Femme fitness!

SARAH DONOHUE: back to peak fitness

JUGGLING being a powerboat champion and a highly-trained athlete while maintaining glamour girl looks would seem mission impossible for many women. For Delph wonderwoman Sarah Donohue (39) such a mix is her daily routine. The local pin-up girl for living life to the full talks to Lewis Jones about her campaign to motivate Oldham’s women into fitness.
“OUR children’s lifestyles have been taken over by video games,” says Sarah.

“Don’t get me wrong, the fitness games are good, but they are still video games.

“Nothing beats getting out there and breathing fresh air into your lungs, playing games in the park. People just do not realise how important sport is in the school curriculum.”

Sarah talks with a passion about fitness.

Sarah has just competed in one of the world’s toughest competitions, the Women’s Tri Fitness (WTF), in Flordia as the UK’s only entry. She came first in the International Fitness Championship and second in the Grace and Physique Class.

Mixing glamorous beauty pageants with physical tests of endurance, the 39-year-old has strutted her stuff in a jewel-encrusted costume and took on an assault course that pushed her to the limit.

Juggling glossy magazine interviews with sweating it out in the gym, the former lingerie model spent the weeks leading up to the event getting in the best possible physical shape.

She said: “The event is like no other, you have to perform like GI Jane but look pretty like a Barbie doll at the same time.

“Getting that perfect mix can be incredibly difficult.

“You’re aiming for a mix between a body builder and an endurance athlete and those are two very different diets at the opposite end of the scale.

“The girls I competed against were amazing but I’d been doing over and above training to make sure I was ready.”

Sarah added: “Luckily the powerboat season and these sorts of events don’t clash so I can do both — having long hair extensions under my helmet just wouldn’t do.

“I do enjoy getting the VIP treatment though, the event is unbelievably glamorous.”

Accustomed to taking on a challenge, the Delph daredevil has run marathons, taken on the SAS in a desert challenge and even been a stunt woman in Bond films.

But recent training has been an uphill battle for the active former Saddleworth School pupil.

In what was supposed to be a fun-filled television show, Sarah fell victim to the Suckerpunch obstacle on a celebrity version of the BBC’s assault course show “Total Wipeout”.

She suffered a severe hamstring injury that stopped her training routine in its tracks.

She said: “I was devastated. It was the worse thing that could have happened because my career is my body.

“It’s very easy to give in, but you have to be positive.”

A recent accident where she dropped a kitchen knife also left Sarah with a hole in her trainer and stitches in her foot — adding to the pressure.

It’s not the first time Sarah has had to make an epic struggle against the odds.

A powerboat crash in 1999 left her on the brink of death on a life-support machine and resulted in permanent pins in her jaw.

Two years later she went on to emerge triumphant by becoming European powerboat champion.

She said: “I’ve battled from being on a life-support machine to get back to health so that was what I did after the injury.

“You can’t sit back and think it’s over. It’s not just about being physically well, it’s also about having the right mental state.”

Such a “go for it” attitude is a testament to her determination, and she now want to pass this on to other women in the borough.

Sarah is disappointed that more women aren’t taking up the challenge to battle the bulge and feel better than ever.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or how old you are, it is never too late,” she says with firmness.

“I want to see more women getting into fitness.

“Go to the park, go for a long walk, run up and down your stairs — anything!

“Society has health problems when the average size has gone up to a 14 or 16 — it shouldn’t be that way. It’s interesting to see how society has changed, instead of playing video games people used to go out dancing.”

She added: “A lot of women when they have children forget about themselves and dedicate their life to the family.

“Sometimes they need to take a step back and think about themselves.

“You need that little something, getting healthy and fitting in that little black dress for Christmas can be a fantastic motivation.

“In the future I’d really like to work on encouraging this.”

Sarah is currently in the process of filming a (currently untitled) television series to be aired on the Sky Active channel later this year.

A fly-on-the-wall style documentary, the programme will follow Sarah in her hectic lifestyle, chart her diet and display her staggering array of accomplishments.

But the celebrity high-life is one Sarah is keen to live responsibly.

Laughing she said: “It’s really strange, as much as I do things on television I keep a quiet private life. You’ll never see me falling out of a club drunk.”