Donna chases new goal Donna Hartley is in the running for flours of a different kind after launching a new get-fit initiative for the over-50s.

Donna, now 51, has just taken over responsibility for the health club at Sheffield's Mercure St Paul's Hotel & Spa next to the Peace Gardens. And one of her first moves was to set up a club especially for the 50-plus age group.

"I'm really passionate about this and I want to do something a bit different to encourage people to come and get involved," said the former Olympic runner who admits she's not as fit as she once was.

"It was a shock when I found out that I'd got high blood pressure and a little bit of arthritis. Now and again my knee plays up and my neck. You lose so much of your bone density, muscle strength and endurance as you get older. If you don't do anything about it your quality of life will suffer."

Her answer to the problem is to entice people along with a programme that aims to make fitness fun.

She plans to run regular sessions designed specifically for the over-50s. After an initial consultation, which includes giving medical details, members will join a series of classes designed and led by Donna herself ("To nice music, not pop...").

Each clinic will be followed by a key element of the programme a chance to relax and chat over coffee.

"A lot of people think that because I'm an ex-athlete I'm going to push them too hard. But it's not like that. I know what it's like especially now it's happening to me and I'm trying to do something that might persuade people to give it a try," she says.

The sessions are designed to make daily life easier; the results, over a period of time, can be impressive. "I'd like to hope that they will be walking better, going upstairs without getting out of breath; feel generally fitter and stronger and better able to do things like gardening, housework and simply getting out of the bath."

Donna won gold in the 1978 Commonwealth Games and was a 400m bronze medallist in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Tel: 0114 278 2050 or 0870 122 6585.