Community challenged to get active and out of the comfort zone for a week

Tuesday 25 July 2023

People are being encouraged to make a seven-day fitness pledge to get active and raise money for two charities.

The Just Get Active - EPIC Week will take place from 11 to 17 September.

This is Epic and the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation will benefit from the fundraising efforts.

People are encouraged to do any activity or sport, for any distance or time, every day for seven days.

That might be dog walking or running the cliffs, riding to work or doing laps of the island your bike, swimming a width of the Bathing Pools or from town to Fermain.

Alongside the challenge, a team consisting of This is Epic’s Philip Smith, PPBF trustee Peter Beausire and James Gavey and Martin Savident from sponsor JG Architecture will be rowing the equivalent of a marathon a day on a static machine in Market Square.

JGA is celebrating its 10th anniversary and approached This is Epic offering support.

“We decided to launch Epic Week again, which is basically challenging anybody, any age and of any ability to do something that pushes them outside of their comfort zone for every day during a week. That can be anyone from a small child up to your oldest person,” said This is Epic director Warren Mauger.

Epic Week was created in 2017 with the vision of producing a large-scale, inclusive community event that promotes physical activity.

Individuals can sign up or you can take part as a team.

“What we've seen in the past is that people who do something for a week quite often then carry it on, maybe not so intensely, but carry it on as a habit and it becomes a lifestyle choice,” said Mr Mauger.

Mr Beausire said that they thought if they were encouraging other people to get active, they should do something too.

“We bounced around lots of ideas and came up with seven marathons in seven days on a rowing machine,” he said.

“We don't know if anyone has ever done it before. It's not about time, it's about covering the distance each day, and then recovering to get up and do it all over again the next day. We've hired Market Square, so hopefully we get a lot of people passing through.

“We’re encouraging  other people to do something out of their comfort zone,  that might be a walk around the block that they wouldn't normally do, or maybe a 5k or 10k virtual bike. you can help us raise lots of money for these two amazing charities and watch us getting in a lot of pain along the way.”

Mr Beausire has a background in coastal rowing, but prefers training on the water to on the erg. He has been using that background to advise on split times and posture.

Mr Gavey said the training had been tough so far: “We've had a few sessions with local rowers who have given us a good steer on what to do. That has set us up for training and hopefully we can improve and get through.”

Since 2014, This is EPIC has impacted over 250,000 people. The charity provides a help-up to people and communities living in extreme poverty. They implement and support community savings and loans groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The funds raised through the JGA EPIC Week will enable the charity to implement and support new  groups in the countries as well as provide additional business and financial literacy training to groups that were implemented earlier in 2023.

Funds raised from the challenge will also go towards PPBF’s current initiatives, to purchase and maintain compassionate housing in Southampton for the families of premature babies and seriously ill children needing off-island treatment. It'll also help to provide essential equipment to Guernsey’s local neonatal unit and create beloved Baby Boxes with keepsakes and newborn essentials.

You can sign up to take part in the JGA EPIC Week HERE.