Our colleagues are always quick to throw their hats into the ring to help others, so we were firmly in Lauren Simons’ corner when she signed up to a charity boxing match!

Protection consultant Lauren has raised hundreds of pounds for Cancer Research UK with her fundraising fight, which saw her squaring up to an ex-military opponent. Lauren won the bout on points, as well as winning the support of colleagues as she went through the gruelling training regime.

Lauren, 28, joined our ActiveQuote team last July when she returned from eight months’ travelling in South America, North America and south-east Asia. She became interested in boxing while in Thailand on the last leg of her travels and wanted to do something to discipline herself ahead of returning to the world of work.

She said: “I knew I needed to get back into a routine again, so in Thailand, I did a Muay Thai course, which is a bit like kickboxing. I really enjoyed it, not only for the discipline but also as the physical side is really good for staying in shape. I continued with classes when I came back to Cardiff and then signed up for the White Collar Boxing event.

“A lot of people along my path have been affected by cancer and, during the training, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is still going through chemotherapy and it’s been a really difficult time for my family and for me, but it made me even more determined to raise as much as possible in the hope it will save more lives.”

Lauren, who lives in Cardiff, trained for 16 weeks, working on strength and cardio. “It was exhausting!” she said. “There were 36 of us competing and, as we were training together, we were all trying to suss out who was who. My fight was against someone who no one wanted to fight!

“The fight itself was three rounds, each lasting two minutes. My opponent had been in the military as well as the riot police and was very strong, using her weight to push against me. I couldn’t push her off! It was very tactical and I was always fighting on the back foot, having to pivot a lot, so I was so pleased to win on points.”

Lauren, who qualified as a financial advisor before her travels, initially joined ActiveQuote in a temporary role. But, thanks to her hard work and the career progression opportunities we offer, she was soon made permanent and is now looking forward to a ‘winning’ career at our Cardiff Bay HQ.

Through her Just Giving page and with support from ActiveQuote colleagues, Lauren has collected more than £319, so will she be rolling with the punches again any time soon?

“I don’t think I would do it again, as my shoulder was black from bruising for weeks afterwards!” she said. “I’m thinking about doing the ballroom dancing fundraiser next. I’m also a drag king and am competing in Drag Idol in Birmingham in June - there’s quite a lot of comedy involved in that, so perhaps I could do a comedy fundraiser too!”

Lauren’s Cancer Research UK fundraising page is still live at  justgiving.com/fundraising/lauren-simons for anyone who wishes to donate.