Stratford firefighter Simon Oliver to hold boot camp to raise funds for charity

In May Simon completed 1103 burpees to raise funds for Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC).

A Stratford firefighter is organising a boot camp to raise funds for a national charity.

Simon Oliver is taking part in this year's 2020 Firefighter Sky Tower Stair challenge, raising funds for Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC).

Simon has been a firefighter for five years. He served the New Plymouth West Fire Brigade for two years and is now a member of the Stratford Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Simon has participated in the challenge three times. In 2016, Simon raised $14,500, $25,000 the year after and $12,500 in 2018.

He is running a boot camp this weekend to raise funds for the charity.

"I wanted to run something that the community could get involved with. The bootcamp will feature general exercises suitable for all levels of fitness so everyone can get involved."

He says the boot camp is a family-friendly event.

"There will be a variety of general fitness body weight exercises and time-trial competitions which will be fun for the whole family."

In May, Simon completed 1103 burpees to raise funds for LBC.

"I was initially going to do 1000 but on the day I decided to do 103 more to match the number of the stairs in the challenge."

So far Simon has raised $5500 for the national charity.

"It's great to have raised that money. The Stratford community have been really supportive by donating."

He says he is excited to participate in this year's Firefighter Sky Tower Stair challenge on November 21.

"I've been training hard for the event. It's a great event as it raises money for a good cause."

■ The boot camp takes place Saturday, November 7 behind the Stratford Fire Brigade. Entry fee is a gold coin donation.