Olympic Gold winner Sally Gunnell runs boot camp on tropical paradise island of St Vincent

OLYMPIAN Sally Gunnell mixed business with fun as she took her family to Buccament Bay Resort on the Caribbean island of St Vincent.

But it wasn’t all play — here she tells all about family fun but also running early-morning boot camp workouts on the beach…

A TRIP to St Vincent gave me a proper glimpse of Caribbean life.

I’d only been to the more commercialised islands before.

Don’t get me wrong, there is no lack of luxury at the Buccament Bay Resort, where we stayed for the week, but as the islands go, St Vincent feels more real.

I was there to run a series of morning boot camps on the beach but we were also looking forward to a bit of a break as a family.

I had husband Jon and my three boys in tow — Finlay, 17, Marley, 14 and ten-year-old Luca.

Buccament Bay Resort has a big focus on fitness.

It runs a football academy and a tennis club alongside training in rugby and cricket, and regularly brings out big-name players to coach.

There is also a great in-house fitness team running regular classes in the gym and on the beach.

But it’s not run like a health asylum where you are constantly being pressured to participate.

The aim is just to relax and do whatever takes your fancy.

Yes, wake up in the morning and take a run on the beach.

But then go and enjoy an ice cream on your sun lounger.

Arriving was a wow moment, as we took in the incredible resort that sprawled before us and the beautiful backdrop.

We had a four-bedroom villa right on the beach.

The boys were made up at having a bedroom each.

The private plunge pool was nice, too.

The first morning we woke at 5am, still adjusting to the time difference, and opened the shutters to reveal the sands.

Enjoying the novelty, we all ran down to the sea for an early-morning swim as the sun came up over St Vincent.

It was so magical it became part of our daily routine — jumping in the sea is the way every day should begin.

It was at this time in the morning that the fishermen would be coming in.

I loved watching this normal routine of life.

Jon and Finlay helped out with the exercise sessions we ran every morning on the shore.

We had a lovely turnout — lots of families at all levels of fitness — and we found most people came back every day.

The resort is low-key, without blaring entertainment, so visitors would enjoy a few drinks in the evening but then be up and ready for an 8am boot camp session.

We did circuit-based sessions, working on different parts of the body, such as upper body, core and legs, as well as jump training and running techniques — fartlek, back-to-backs and some lovely morning beach runs.

Waking up on a Caribbean beach and taking an early-morning run as the sun comes up really makes exercise fun.

Everybody joined in, from small children to grandparents and even some of the locals.

They really made the holiday memorable.

The people of St Vincent are so warm and friendly.

We were given the opportunity to go out to a track where we ran a coaching session for athletes.

It was an amazing experience and myself and the boys took so much away.

We were there for the island’s Independence Day so partied on the coastline with guests and locals.

Vincentians really know how to celebrate and there is not a better venue for a party than the beach.

As any mother will know, the key to a successful family holiday is knowing the kids are enjoying themselves — and this was certainly not a problem.

We hardly saw the boys.

They made friends and were off playing tennis and football and enjoying the swimming pools.

They really enjoyed snorkelling the incredible reefs off the beach and would go off most days exploring the underwater wildlife.

They all did a bit of scuba-diving, too.

This was a first for my two younger boys, Marley and Luca.

Finlay and his dad had dived before but it was amazing for them all to just walk out from the resort and get a taste of life under the sea.

It was a good job we were running boot camps each day, as otherwise I would have come home a stone heavier after dining at the resort’s restaurants.

The family favourite was Jack’s, where we enjoyed the best steak we have eaten in a long time.

But it was just nice to spend time as a family eating together outside — our lives are so busy in the UK.

The boys also loved the independence of being able to go and get themselves an ice cream or milkshake during the day.

In fact, I’m expecting an extra bill through just for the sheer amount of food we all consumed during a week.

The kids would enjoy two breakfasts a day — one before boot camp and one after.

It was definitely a much-needed holiday despite the early work-outs and we will definitely be going back.