12:35pm Wednesday 9th June 2010
By Chris Hewett
A group of kickboxers from an Aldenham class are turning their training to the running track to raise cash for cancer research later this month.
April Thomas, Karly Ratclifffe, Mandy Xuereb, Lauren Murphy, Katie Last, Jo Pennington Leigh and Michelle Fox are all members of the Shaolin Kickboxing Club.
The martial artists have signed up for the Cassiobury Park Race For Life and 25-year-old April, who encouraged the girls to take part, says she expects them all to be up to the test.
She said: “A few of us have been doing some extra training but we do a lot of fitness in class. We did it last year and it was great fun so we were keen to do it again.”
Queens' School student, 16-year-old Lauren, decided to get into kickboxing just more than a year ago after she was the victim of an attack.
She said: “It was a scary experience and this has been a good for me to learn self defence and keep fit. I've still got a lot of training to do before the race but I'll be proud to have raised the money for a good event.”
The amateur kickboxers have a target of £400 to raise for Cancer Research UK and have £200 so far for the race on June 27.
Aged between 16 and 45, the team train at Aldenham School twice a week and chief instructor Kingsley Morgan says the 5k run will be a breeze for the girls.
He said: “They are very good, very, very keen and extremely talented. This is something they wanted to do and I think it will just be a warm up for them.”
If you would like to donate to the Shaolin Kickboxers, visit www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/shaolinboxing.
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