Optimum’s marathon effort for Pedal Power

IT training consultancy Optimum has donated a specialised hand bike to Pedal Power, after one of its consultants ran a personal best in the 2016 London Marathon in aid of the charity.

Hackney-based Pedal Power was set up in 2004 as a cycling club for teenagers and adults with learning disabilities. It now has 1,000 members and runs weekly sessions at the Emirates Stadium and in Finsbury Park, London, using more than 100 specially adapted bikes.

Pedal Power founder Jo Roach, said: “Cycling gives our members a real sense of freedom and empowerment. It’s often the only way they can travel easily at any sort of speed and be a little bit independent.”

Optimum trainer Tanya Addison raised nearly £1000 for the charity running her first London Marathon in three hours 37 minutes, six minutes inside her previous best time over the distance. It was only Tanya’s fourth marathon and Optimum was so impressed with her and with the charity that the company decided not only to buy the bike for Pedal Power but also to match the amount she had raised.

Tanya said: “I’m a keen cyclist and live near Finsbury Park so I’ve seen how important Pedal Power is to its members. Supporting this small, independent, local charity was a natural choice.”

Jo Roach added: “Tanya’s fundraising and Optimum’s contribution has been magnificent. It means we can now buy a hand bike with foot pedals to add to our fleet of specialist tandems, trikes, side-by-side, recumbent and wheelchair cycles. It will give so much pleasure to our members, you just see their huge smiles.”