Firefighters’ endurance challenge pushes them to their limits

The team from Blue Watch at Littlehampton Fire Station took on the challenge to raise money for two-year-old George Pannell and The Fire Fighters Charity, two causes close to their hearts.

Kate Gray, who convinced the rest of her watch to join her in the challenge, said: “We knew it was going to be a real test of our endurance but nothing can really prepare you for the physical and mental demands that a challenge like this puts on you.”

The five firefighters covered 46 miles and completed 2,300 pull ups, 4,600 push ups and 6,900 squats on Tuesday while wearing 10kg weighted vests.

The well-known CrossFit workout called Murph involves a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats, rounded off with another one-mile run.

The Littlehampton team started at 7am and by 7pm, they had powered through 23 complete Murphs.

Katy said: “We knew we were doing this for two incredible causes and that kept us going, even when the going got tough.

“The Fire Fighters Charity carries out such important work with serving and former firefighters and their families, it’s vital that they are able to continue with their work for years to come.

“And when we heard about little George and everything his family has to contend with, getting him to hospital in Southampton, and dealing with a condition like neuroblastoma, we just knew we wanted to do our bit to help. All of us on the watch are parents ourselves, so we wanted to step up and help.

“Unfortunately, George wasn’t able to come and see us on the day, as he had to be taken into hospital, but he sent us a video message wishing us good luck. That made it all the more worthwhile.”

The crew has raised more than £2,000 and there is still time to donate. Visit {https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/blue-watch/

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes