Nearly 300 people finished the year on a high whilst raising over £12,000 for local charities in Winchester. This was the third year of the Tinathon, an event initiated in 2019 as a tribute to Tina Jury, a popular local marathon runner who lost her life to cancer. Tinathon has now raised over £30k since its inception.
Participants rose to the challenge by getting their hearts pumping every day in December, including Christmas day. They could choose whatever activity they wanted, so long as it raised their heart rate for at least half an hour.
Tinathoners, wearing their branded buffs were seen running, swimming, cycling, power walking, in the gym and even on paddle boards. This year, as well as a huge participation from Winchester, including entire families, there were entrants from the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and one team completed their challenge whilst trekking in Nepal.
Tinathon was started by local PR Miranda Rocksmith and personal trainer Heather Terry, supported by Tina’s family and friends. To take part, entrants paid £31 which went to Winchester Hospice and, for any day they missed in December, paid a ‘fine’ to Wessex Cancer Trust.
To support participants, local sports facilities including Orangetheory Fitness, énergie Fitness, Winchester Fit Club and Osman Tennis laid on exclusive free classes. Local PTs including Tom Donaldson, Juliette Green, Nicky Watt, Jo Little, Mike Day and Amy Lack held free in person and online classes.
For the finale on the 31st there was a mass cross country run led by James White and an outdoor HIIT class led by Heather, all at a safe social distance.
At the time of writing Tinathon 2021 has raised over £10k for Winchester Hospice and £2.5k for Wessex Cancer Trust. The number of participants and the fundraising has continued to grow each year, despite such challenging circumstances this year.
Miranda Rocksmith said: “We thought we might find it difficult this year to encourage people to get involved in Tinathon, especially with the rising number of COVID cases in the area. However, we had many more people than previous years and the enthusiasm of participants really surprised us, especially from those working out at home whilst isolating.“
Heather Terry said: “We have heard so many great stories this year from participants saying that Tinathon has really helped them physically and mentally. This is the perfect legacy for Tina who would be delighted that so many people feel better prepared for 2022 thanks to the power of daily exercise. A huge thank you to all our PTs and gyms who helped make this happen.”
Nick Vaughan, chair of Winchester Hospice Fundraising Charity, said: “Thank you to everyone involved in Tinathon 2021 for their great support for Winchester Hospice. This is a fabulous event, and the fundraising support is much appreciated.”
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