CrossFit member goes overtime for charity

By Ryan McCracken on December 14, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Charlie Bruce is cramming 30 months of passion into 24 hours of charity.

The Gas City CrossFit coach has been working out around the clock for his second annual Christmas toy drive — which tasks Bruce with completing 30 workouts of the day over the course of 24 hours.

Why 30? It was 30 months ago that Bruce first entered the local club and found a new home away from home, and now he’s giving back to Medicine Hat for every month the club has given him.

“I was stuck for an idea what to do this year and my wife said, “Well, we’ve been here 30 months, why don’t you do 30 workouts in 24 hours.’ I thought that was a really cool idea,” said Bruce. “I’ve known people to do 24 workouts in 24 hours, which is a workout an hour, so doing those 30 workouts will push that a little bit more and hopefully urge people to give a little bit more with the toys as well.”

Bruce had all 30 WODs mapped out and displayed on a glass board as he and Gas City CrossFit owner Kaine Dick teamed up to kick off the event Thursday at 10 a.m. Just a few feet away sat a constant reminder of the goal, a small Christmas tree surrounded by toys donated in support of the cause.

“The CrossFit community has been fantastic,” he said. “They’ve welcomed me and my family in from Day 1. It’s been really awesome. Kaine and Britteny (Dick, owners) were even kind enough to let me do some coaching here, so I’ve done that for free as well, just helping out where I can. Everyone has just been open arms for the whole 30 months that we’ve been here.”

Bruce added he got the idea from a couple friends back in the U.K. who hold a similar event in an effort to collect toys for children over the holidays.

“They did something really similar, they’ve done a 24-hour workout challenge where they did different movements on the hour every hour, and they did it for a children’s charity raising toys,” he said. “I thought, ‘it’s a great thing to do, the Santa Claus Fund was on the doorstep so why not give it a go and really bring something to Medicine Hat, something that’s worthwhile.'”

Bruce wraps things up at 10 a.m.

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