Ivybridge gym hosts 12-hour fitness marathon for Plymouth baby loss charity

A 59-year-old woman from near Totnes is preparing to take on a gruelling 12-hour gym challenge in support of Luna’s Fund, a Plymouth-based charity that helps families affected by baby loss.

Marie Sokell, known as “Marie the Machine”, will lead a full day of fitness at Unit 8 gym in Ivybridge on Saturday 17 May. 

A volunteer boxing coach at the gym, she is inviting people of all ages to come along and join in.

The day will include a mix of workouts such as circuits, abs exercises, yoga, outdoor training, boxing, sit-ups, stand-ups, mountain climbers and jumps, as well as exercises targeting the legs and arms. 

On the hour, every hour, Marie will complete one minute of sit-ups followed by one minute of mountain climbers.

Marie said: “There is lots going on, on the day and lots of prizes. For a small donation, people can guess how many sit-ups and mountain climbers I’ll do throughout the day or punch a PT and soak a Traffic Warden. I’ve been raising money for Luna’s Fund for a number of years now. I became aware of the charity when I was doing a wing walk at Dunkeswell airfield. I saw all these people wearing purple t-shirts cheering on some skydivers. I was curious and asked what the charity was all about and was immediately struck by the compassion and how friendly and supportive they all were. It’s a small, local charity and they are really appreciative of every penny.”

Marie’s journey is nothing short of inspirational. 

In 1996 she broke her neck and one false move would have seen her paralysed from the neck down. 

Then in 2004 she collapsed her lower spine while lifting weights in the gym.

She said: “I ended up struggling to walk even with two crutches and was classed as disabled. In 2006 I had my lower spine fused. There were risks but I had no choice but to go ahead with the operation. It worked and gave me a new lease of life. Fast forward to 2019 and I was getting back to normal, but I was overweight and not happy with the way I looked. I signed up for a transformation group and did Dry January in 2020. Everything was going well and then COVID appeared. I continued with the programme online and lost a total of four stone.”

As well as her time in the gym and working as a Traffic Warden, Marie now takes part in ultra-marathons. 

She has so far completed 10 events ranging from marathons in Devon to London and as far away as the Sahara Desert.

Luna's Fund is a baby loss and pregnancy after loss charity founded as a lasting memory to Luna Valentina Conroy, who was born sleeping in November 2017. 

The charity offers a range of practical and emotional support to bereaved parents and expectant parents across Devon and Cornwall.

Gordon Cox, the company director at Unit 8 gym, said: “The awesome team at Luna’s Fund are running the event with Marie and we are providing the premises.”