laced up my trainers and over the next 9 months managed to cover over 300km to try and get match fit. Sadly, about a month before, my Achillies tendon decided that it was not going to play ball and I had to withdraw.

Fast forward to the day before my birthday last year in December and the eight of us were sitting in the pub (yes typical Gemma fashion too) and I was persuaded to undertake this Hyrox. What is a Hyrox I asked!? – I was given the dulled down version that’s for sure.

For those that do not know, a Hyrox consists of 8km of running, after each 1km you do a station of Skierg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jumps, Rowing, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges and Wall Balls. Basically, you are pushing yourself to your limit. Since my birthday I have been putting in the hours of training, but after a proper Hyrox practice this weekend realised how hard it actually is. We are doing it in pairs which will definitely help with the mental side of keeping going and we aim to finish in under 2 1/2 hours.

One of the main reasons that I am doing this was 2025 was a hell of a year for me with my daddy, family members, colleagues, and friends all battling their own fight against cancer. The Hyrox we are doing is to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. My aim is to raise as much money as I possibly can to help them as much as I can.

Thank you in advance for anything you can donate to this wonderful charity, it’s very much appreciated.