Hi everyone

Cassells Fitness Studio are so pleased and proud to be fundraising for Beatson Cancer Charity in memory of Eilidh McHugh. We are doing this in many ways but ultimately it culminates in Strictly Beatson 2026.

Our first event is something that’s quite unusual:

Monday 20th July - Speed Project: Stephen, along with Alan Lowe, James McKay, Jack Sloss and Ethan Harris will be taking on the humungous challenge of running 500km as a relay from John O'Groats to Cassells Fitness in Glasgow. Over the course of two days, each participant will run 5k relays to make the full distance in what we believe is the first Speed Project of its kind in the UK.

Our back story:

We are a group of (mainly) non-dancers who all have personal reasons for wanting to support Beatson Cancer Charity. It's a charity who have supported many of us and our gym members past and present, and we feel really strongly about giving back.

Whilst we do all have our own reasons for participating; we were inspired by the story of Eilidh McHugh, who died aged just 22. Team Eilidh have raised nearly half a million pounds for the charity, and we want to keep their total going. Whilst most of us didn't meet Eilidh, her mum Elaine (part of our team) has told us so much about her and we want to do this bright, beautiful, vivacious young girl proud - and keep her name alive.

Our team is made up of: Elaine McHugh, Stephen Cassells, Natalie Cassells, Stuart Brown, Mark Shannon and Dawn Ferguson, along with our amazing pros Ellie and Beth Campbell.

In the lead up to Strictly Beatson, and in amongst the madness of dance practice, we will be raising funds though many challenges. So far:

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Saturday 22nd August - 24 hour gym challenge: The gym will open for a full 24 hours and we are inviting members and non-members alike to participate in one, or many, of the sessions that'll take place from 7am on 22nd to 7am on 23rd. As well as this, Stephen is participating in a Backyard Ultra with a twist where he will ski 6.7km every hour, on the hour, for 24 hours totalling 160.8km.

Sunday 30th August - Off the Beatson Track. Team Cassells and their minis will take on the 10km walk that BCC so expertly organise every year.

We are throwing ourselves fully into fundraising with some of these huge challenges, and we've still more to organise. We would love you to support us along the way. Every penny really does count.

We are super excited, albeit some of us are also super scared but you don't get anywhere without being brave - the same way Eilidh, and so many of those affected by cancer, are.

We want to make a difference to the thousands of people affected by cancer daily, and so bring on our fundraising!