Personal training students have earned praise from their local running community after providing a free sports massage service at the Crewe Park run.

The 5k run is held in Queens Park, Crewe, each Saturday morning and attracts an average of 300 runners per event ranging from complete novices to seasoned athletes. The event is part of a national programme and aims to encourage everyone in the local community to come together, enjoy the park and get physically active irrespective of ability.

A team of Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training students, led by Lecturer Lauren Goff, attended one of the events to offer sports massage to aid recovery after the exertions of the run. The students, equipped with massage couches and massage oils, provided the service to 30 runners and quickly earned very positive feedback. They also benefitted from the real life experience themselves, as they have to perform post event massage as part of their assessment.

Sports massage is an additional qualification we offer to our personal training students alongside additional units focussed on business acumen. This gives them a head start and the knowledge to exceed in the health and fitness industry they are about to enter.

Paddy Vaughan, 18, who was one of the student team, said: “I really enjoyed the experience and gained a lot of confidence from it. Although I felt out of my comfort zone at first, the queue of runners waiting for treatment built up quite quickly and we had to really step up and provide a professional service. I also felt it helped me to develop my communication skills.”

Visit our personal training course page to find out more.