The recent first ever 48-hour spinathon in aid of SAFE and Consiole - focused on ‘Breaking the Cycle of Suicide’ - was the concept of Jennifer Thomas of Team Thomas Fitness Centre, Annacarton Bridge, Watergrasshill, who is an advocate of fitness as a key element in counteracting depression.

Jennifer herself was diagnosed with depression at the age of 17 and was fortunate that life led her in the direction of fitness as a career, as she feels the daily benefits and ongoing feel good factor that comes with it.

In order to put this event in place Jennifer was supported by Elaine Doyle of Knockraha Macra na Feirme and Annemarie Davis (nee Barry) to realise this initiative. Anne Marie and her family, together with her extended family, completed in excess of 115 hours of spinning in memory of their brother Michael, who they lost literally months ago.

It was incredible to see the entire family and the late Michael's partner Nóirín embrace the spinathon from start to finish. Michael’s younger sister Katrina completed a fantastic 24-hours with sheer enthusiasm. Another lady to complete 24 hours was Fionola Bracken of Bracken’s Bakery.

Jennifer was the only person to complete the entire 48 hours which we believe is an absolute record in itself.

Elaine Doyle ensured the support of many of the Macra clubs, drawing participants from as far as Galway and all over the country. Over The Hill Cycling Club was well represented and two representatives completed approximately 12 hours.

The weekend event kicked off with the Sinéad Sheppard senior dancers from Cobh performing the Harlem Shake. However, music kept the event in motion from start to finish thanks to Ted Dunne Entertainment. There were also endless refreshments in place thanks to the sponsorship of Liam Ryan of Ryan's SuperValu, Glanmire.

A long list of companies (too many to mention) sponsored the spinning bikes and all their company names were printed and featured on bikes thanks to the sponsorship of Woodland Print.

There was an incredible response to the event on a local level, with all 20 spinning bikes being used on the hour, every hour from start to finish. Some people donated to complete an hour while others sought sponsorship via pledge cards.

According to Jennifer, over €10,000 has come in so far. "Money is still coming, so the final figure will be released in the coming weeks," she said.

Local representative for SAFE, Cynthia Kelleher, said she was "thrilled to be associated with such a positive event" and looks forward to working on further initiatives in order to contribute to breaking the cycle of suicide in the near future.

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