International acclaim for Merseyside Sports Therapist Sara MacLaren

Merseyside sports therapist Sara MacLaren is receiving national and international acclaim just three years after quitting her teaching job to set up her own massage therapy clinic.

Sara, aged 30, who lives in Rainhill, offers massage therapy to athletes at a gym in Widnes while offering treatments to the general public from her own clinic in Prescott. She promotes her business MMT (MacLaren Massage & Therapy) largely through Treatwell, the popular online platform that allows customers to book beauty, hair and wellness appointments nationwide and provides software to manage salons and businesses.

Positive feedback from numerous clients has led to Sara receiving a prestigious ‘Top Rated Account’ status from Treatwell for 2025. While she’s making waves in Merseyside, Sara’s talents are also being recognised further afield.
England and Yorkshire cricket superstar Joe Root now figures among her cliental and Sara has just undertaken an international assignment. She was signed up as official therapist to the 2025 WR Versa Challenge, a World Indoor Rowing event held in Singapore as part of the country’s urban sports and fitness festival organised by Sports Singapore over the weekend (November 29-30).

Sara was brought to the attention of festival organisers when she attended the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Prague last year as sports therapist to the Great Britain team.
“Competitors from other teams came to me for advice and massage therapy during the competition and the organisers subsequently approached me to ask if I would attend in 2025 as the official therapist to the Versa Challenge event in Singapore. It’s pretty crazy, I can’t believe how the little business I started from an attic above my auntie’s shop in Huyton three years ago has become so popular,” says Sara.

Aged 17, Sara, who was born in Huyton, originally studied for her Level 3 Sports Massage Therapist qualification at Knowsley Community College. She went to night college to complete her Level 4 qualification while working full time as a sports apprentice. A keen sports fan, Sara says: “I have always played and competed in sport, and I came across many athletes and friends who suffered setbacks due to injuries.”
Her career path initially focused on teaching sport, sports therapy and health care to students. The day job saw her teaching 16-19 year-old college students while she ran evening adult classes. Three years ago, she decided to give up teaching to forge a new career in the sports therapy sector.

Her aunt, who owns Heatherington’s Home and Gifts, which was based on Huyton Industrial Estate at the time, let Sara take space above the shop for appointments. Within months she started therapy sessions at TransFIT Gym in Widnes and also opened her own treatment rooms, MMT (MacLaren Massage Therapy), in Prescott where she also provides therapy sessions for pregnant women and cancer sufferers. So far, her fast growing business enterprise has seen her treat more than a thousand clients.
Sara offers a range of bespoke treatments. She says: “Treatments differ from one client to another. I provide maintenance appointments, recovery treatments, pre-event and post-event massage and I help with injury management. In addition to sports massages, I also provide treatments that help with general health and lifestyle, such as lymphatic massages.”

Her work at TransFIT brought her into the world of HyRox, the global race fitness phenomenon. As a HyRox affiliated gymnasium, TransFIT members and many of Sara’s clients travel the UK and across the world to take part in events.
Says Sara: “Lot of my clients who participate in HyRox require sports massage in their preparation and recovery for HyRox events and training. My services are particularly in demand from athletes competing in HyRox events where competitors undertake eight 1km runs interspersed with eight different exercise stations.”
Sara promotes MMT through Treatwell, Europe’s leading online marketplace for booking hair, beauty and wellness appointments with her business swiftly gaining a prestigious 5-star award recognition thanks to posts and support from her many clients.
“It was a nice surprise to receive the Treatwell top rated award, the support and feedback I receive from my clients has helped to achieve this. I strive to provide a 5-star treatment every single appointment and every review I receive is very much appreciated. It’s an award that I am immensely proud of which recognises the standard of treatment MMT offer is top quality,” says Sara.
Her talents have also brought her to the attention of international athletes. Last year one of Sara’s clients, GB athlete Charlotte Dixon, qualified for the indoor rowing world championships at Prague. “I was absolutely delighted to accept the offer when she asked if I would like to attend as her massage therapist and be part of her GB team. This was an incredible experience supporting an elite athlete throughout the competition and it was amazing to be part of her journey as she went on to come 2nd overall, winning a silver medal.”
Sara’s sports therapy skills led organisers to invite her as the official tournament sports therapist to the 2025 WR Versa Challenge in Singapore. More/3
“I was flown across to Singapore to provide the sports therapy for all the competitors in the Versa Challenge which featured 16 of the world’s top athletes (8 men, 8 women) competing in five intense events. It was such an amazing experience to work with top athletes from around the world and great exposure for MMT.
“Providing treatments at an event where two world records were broken and my MMT client, Charlotte Dixon, went on to win the competition was a magical experience. It couldn’t have gone better. Throughout the event I received such positive feedback on the treatments from the athletes and staff.”
Sara also provided sports massage therapy to England cricket legend Joe Root before he left for The Ashes series which is underway in Australia. In December Sara will be heading down under to watch Joe in action at the Melbourne and Sydney Ashes Test matches.
To date, Sara has been operating as a sole trader but she’s now in the process of hiring staff to keep pace with demand. “My aim is to continue to grow MMT and to offer sports therapy to events across a range of sports.”

For more information on Sara and MMT go to:

https://www.treatwell.co.uk/place/mmt-maclarens-massage-therapy-transfit-widnes/

Instagram: //@mmttherapy

Media Contact:
Paul Smith — paul@paulsmithassociates.co.uk

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
4th December 2025