Fife woman’s 24-hour burpee challenge set to benefit two Kirkcaldy charities

Aine Kelly, who runs Cafe Continental in Kirkcaldy, spent 24 hours doing burpees in aid of Kirkcaldy Rugby Club and The Cottage Centre.

Burpees are a calisthenics exercise which use your body weight for resistance. With burpees, the focus is on a full-body calisthenics workout that aims to build muscle strength and endurance in both your lower and upper body. By adding them, you can enjoy a full-body workout, improved cardiovascular fitness, enhanced fat burning, increased power and agility, better balance and co-ordination.

The challenge saw Aine do more than 3000 burpees, around 126 per hour. Each burpee saw her reach a seven-foot marker. That means she jumped a total of 21,000 feet, or the equivalent of Scotland’s five highest Munros. Aine has already smashed her fundraising target by raising more than £1200.

She said that after her son became involved with the rugby club, she followed suit.

She explained: “My son has been playing here since he was three, and over the years I've been helping out in the kitchen, and with small parts of their charity. Each year I just get more involved”.

With the club celebrating its 150th anniversary, volunteers, including Aine, have been taking on fundraising events to raise money for the Beveridge Park-based club.

Aine said: “Throughout the year, we've been doing different events, I did a charity event in June. I did a marathon run, row cycle and indoor ski thing. It was just to raise money because the club has over 500 children who are a part of it - it just gives so much to the community. The club is so much part of the community”.

In addition, Aine is donating funds to the Kirkclady-based Cottage Centre, which provides support for families experiencing poverty across the Kingdom, and which is soon to launch its lifeline Christmas appeal.

Aine has taken part in numerous charity events over the last few years

Aine said: “I do think the sillier the better. A couple of years ago I did burpeeing around the park. I think it was 900 or 1000 burpees around the park.

"That raised something like £1500., so for this one I thought ‘well, what would I do?’ and decided to go for a 24 hour challenge. Once that was set, I said I'd just do 24 hours of burpees. It's just to raise the money to help other people”.

Aine said she was grateful for the support she has received from her friend groups, and from Fitness Pacific. Her online fundraiser for donations is still open, and you can sponsor Aine at https://www.justgiving.com/page/aine-kelly-1696339138909

She said: “People came out throughout the night and early mornings to support me, and they came with food and sweets and drinks. They also did a couple of hours of the burpees with me to keep me company and check in with me.

“And then of course there is the wider community which sent in so manyr messages. They have been wonderful. They have really been so kind with their funny messages to me but most of all, the times they came before work and after work”.