FITNESS fans at a Tamworth gym will put their bodies to the test this summer to raise funds for Jo's Appeal.

A growing team of 30 staff and members at SnowDome Fitness has picked up the challenge laid down by instructors to take part in this year's Great Midlands Fun Run on Sunday, June 10 in aid of the Herald's St Giles Hospice campaign.

Jo's Appeal started in September 2011 with the aim of raising £20,000 to fund a year's worth of care from Staff Nurse Jo Pickering at St Giles Hospice's Compassus Centre – and has already reached the halfway mark.

The SnowDome recruits hope to generate as much sponsorship cash as possible to help in the push towards the final total.

"We wanted to do something for charity, something to push ourselves and the members at SnowDome Fitness, so we decided to take on the Great Midlands Fun Run and raise funds for Jo's Appeal," said Jodi Kirkham, a 21-year-old Instructor at SnowDome Fitness who is from Water Orton.

"Everyone in the region knows the good work that staff and volunteers at the hospice do on a day-to-day basis.

"So getting fit, completing the 8.6-mile course and gathering as much sponsorship as possible for this excellent local charity makes this the perfect challenge for our gym in 2012."

Posters advertising the challenge went up at SnowDome Fitness back in December, and immediately there were willing runners signing up to participate.

Jodi hopes even more members will commit in the coming weeks.

"Staff and gym members have jumped on board and are really enthusiastic about taking part in the run.

"We've got people looking to lose weight or get fit, those doing it with a fundraising goal in mind and even someone using it as a marathon training regime," added Jodi.

"Being part of a group and having this event to focus on helps everyone to train effectively, and fundraising for St Giles Hospice gives us all that little extra push to succeed and attain our personal goals while raising funds for this vital local charity."

St Giles Hospice's Compassus Centre opened in 2010 to replace an out-dated In-Patient Unit in Whittington and to ensure more local people could access St Giles' high-quality care.

One in five Compassus Centre patients is from the Tamworth area, and Jo's Appeal has been set up to fund a year's worth of Jo Pickering's care at the state-of-the-art facility.

Anyone who wants to complete the Great Midlands Fun Run for Jo's Appeal should register for the event by visiting www.greatmidlandsfunrun.com and make sure they nominate St Giles Hospice as their chosen charity.

All those signing up for 'Team St Giles' will receive a free T-shirt to help them show their support.