Clarkston dad to honour stillborn son with burpee challenge

Pete MacLennan, 37, set himself the daunting challenge of completing 2681 burpees in a single day - one for every baby born stillborn in the UK during 2022, plus one extra for his son Finn.

Money raised from Pete’s gruelling effort will go to Baby Loss Retreat, a Scottish charity that supports parents through the passing of a child.

Pete, from Clarkston, described the shattering experience of going through the stillbirth after what was a “totally normal pregnancy".

“In some cases, parents have an inkling that something might be wrong - maybe it comes up in a scan or some blood work. But my wife Annie had a scan two days before she went into labour, and everything was fine.

“We got to the hospital two days later, and they couldn’t find a heartbeat.

“We were devastated. It was horrific. It’s horrible. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Praising the “unbelievable” midwives from Paisley’s Royal Alexander Hospital, Pete said that the kindness and support that he and his wife Annie received during and after the ordeal made him want to give something back.

Pete feels the burn while training in Newton Mearns shopping centre (Image: Supplied)

He chose burpees - which involve dropping from a standing position into a full press up, then leaping back up onto your feet - specifically due to their reputation for being particularly “brutal".

“I didn’t want to do a marathon or anything like that,” he said. “I hate running, but I wanted to do something hard.

“I had a few comments from people saying ‘burpees are horrendous, burpees are the worst, I can’t believe you chose burpees.’ 

"I basically just chose something that I thought would be tough, that people would be willing to part with their hard-earned money for.”

Pete originally aimed to raise £2k, but said he has already collected almost £7k for the cause - including £1.5k raised over two days of public burpee training in Newton Mearns’ Avenue shopping centre - and now has his sights on the £10k mark.

He added that the fundraiser was a way to thank Baby Loss Retreat for their support and to help the charity continue its commendable work.

“They were really good,” said Pete. “We had five or six counselling sessions with them, and they gave my daughter some music-listening counselling as well.

“And as the name suggests, they send you on a sort of retreat. You can either go with your family or as a couple. It gives you time to reflect on what’s happened and spend a bit of time together away from normal life.

“We went away for two nights in Fife, which was all paid for by the charity. They give you some prompts and tools for reflection, for you to use during your time together. And after what had happened, that time together was so valuable.”

Pete gets some training in while on the retreat (Image: Supplied)

The dad-of-four - who said he has not stepped foot in a gym for years and has been training in his garage - will be attempting the Herculean feat in Shawlands’ Newlands Park on July 20. He encouraged people to come along in support, and to enjoy some family-friendly activities and entertainment.

“We’re going to have a raffle, face painting, some music, some nursery rhymes for kids, singalongs. We’re also doing a scavenger hunt, guess the number of sweets in a jar - all the kinds of things you’d get at a fete. So not just some middle aged man doing burpees!"

All are welcome to attend on July 20 in Newlands Park from 11am.

For more information, or to donate, visit: justgiving.com/page/burpeesforbabies.

Support from Baby Loss Retreat is warmly offered at: babylossretreat.org.uk.