London Fields Triathlon Club have completed their 12-for-12 challenge and raised over £12,000 for the Masks for NHS Heroes campaign.
On Saturday 18 April, members from the club took on the challenge of cycling for the length of a standard NHS shift in their 12-hour challenge on indoor bikes.
Taking place on static, indoor bikes and connected via Zoom, members took to a course on Zwift. For the final hour, over 50 people joined them on Zoom to cycle, cheer and enjoy their resident DJ.
With the aim of raising £1,200 through their efforts, the club’s chairman, Francesco Mattia, said: “It's more time than any of us have ever spent continuously on a turbo trainer so will definitely be a challenge.
With the total amount donated passing £12,000, the club has raised 1000% of their initial target on Just Giving.
“We have many friends, teammates and family members working on the frontline,” Mattia said. “We wanted to do this to help to protect them and support existing campaigns raising money for personal protective equipment.”
Having taken part in the challenge, club member Molly Whitehall said: “It was a very special, if painful, day and we would like to thank everyone who has donated so far and everyone who has supported us along the way. Of course, the biggest thank you goes to our amazing NHS.”
Helen Marney, Director of Development at British Triathlon, said: “London Fields have shown how they’re adapting their cycling sessions to not only carry on as a club in these unprecedented times, but to raise an incredible amount of money for charity during the lockdown.
“It’s really inspiring to see the amount raised, as well as the support given throughout the challenge. Cycling for 12 hours is a phenomenal effort and highlights the appreciation that the club, as indeed the country, have for our NHS and key workers.
“Raising over £12,000 is a tremendous achievement and something that the club and its members should rightfully celebrate.
“We’re immensely proud of triathlon clubs up and down the country who are continuing to support their members remotely during the lockdown, and showing that we have great clubs across England, Scotland and Wales working to provide exercise and social activities for their members at a really difficult time for many.”
There's still time to donate via their Just Giving page which you can access via the button below.
