DOZENS of fitness fans braved plummeting temperatures to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Between 60 and 70 ‘Hubsters’ worked out in shifts over 12 hours through the night in aid of Crisis.

The charity, which helps people experiencing homelessness, had caught the attention of Gordon and Laura Stables. They are behind the Sports + Fitness Hub at East Links Family Park, near West Barns.

Laura was delighted to tell the Courier the fundraiser had collected nearly £6,500 – blowing their target of £2,000 out of the water.

She said: “We are absolutely thrilled.

“I did think to start with that if we got £2,000 it would be amazing.

“It will make such a big difference and we are overwhelmed with how much we managed to get.

“I’ve spoken to Crisis and they are just amazed as well – it is going to help so much.”

East Lothian Courier: People worked out through the night to raise money for CrisisPeople worked out through the night to raise money for Crisis

Staff at the business, which was formed five years ago this summer, have regularly done their bit for charity.

In recent years, they have shown their support to East Lothian Foodbank with a collection.

However, to mark the end of 2021, they decided to do something a little bit different.

Laura told the Courier: “We have got a really big community and wanted to do something to step it up and do a little more.

“We decided to do something for Crisis after we heard an advert on Spotify appealing for help.

“This was going to be a lot of people’s first Christmas homeless after the Covid pandemic. We sat down and brainstormed some ideas and decided to go with this.”

East Lothian Courier: People worked out through the night to raise money for CrisisPeople worked out through the night to raise money for Crisis

Members of the Sports + Fitness Hub – known as Hubsters – were invited to sign up to a rota as they worked out from 9pm on December 28 through until 9am the following morning.

Two rowing machines, two spin bikes, two AssaultBikes and two SkiErgs were taken outside for fundraisers to do half-hour shifts on.

Laura, who was previously a marketing manager before joining up with Gordon at the business, said: “They were coming in shifts through the night.

“We had thought about postponing it because of the new guidelines but it was outdoors and one-metre apart so it was all above aboard.

“We had a rota and we did have a few call-offs because of people isolating or kids being sick.

“Some people maybe signed up for two half-hour slots and ended up doing four.”

The small family business was delighted to help the charity, which aims to end homelessness.

Laura, of Portobello, said 2021 had been “a tough year” for the business during lockdown but the advert for Crisis had hit home.

She added: “We heard the Crisis appeal and, what they said, it just resonated.

“There are people struggling.

“We are really lucky all our Hubsters stood by us through lockdown and it ticked a lot of boxes for us.”

To sponsor the Sports + Fitness Hub and to back Crisis, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/sportsfitnesshub