On Thursday, 19 February, employees of the health club chain Esporta broke a record for the most people static cycling simultaneously. A total of 412 cyclists achieved this feat at Esporta’s annual conference, staged at the Gloucestershire Health & Rackets Club in Gloucester, UK.

The employees came from all over the UK and were assembled into four groups across the floor space of a massive inflated sports hall. After a day of powerpoint presentations, and before the evening presentations continued, employees of all ranks and levels of fitness streamed into the hall and prepared themselves for an energetic 45-minute spinning workout. They were spurred on by four members of their executive management team and led by their chief executive officer and class instructor, all of whom were on a stage at the front of the hall, while other members of the conference handed out much-needed supplies of water.

Everyone who took part was determined to finish the whole workout, and so claim back their record from last year. There was a huge roar at the end of the session, and when it was announced that the record had been achieved, confetti cannons fired and fireworks exploded on the screens to either side of the stage.

This is one record that had been achieved through pure sweat and toil. Trust me – Guinness World Records™ Adjudicator Nadine Causey – as a witness to that fact!

23 February 2009