Success Stories
Round the Bays 2012 Proves to be Emotional and Inspirational
Around 70,000 people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and fitness levels participated in the 40th annual Round the Bays 2012 race on Sunday 18th of March. A beautiful morning greeted the participants with near perfect conditions.
Great camaraderie was especially evident within the Harbour Sport Green Prescription (GRx) team. A community group based at Beach Haven the team of five GRx members and three Harbour Sport GRx facilitators walked the course together. It was the first time this group had attempted something of this magnitude and each of the members were determined to reach their goals. GRx endeavors to encourage members with health conditions to pursue a lifestyle that includes fitness for the benefit of their overall health.
Colin Fuller was a particularly inspirational member on the day. Colin has sciatic nerve damage, is in ceaseless pain and has a walking stick as his constant companion. Despite this he was determined to complete the course. Six weeks before the race Colin and the other members of his GRx group trained for the race, improving every week, but Colin never reached the 8.4k mark. Colin arrived at the race without his walking stick, ready to tackle his huge goal of completing the course before the scanners stopped recording race times. Harbour Sport GRx facilitator, Alex Ah Chong remembers his determination during the race, “I was worried about him as he was struggling, but he assured me he was going to finish no matter what. He didn’t want to disappoint me or the group and really pushed himself.”
At the finish line the whole team cheered him on, moving Ah Chong to tears, “About 800 meters away from the finish line Colin began to really pick up his pace. It seemed as though he had forgotten about the pain, he was so focused on the finish line. It was very emotional and inspiring to us all.”
GRx facilitator Hanna Charman found the Harbour Sport GRx Community Group from Beach Haven to be a very tight knit support group. “They look out for each other; they spur each other on and encourage each other to reach goals they never would have done on their own. We all feel like a family”.
The idea to race in the Round the Bays 2012 was the inspiration of one of the group members, Richard Wilkinson. They not only met with the GRx facilitator every week for training, but met on their own to train as well. Charman was very impressed with the group, “They motivated me to help them achieve more. If they can accomplish this in one week, what could we accomplish together in a year? This is not just a job; I care so much for each member and want to help them achieve all of their goals.”
Members like 80 year old Andrew Campbell (the first to cross the finish line out of the group, beating his goal of 80 minutes by completing it in 76 minutes) and Colin inspired many but all of the members pushed themselves way beyond what they thought possible. Ah Chong noted that “An event like this proves that people with health conditions still want to help themselves get better, to improve.” She also proudly declared “All of the GRx team facilitators agree that this group proves that no matter what your health condition, age or situation, it’s never too late!”
Below are pictures of Colin at the finish line and some of our team celebrating thier success!
Ron Ferguson-Greens Keeper Keeps Fit
Ron came to our Community Group in April looking to get fit, meet new people and because his doctor instructed him to join the Harbour Sport classes!
Starting out, Ron was a bit shy but has slowly become the cheeky and very competitive one of the group.
Outside of the group Ron is the Greens Keeper of the Sunnybrea Lawns Bowls Club and kindly organised our recent Beach Haven Vs Northcote Community Group Challenge – which we won!
Ron has maintained his 6 days a week physical activity regime by working hard on maintaining the club greens and spending well over 7 hours a week being active! And to his pleasure, his hard work has paid off; his greens have been selected for the national competition. Now Ron will be very active keeping those green maintained.
Today Recently Ron graduated from the Green Prescription group having achieved his goal of eating better and becoming more active. Congratulations Ron!
Harbour Sport’s Green Prescription Programme is in a class of its own in New Zealand!
New survey results show North Harbour Green Prescription (GRx) program is top notch, proven by our outstanding results.
Goals - Aims - Focus. Toby was motivated to make changes in his life regarding his health and weight. He realised that setting and achieving goals were the keys to his success. Similar to Toby, the Harbour Sport GRx team set itself key goals and targets for 2011 and worked intensely to achieve them. In successfully achieving these goals, Harbour Sport, with the help of people like Toby, achieved significant improvements in our survey results to become one of the top providers within the nationwide GRx programme.
Toby struggled with his disability. He struggled with his weight issues. Toby knew he had to make a change, and make it quickly before his bad health got the better of him. At 20 years old, Toby Hawkins decided to make a change in his life. Enrolling in Green Prescription through Harbour Sport, Toby set off on his own personal journey to a healthier, happier lifestyle. Nothing held Toby back while striving toward his weight loss goals. His determination and disregard for barriers has been an inspiration to those people around him.
