Edinburgh and Us: Edinburgh worker's epic Spinathon charity event is a ‘Tour de Force’

SWEAT-DRENCHED towels swinging on bike handlebars bore testimony to the sterling efforts of an Edinburgh worker's Spinathon group as they powered their way through a three-hour charity cycling event on Saturday.

Spinners at the charity event led by Chris Hogsden.

25 enthusiastic spinners – loaded up on carbohydrates and energy gels - were ordered to keep pedalling by Blackwood Care's Sergeant Major, sorry, encouraged by Learning and Development Officer, Chris Hogsden.

Out-with the normal working hours spent training staff at Blackwood, Chris works as a part-time Spin Instructor at the Fit to the Core Studio in Saint Monans in Fife - the venue for their annual charity event.

Money raised by the team this year will go to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) – often a life-saving service who attend incidents across Scotland daily. Chris points out that donations are vital for them to continue their work.

Chris Hogsden (right) with colleagues from Fit to the Core
gym in their charity t-shirts before the Spinathon .

The 43-year-old said: “My colleague at Fit to the Core, Morag Robertson, chose to support the charity because it is one that is close to her heart.

“We have raised £882.50 so far and we think that it will creep up to £1000 by the end of the week. It’s fantastic because we only aimed to reach £300 on our JustGiving page.”

Chris encouraged his students to give their all whilst he too pushed himself to the limits at their small community gym on Saturday, May 6.

The eager spinners arrived between 9am and noon filling slots to keep the studio’s ten bikes occupied across the entire three-hour period.

Four spinners – Chris included - kept going for the full time whilst some of those were sponsored to take part for a shorter stretch.

He explained that everyone rose to the occasion and described the event as “great fun”.

“My two oldest spinners were ages 82 and 78.

He added: “I really just want to say thank you to everyone who took part and who supported us.”

His colleague, Blackwood’s Marketing Intern Lauren Hall, said: “As anyone who has ever been to a spin class knows, they can be fairly tough. Most classes last an hour, therefore I can only imagine that three hours is a killer session!”

He took up Spinning two years ago after an Achilles tendon injury left him unfit to take part in impact sports.

Now he trains groups regularly at the gym during evening spin sessions and enjoys inspiring others and helping them to progress.

“I like to see people’s journeys – some have never been on a bike before. My aims are to energise and to motivate them, and to make sure they enjoy themselves at the same time,” he said.

Chris Hogsden looks ready to go before the Spinathon in Fife.

Chris rewarded himself after this year’s Spinathon with a large calorific bacon roll, then, to recover, enjoyed an early night in bed.

Visit their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Christopher-Hogsden to donate or read more about the event.

Some of their support messages included a comment from Ali Forrest who said: “Get the heart rate up to the max. I want to see a before and after photo.”

Supporter Wendy Russell wrote: “Happy spinning! Well done Chris – all for a great cause.”

Chris and the team are already planning for an “even bigger and better” event next year. Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fittothecore.training/ to get involved.