What the Perth Crew achieved in the space of ONE WEEKEND!!!!

I always love checking in on Facebook on the weekends to see all the amazing things the 12wbt Perth Crew are up to, so I thought i'd put together just SOME of what this amazing group of girls (& a few guys!) got up to just in the space of a few days. FRIDAY NIGHT:

MMA Circuit Training - where the girls work in pairs through a circuit with an experienced fighter/trainer.

Kimax - Another regular Friday night event. Nothing better than punching and kicking stuff to kick off the weekend!!!!

SATURDAY:

Central Crew Bridges Walk - a massive shout out to the amazing Bec Higgs who SMASHED her record by over 25 minutes (!!!) and also to Theresa & Cathie who after coming across a guy passed out called the ambulance and waited with him until they arrived.

The Running Centre - Running Clinic & Shopping - A few of us are doing a 5 week running course with The Running Centre so when training was done we enjoyed breakfast & coffees and were joined by a few other Perth Crew girls too!

 

Then Bec stopped back in to TRC for a new pair of sneakers!

Lorna Jane Shopping - After breakfast Noala & I headed to Lorna Jane and ooopsies, "slipped and fell" and purchased just a few things! 

Another river walk with a 4 legged friend - Petina went for a walk along the river with her puppy dawg Kuli 

Outrigger Regatta - Jodie competed in 22kms of outrigger racing and was feeling the burn!

 

A HUGE weekend for Bree - Proving that this fitness thing isn't just for those in their 20s and 30s, the amazing Bree did an 8km run and 2 hour Kayak on Saturday (and then followed it up on Sunday with another 12.5km run AND a 26.5km bike ride!!).

Andrea's Cycle - Andrea & her husband Jon set out on their longest ride ever (in both distance and time). 135kms!! WOW!!!!

SUNDAY:

Tough Mudder Training - A group of us are well in to training for the Tough Mudder event (coming to Perth in 2013!). The training is run by some ex armed forces lads, and each week the location is different. This week it was at the beach.

 

Hillarys Triathlon - A few of the girls competed in this event. Including first timer Carolyn - way to go mate!!

 

Mandurah Island Challenge - A group of the girls completed the 6.4km run/walk part of this event

 

Indoor Rock climbing - A few of the girls have got the bug so headed to do some climbing

 

Perth Trail Series - Andrea competed in this 17.3 km trail run and destipe a bloody battle with soe rocks WON her age division and was the 4th female overall!!!

 

MORE shopping - A few of the girls hit our face places - The Running Centre and Lorna Jane.

 

Recon Mission - Lesley headed out to check out a section of the Bibulmen Track for a group cycle she's planning on hosting for us soon!

So there you have it....just SOME of what the Perth Crew got up to this weekend!!!

Written by Sarah Buck, 12wbt Perth Crew Admin

Why I think Perth Crew is kinda cool - Part 2

One of our Perth Crew members Kerrin is an amazing woman. I know she will be pissed off with me saying any of this, but that says a lot about her character really. Kerrin is a single mum to two beautiful little boys Morris & Marley. Around 18 months ago Marley (at the age of 15 months) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (you can read more about his journey here). So not only is Kerrin parenting these 2 boys and dealing with regular hospital visits for Marley's treatment (and all that comes with it) - she also works full time AND makes the effort to workout attending boot-camp regularly. Frankly, it pisses me off when I hear people make excuses about how they can't find time to workout, because if ever there was anyone who had a potentially valid excuse it's Kerrin. Anyway, that's all just a bit of background.

A little while ago Kerrin mentioned that the Make a Wish foundation was no longer accepting wishes due to funding cuts. Kerrin was given the opportunity to make a wish on Marley's behalf some time ago, but felt Marley needed to be old enough to make his OWN wish and that it wasn't right for her to decide for him (just another testament to the amazing woman she is). Marley's wish was to swim with dolphins. Things started ticking over in my head, and I ran past a few close friends the idea of fundraising to see what we could possibly organise. I wasn't 100% sure given our members had just so generously donated to get Andrea over to see Mish (see my previous post). This wonderful group of ladies encouraged me to pursue the idea further, especially the beautiful Lara who really helped me dream bigger than I ever thought possible.
Long story short...we were able to send Kerrin, Marley and Morris over to Coff's Harbour for a week all expenses paid - including airfares, accommodation, meals, tours and an amazing experience swimming with the dolphins. We even had enough funds left over to purchase Marley a new Ipad 3 to use for all the time he spends in hospital and made a small donation to the Make a Wish foundation. 
I need to send out huge thank you's to - the 12wbt Perth Crew (and their friends, family and workplaces) who donated the bulk of funds, to the Qantas Perth Help Fund who also made a substantial donation as well as some of their very special employees who organised access to the lounges, a business class upgrade and getting the boys in to the cockpit, to Novotel Coffs Harbour Resort who put together an amazing discounted accommodation & meal package for us and to Pet Porpoise Pool who were nothing short of amazing, and lastly to my parter in crime Lara who was instrumental in putting it all together with Novotel & Pet Porpoise Pool. Here are a few of the highlights...

 

Pretty special huh? You can see the full set of photos here. I think you can see why I think Perth Crew is kinda cool?!!!!!!

Written by Sarah Buck, 12wbt Perth Crew Admin

Why I think Perth Crew is kinda cool - Part 1

The beginning of 2012 has been pretty huge in the life of the "12wbt Perth Crew".

As well as getting on with the business of being fit & healthy though, we are trying very much to have a "social conscience" and to raise funds for charities where possible. The Perth Crew has such an amazing generosity of spirit. We have registered FOUR teams for Relay for Life this year, and already raised over $3,000 - with the event still months away. Prior to our end of round dinner there were some girls unable financially to pay for their tickets and the "Angels" were formed, with members donating their own hard-earned money to allow others to attend. It's pretty special. But for me, by far, 2 events stand out that Perth Crew has helped happen this year (and it's already March!!!).

In January, a little 1 liner Facebook status went out from Mish Bridges mentioning that she was looking for someone who'd done her Lean & Strong program and was able to get over east to film an interview with Mish as well as a heap of videos/photos for the 12wbt exercise index. We like to laugh and joke that the Perth Crew grows like a weed and rolls like an avalanche, accumulating people along the way....and sometimes the same happens with an idea! A few people put forward the name Andrea Bell, and next thing you know the Perth Crew had raised enough funds for her airfares & accommodation to get her over there!!! Cool huh? For those of you who are 12wbters you can see Andrea get interviewed in the Week 2 video, and in a ton of exercises in the "exercise index" (including skipping, chest press machine, pec dec machine & reverse flys).

   

I'll be back with a separate blog post in the next day or two about the second (event cooler) special thing Perth Crew has been a part of!

Written by Sarah Buck, 12wbt Perth Crew Admin