Staceys Mount Challenge

Mt Maunganui Local Stacey Roche has made the bold goal to climb the mount on 14 March to raise funds for the SwithcedOn Exercise and Wellness centre.

To many of us this may not seem anything out of the ordinary but for Stacey who has Cerebral Palsy and just over a year ago was almost fully reliant on her wheelchair this is no mean feat.

Stacey finished working with the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation just over a year ago and moved to the Mount from Auckland. Following a successful career she knew it was time to focus on herself and her wellbeing. Sitting at a desk all day was taking a toll on her body and was impacting on her mobility, knowing that this wasn’t what she wanted her future to look like and with her motto of use it or lose it she joined the SwitchedOn Exercise and Wellness centre where she works with Exercise Physiologist Brennan Mullen on a daily basis.

Now only using her wheel chair for long distance and with the assistance of Brennan at her side she is going to walk to the top of the Mount. As she says "I am a local, I live here, I see the mount every day – why shouldn’t I?!"

The date has been set for 14 March to coincide with her 40th birthday.

In order to achieve this goal Stacey has embarked on a grueling daily exercise regime under the watchful eye of Brennan. This includes the treadmill at maximum incline for cardio fitness, as well as lots of strength work to stabilise joints which will be so important for the walk down.

Stacey credits so much of her achievements to Brennans knowledge and creativity “he really spent the time to get to know me and knows the best way to push me to achieve maximum results, which has enabled me to set this goal of walking the Mount. Brennan is constantly changing my programme to keep it fun and challenging and I look forward to my daily one on one workouts”.

Stacey is an inspiration to us all! SwitchedOn is so proud of her commitment to her own well being as well as her desire to give back to her community.

Please support her in this goal to raise funds for the SwitchedOn Exercise and Wellness Centre to buy new equipment that will assist others like Stacey.

SwitchedOn Exercise and Wellness Centre is a charitable organisation governed by the SILC Charitable Trust.

SwitchedOn works with people of all abilities and in particular those with age related, temporary or permanent disabilities and illness to achieve improved mobility, independence and wellbeing though the use of specialised exercise equipment and individualised programmes.