With the help of Harbour Sport’s GRx Patient Support People, Toby set very high targets for himself and strived relentlessly to achieve them. What a difference a year makes! With the Harbour Sport GRx program he has surpassed his goals by a country mile.
Stats:
The Harbour Sport GRx program succeeds when awesome clients like Toby succeed. We have had significant success in all areas of our programme, achieving in every area we targeted above the national average.
One of our significant goals was to see at least 50% of our patient’s active after 6-8 months of leaving the GRx programme. A whopping 64% reported still being active after 8 months, well above the national average of 57%! This is positive proof that our effective, consistent, high quality support to sustain behavioural changes in our patients work!
Another area Harbour Sport wanted to see a big change for the better was the area of patients noticing health changes in themselves. Toby could see improvement as his health issues lessened the longer he participated in the Harbour Sport GRx programme. He is not alone. We had an increase of 10% from last year with an amazing 78% of our patients noticing significant health changes since starting!
Doing the right training at the right pace is vital. According to our survey, 90% of our patients feel that the physical activity suggested to them was right on target for them. We improved by 13% over 2010!
The proof is in the pudding! The Harbour Sport GRx programme is reaching all of its goals and more in helping you get back on your feet and helping you to lead a more active lifestyle! Would you like to join the best team in New Zealand and see results like Toby? Simply click here to begin chatting with one of our staff about your options or call (09) 415- 4611.
Toby Hawkins – No Barriers!
20 year old Tobias Hawkins decided to make a change in his life. Enrolling in a Green Prescription through Harbour Sport, Toby set off on his own personal journey to a healthier, happier lifestyle. Nothing has held Toby back while striving toward his weight loss goals. His determination and disregard for barriers has been an inspiration to those people around him.
Toby was lucky enough to obtain a free gym membership and has really used it to his advantage. He attends Club Physical Birkenhead four times a week; twice a week with personal trainer Matu and twice a week with his father. Matu has supported and motivated Toby towards achieving his weight loss goals. However it’s Toby’s family that provide the greatest support. His mother and father’s consistent encouragement have been invaluable in seeing Toby achieve his goals. Both parents are extremely proud of him.
Within two months Toby lost 5.6kg, a deserved amount as he worked so hard. He absolutely loves attending the gym and is well known for a happy smiling face whenever he enters. Toby has Downs Syndrome. He has not let that stand in his way, he continues to attend and is a favourite face for the trainers to see.
Great Work Toby, Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us. Keep it up!
Martyn and Avon
Over a year ago Martyn and Avon were involved in a serious accident and were struggling with limited mobility in their everyday life. After visiting their doctor they were referred to the Green Prescription programme at Harbour Sport to increase their physical activity levels and assist in recovery from the accident.
Martyn and Avon attended water walking at Aquatic Park Parakai and also became interested in the benefits of Tai Chi. Attending the Tai Chi classes every Tuesday and completing the physio exercises, both started to see improvements.
Since attending the water walking and Tai Chi classes the mobility for both Martyn and Avon has significantly increased. The couple have an 8 acre block that requires a lot of attention. Martyn sometimes can walk up to 1.5km around the property on any one day. Avon has also seen great improvement as prior to Tai Chi she was not able to stand with her feet more than six inches apart. Now however, she has a solid eighteen inch foot gap in her stance. She has also gained enough mobility to continue looking after her ½ acre garden and has become more adept with driving.
Aside from the increased mobility, they have taken a lot of interest in the discussions concerning nutrition and diet, offered by Jenny, a dietician, who provides information and answers to questions, at the end of the Tai Chi classes. As a result, they have become more aware of the negative elements that creep into everyday diets.
Their doctor suggested that it could take a full two years to recover completely from their ordeal. After just twelve months, Martyn and Avon are well on their way to recovery and, in our opinion, are an inspiration to others who may have barriers preventing them from becoming more active.
Congratulations and thank you to you both.
For past success stories click here
For more information on Green Prescription in the North Harbour region click here or contact: Carl Fenton – Green Prescription/Active Families Manager: (09) 415 4611 or email: grx@harboursport.co.nz
