Mum-of-two Alison Cook was thrilled to win a year’s membership at the University of Essex’s revamped Sports Centre after completing the 5km Race for Life held at the Colchester Campus.

Hundreds of entry forms for the competition were handed out to women taking part in the charity event which raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

Alison, 37, from The Avenue in Wivenhoe, was picked out as the lucky competition winner after completing the run with friends and can now enjoy all the facilities at the sports centre which has just undergone a £1.4million makeover.

The redevelopment has created a new gym and fitness room called ‘evolve’ plus two fitness studios and a new double-height activity studio.

She said she was intent on getting fitter after completing the first year of a degree in Nutrition and Human Health at University Campus Suffolk in Ipswich.

She said: “I am really, really excited. My friends and I came and visited the sports centre when we were here for Race for Life and thought it looked good so I was really pleased to win this membership.”

With her public membership card Alison will also be able to enjoy the centre’s existing facilities including squash, netball and tennis courts, football and cricket pitches, table tennis, orienteering course, climbing wall and multi-purpose sports hall.

She is particularly interested in improving her cardio-vascular fitness and has already tested out some of evolve’s 130 state-of-the-art fitness stations including cycling, rowing and running machines. Other facilities include brand new top of the range resistance and weights equipment.

“I am keen to get fit after studying so much in my degree about how you need to be active,” Alison said.

“I hope coming to the sports centre will help take away some of my guilt about not doing enough exercise when I have to sit and read books or do my essays.”

Evolve manager Justin Hubbard said: “We were delighted to host Race for Life again this year. It was a great event with so many joining in and raising so much money for Cancer Research UK. We are pleased to reward one of those taking part and to be able to offer Alison a well-deserved year’s membership of our health and fitness facilities’.

The new public membership scheme has just been launched by the University Sports Centre following the revamp – find out more at www.essex.ac.uk/sport