More than £10000 raised in memory of former GCU student
A fitness group have paid tribute to a former GCU student by raising thousands of pounds for the Beatson’s Teenage Cancer Trust Unit.
Meadbh Cameron passed away earlier this year after being diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in 2022.
Current GCU BSc Paramedic Science student Sally McBride was one of 30 people involved in helping honour the memory of Meadbh through a massive charity fundraiser, which took place last month.
“There’s obviously that GCU connection there between Meadbh and myself. I didn’t know her personally but she was based in a couple of the stations where I spent time on placement. I actually got to know one of her friends, Michelle, who goes to the same fitness group as me: Born To Be Alive.” explained Sally.
The Knightswood-based community group’s motto is movement, mindfulness, music & nature for mental wellness, physical health & social connection.
Sally and Michelle decided to team up and organise an event that would tie into the founding principles of the group and help raise funds for the Beatson’s Teenage Cancer Trust Unit, who supported Meadbh during her battle with the disease.
“Born To Be Alive was actually founded by one of my best friends, Eilidh Jones. There’s a wide variety of ages and fitness levels there with over 100 members.
“Over the last three years we’ve done an annual charity event called ‘Fierce’. This year we felt it would be fitting to do it in honour of Meadbh and everything she went through.
“There was 30 of us taking part in ‘Fierce’, but we also had kids from the community involved in some part of the challenge, as well as other people who didn’t want to do the entire event. We basically just wanted to make sure everyone could join in. It was £5 to enter and everything went straight to the trust. So much credit needs to go to Eilidh for helping set everything up.”
With everything in place for the event on Saturday 9th September, there was then just the small matter of completing the challenge…which was certainly no walk in the park.
Sally explained everything that was involved:
8am – 30 minute run
“We left from the basketball court at Knightswood Park. We ran round the golf course and completed 5km in total. Running is not my speciality so it was a push but I think the adrenalin on the day and remembering what you’re doing it for really helped.
8.30am – Fierce 15 Bootcamp Challenge
“There was basically 15 different exercises working alongside a partner going as hard and as fast as you can. We were doing things like burpees, pull-ups and sprints. We’d been training for a good couple of months prior to doing this – there was additional classes on a Saturday morning where we’d go through the Fierce 15 exercises.
9.30am – 30 minute Cardio Dance
“Dancing is another thing that isn’t one of my specialities. I would say it’s probably the biggest fear I had! I’d definitely rather do burpees than dancing but Eilidh’s a former dancer and set up the routine. I was quite happy to just stand at the back but it was absolutely exhausting because it’s all high intensity to keep your heart rate up.
10am – Cycle to Drumclog Car Park
“I think at this point we realised how early it still was because we were going past people and they were saying ‘good morning’ and we were like ‘oh my god, it is still morning!’. We’d been on the go for so long and at this point I think I was starting to get a bit scared about the swim since it’s such a test of endurance and we had already done so much.
“After cycling 10km, we then ditched the bikes and walked to Drumbock Loch through a forest path. Thankfully, we had lots of helpers and volunteers along the way who were carrying all our stuff, including our swim stuff for the next stage.
Drumbock Loch swim
“The swim was along the narrowest part of the water. We’d been doing cold water dips throughout the year and one of our members is a swimming instructor so she was doing extra sessions on a Friday night to help prepare us for it and increase our confidence. I’m quite scared of swimming but I got through it with the team. Another bonus was the fact we’d had really good weather all week, so the water wasn’t too cold – it was actually quite refreshing given how sweaty we were after the cycle!
“We then walked back to get the bikes and it was time for another 10km cycle to the fire station, which one of the girls from the group had organised as our finish.”
The challenge was almost over for Sally and the rest of the participants, but there was one final test of endurance awaiting them at Knightswood Fire Station.
She explained: “Our family members and friends were all there to greet us as we cycled through the station. We had heard a rumour there was going to be a ‘surprise finisher’. We were told to pose for a picture and some of the fire fighters then appeared from nowhere and soaked us with big buckets of water. It was a shock but it was just really good fun!”
The efforts of the 30 participants were reflected in the huge amount of money raised for the Beatson’s Teenage Cancer Trust Unit.
“We all set up our own individual pages and together we’ve now hit a total of £10,000. We're expecting that number to grow even more so it's really exciting for all of us involved.
"We’ve been blown away by the generosity shown by everyone and I think it just goes to show the impact Meadbh had. There’s been so many lovely messages on all of the JustGiving pages. The whole thing has touched everyone’s hearts and hopefully it makes a big difference to the Beatson.”
It’s not too late to donate, just follow the link here to give towards Sally’s personal fundraiser
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter