Personal trainer's 24 hour sled-push raises more than £10k for Chichester charity

Jamie Alderton, who runs Grenade gym in Terminus Road, took on the challenge of a lifetime last week when he pushed a 140kg sled back and forth for 24 hours.

Not only did the personal trainer from Bognor raise more than £10,000 for St Wilfird’s – a charity close to his heart – but he also beat a Guinness World Record.

Talking about the experience, which took place from Friday (November 25) to Saturday, Jamie said: “Was it harder than expected? Yes, just a bit.

“I had been training quite a bit leading up to it, from one hour to eight hours.

“Have the closing ticking down in front of me was nice at certain points to see it reducing, but at times it was hard – especially when I had done eight hours which was what I was used to and still having 16 to go.”

Jamie continued to say that during the sled pushed he burned around 25,000 calories.

“I woke up the next day nine pounds lighter,” Jamie added.

“Between two and three o clock was when I was feeling it most, but then loads of people came in and that helped.

“My feet started to give way at one point, where I was pushing from my toes everything was rubbing.

“My wife sent me a video of Elyza telling me to keep going which was a massive encouragement.”

The previous holder to the sled push world record was a relay team, however Jamie completed the unimaginable task single-handedly.

“I wanted to set myself my own goal,” said Jamie.

“I completed the challenge of pushing for 15 miles by 22 hours so the last two hours I could relax a bit knowing I had done it.”

Jamie added that it was also a motivation to know how much he was raising during the push.

He said: “The hospice looked after my grandad before he passed away, it is really close to my heart.

“The staff are amazing and I love supporting local charities and seeing where the money goes.”

He continued: “I was an emotional wreck when I finished, it isn’t often I have nothing to say but I was lost for words.”

St Wilfrid’s events community officer, Jasmine Cotton said: “It costs about £70,000 a day to keep the hospice going so donations like this are absolutely crucial.

“When Jamie first came to us we were talking about a donation of around £5,000 which is amazing, so to be receiving more than double that is incredible.

“It is an amazing achievement, we are in awe.”