Barking’s Studio 3 Arts held a summit to mark the end of year-long fitness programme, Too Fat To Run?

In 2017, Studio 3 was funded by Sports England to get overweight and inactive women participating in sport.

Last week, the organisation held an event to celebrate the achievements of the women involved.

The summit included a panel discussion with CEO of the programme, Julie Creffield, sports writer Anna Kessel, and trustee of the Muslimah Sports Association, Hafiza Patel.

It also launched the Too Fat To Run? portrait exhibition, featuring portraits of the women who took part, and a film about the programme.

In the film, founder Julie calls it a “movement”. She said: “It helps women to find their feet in the running world and enable them to build confidence and understanding of ways to run.”

Councillor and deputy leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Saima Ashraf, is a member of the group and also features in the film. She said: “There’s a sense of belonging, we push each other, we encourage each other. Having that drive is quite important.”