Emma completes 24-hour spin charity challenge

30 September 2021

A motivational message from her former sergeant and an early morning McDonalds meal helped spur a Federation member on, as she successfully completed 24-hour spin bike charity challenge.

DC Emma Corby took to the saddle on the Friday evening to raise money for Ashgate Hospicecare, after her sister’s mother-in-law was cared for by the charity.

She then spent the next 24 hours cycling for the organisation, raising more than £2,000 in total. 

“24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, whichever way you look at it, it’s a long time, especially with no sleep,” said mother-of-one Emma, “Deep down I wasn’t even sure I could physically complete it, 24 hours was a big ask.

“But then you compare that with the 20 years my sister’s mother-in-law, Sue, fought cancer.”

Sue was supported by Ashgate Hospicecare during her battle with cancer before she died in 2019.

The 24 hours reflects each year Sue fought the illness, along with one extra for each of her four children. 

“Hours one to nine were relatively good fun, and dare I say enjoyable but at about 1am, I literally smashed into a massive wall,” Emma said, “My legs went shaky, and I had an all-consuming feeling of wanting to be sick, I felt dizzy and not great. It was dark, the temperature had dropped and it was eerily quiet.”

Having guzzled down a bottle of Lucozade and tucking into a chocolate flapjack, Emma knew she needed to find the strength to continue.

“It was at that point that my old sergeant sent me three words, which were a total game changer. He wrote ‘keep battling Emma’ and that little message immediately made me think of Sue and the battle she faced, and the amount of times she must have been up in the middle of the night feeling unwell, and I thought to myself Sue never gave up, so I can’t give up either,” she said.

“Then I climbed back on the bike.”

Emma welcomed a much-needed McDonalds in the early hours of the morning and admits that by 4am, she could feel her legs again.

“My mojo returned,” she added, “Before I knew it, I was heading into hour 23 and my brother-in-law on my husband’s side, Tim, played ‘motivator’, making sure I was pumped and ready for the final hour. We stuck on ‘Sandstorm’ by Darude and I spun as hard and as fast as I could. I honestly don’t know where I found the strength in my legs.

“And, at 5pm, I smashed the challenge.”

Emma said that donations have been flooding in, with messages of support and encouragement sent throughout the whole event. 

“Each and every message and donation made such a difference,” said Emma.

“I think I covered just shy of 300 miles on the bike and we’ve now passed the £2,000 mark. I hope the money we have raised helps them in a small way.

“To my family and friends, thank you for the support, encouragement and donations you have given me throughout this challenge and for those families and friends facing their own battles right now, keep going, and don’t ever give up.”

You can still donate to Emma’s fundraising page.