Catherine's 15 Minutes of BMFing Fame!

Catherine Aickin, now 67, joined BMF in July 2009 and has been attending classes at Victoria Park in London ever since. When Sport England contacted us to ask if they could film at a BMF class for their #ThisGirlCan campaign in February, Catherine found herself front and centre! Then she was interviewed on radio and for the newspapers too. Here she tells us what led to her 15 minutes of BMFing Fame:

Catherine said: “The park is about 300 yards from my front door so I would walk past BMF classes when I was out walking our dog. I thought it looked fun and then the Daily Telegraph ran an offer for free classes so I collected the coupons. One day I trotted up to the instructor and said: ‘Can I join you, I’m a little bit old?!’ and he said: ‘Yes of course. We should have more people your age taking part.”

“The instructor was called Vlad and he ran Vicky Park at the time. He still instructs every now and then – but mostly takes the green bibs! I started going regularly and what I like most about BMF is it’s varied, it’s hard work, it’s outside, for me the cost of membership is really good value and there’s no music blaring out – hooray! Also, everyone is so friendly and encouraging. I’m usually the one that’s puffing away at the back and we get all the encouragement, so long as we’re trying.

“The other thing I like is that I can go to other parks, because I do hate to miss a session. If I miss a Wednesday at Vicky Park I know I can go to a different park on a Thursday. If I stay with my daughter in the North West I can go to a Manchester class and when I visited Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago I was able to go to BMF up there. You can also suspend your membership if you’re injured or unwell, like I did when I had sciatica.

“The running was what I dreaded the most. Watching BMFers do sit ups and things, I thought, I could probably do that, but running 100 yards just looked like miles. I still don’t like running but now I just do it – slowly! At Victoria Park, Vlad managed to find a hill for us to run up and there are trees, monuments, fountains, the bandstand and other landmarks to run to and run around. An instructor once told me never to give up and walk because if I did I’d walk earlier next time. Such good advice, I’ve tried to follow it all the time.

“I can do burpees, I just need a breather every five reps or so, and my mobility has improved too. When I started going to BMF I flatly refused to jump because my ankles would get stiff but now I can jump a little bit off the ground.

“I aim to go three times a week in the winter and two times in the summer. I know that sounds back-to-front but it’s because I don’t mind getting wet from the outside in but I don’t like getting wet from the inside out by getting all hot and sweaty.

“I don’t mind exercising in the cold. The instructors are really careful so you don’t do sit ups when it’s wet – it’s just common sense. I also don’t mind exercising in the evenings because it’s also a bonus that no one can see what you’re doing in the dark!

“I’m sure BMF keeps my blood pressure down and my bone density up because they say high impact exercises help with that. It’s also helped with my job which is fairly active – chasing round after children as I work part-time as a learning support assistant at a nursery for children with disabilities. I also know lots of people to chat to now and although I don’t drink I do occasionally turn up to a social. Fellow BMFers too are kind and encouraging: it is truly a joy to take part. Well maybe not always in the tipping rain with a howling gale, but it can be good then too if only for a laugh!

“Another bonus about BMF is that I just happened to be in the park one day when cameras turned up. A producer who lives locally came along with her mobile phone and asked a handful of people if she could take our photographs. The person I was with said yes so I went along with it too. Then I was invited along to a casting session, where I was interviewed, and after that we were asked to be at Well Street Common at 0600 on November 30^th for filming for the This Girl Can campaign.

Catherine, being filmed in the park for Sport England

“The forecast was minus 4 and very foggy, but it was worth it because there was actually the most beautiful sunrise that day. Two of us were cast and they clipped radio mikes on us and then there were about eight others that they wanted as extras, including two instructors. So there were 10 of us but about 20 crew, engineers and producers.

“They ran a sort of class which couldn’t have been easier, as far as my role in the film was concerned, because there was no acting involved. We had such a laugh because it was like a session but in bits. After we’d done it all they took us down the road in a minibus to have some food in a double decker bus which had had the seats taken out and tables and chairs put in.

“In January we got to do the voiceover for our bits of the film at a proper sound studio. The production team had initially hired actors to do this but they decided to go with the Maya Angelou poem, which I think made it infinitely better, and to recut it with our own voices. I was totally out of my comfort zone but it was a great experience.

“Then the film was all over the TV and social media. Friends and family commented that they’d seen it and I was invited onto Radio 5 Live and Woman’s Hour on Radio 4 to talk about it. This was all in the middle of Storm Doris and I was travelling back from Edinburgh for the launch day so it was a bit touch and go whether I would make it – but I did!

“So thank you so much to all those instructors, past and present, who have had me in their classes over the years. Long may they continue to turn up to the park so I can keep on having fun. For my next adventure I’m getting ready for the Major obstacle course run – in for a penny, in for a pound!”

Kate Dale, Strategy Lead at Sport England said: “Catherine has been absolutely invaluable to our campaign this year and is an inspiration to women of all ages who want to take the leap and try something new that they previously felt was out of their comfort zone.”