Try three hours of Zumba to the tune of 50 songs. Or a Christmas flash mob with over 50 participants. Maybe 50 sets of stairs at the Cochrane Ranche?
Each of these items made the list of ‘50 things to do before turning 50’ for Marion Wiebe, who will be turning 50 in January of 2015 and is choosing to approach the milestone birthday as an adventure.
“I just wanted to do something to make it fun, instead of dreading it,” said the Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Family Sports Centre fitness instructor. “I wanted to include friends and family.”
Wiebe, who teaches Zumba and heavy bag kickboxing at the SLS Centre, began her quest a couple of months ago and to date, has accomplished 18 group activities.
Most are related to fitness and all have some type of connection to 50 (participants, sets, etc.).
With 32 adventures left to accomplish over the next 12 months, Wiebe said such activities as sledding up and down Bow Ridge Hill 50 times, 50 minutes treading water at the pool and running a half marathon have all made the to-do list.
“For people looking to get on the fitness bandwagon, I recommend finding an activity that you enjoy. When you enjoy an activity, you will stay with it, and group fitness is a great way to go because you have class camaraderie,” explained Wiebe, adding that the SLS Centre has a variety of group fitness classes and drop-in sports.
“I’ve been taking Marion’s Zumba classes for a couple of years now,” said Lynette Simpson, who has taken part in a number of the ’50 things before 50’. “I think what she’s doing is awesome…she’s always looking for more ideas and it’s inspirational.”
Wiebe said the goal is to bring people together and the response so far has been tremendous.
“My friends and family have given me an amazing response. By putting myself out of my comfort zone, I have received more fun than I could have ever expected…it’s amazing how you throw something out there and people want to do it.”
To learn more or to connect with Marion Wiebe, she can be reached at [email protected].
