Big Team Challenge: we walk and run from San Francisco to NYC!
Have you heard of the Big Team Challenge?
It’s a walking challenge to encourage teams of people in the workplace to get moving and motivated.
Organised by THP’s Wellbeing Team, we were divided into four groups and encouraged to up our step-count every day during October. We all put the Big Team Challenge app on our phones, which automatically updated a dashboard that let us track our progress.
Over the month, we collectively took a virtual walk / run across the USA. Starting at San Francisco, we passed through nine cities to ‘arrive’ in New York some 7,517,611 steps later. By midnight on 31st October, we’d smashed our target to rack up a total of 8,199,312 steps. That’s 3,469.4 miles!
Boosting our exercise levels
As a company-wide initiative, the Big Team Challenge was great fun and really encouraged us to get walking, jogging or running. All the teams together managed to average 264,494 steps per day.
How the teams did
The winning team which by some kind quirk of fate I just happened to be part of!, Not Fast, Just Furious, walked (or ran) a fantastic 1,659.9km. Team members Debbie West, Alex Applin, Mark Ingle, Diana Sinclair, Karen Jones, Rewathy Mathialagan, Khalida Din and myself. We each received £100 in recognition of our achievement.
In second place was the Red Hot Chilli Steppers who totted up a total of 1,430.5km. Simon Dean and Sarah Poysti both consistently achieved an impressive daily step count of over 12,500. Other team members were Eleanor Cohen, Emma Biggane, Sian Morgan, Donna Scott, Kate Brasser and Mark Boulter.
Third place went to Slow Patrol, whose members covered an impressive 1.347.6km. ‘Tortoise’ (aka Faqrul Islam) achieved a consistent daily average of over 10,000 steps. The other team members were Ian Henman, Kirsty Demeza, Anna Nagalingum, Kelsey Mason, Li Ling, Shahid Hameed, Miles Girdlestone and Mel Robinson.
Last, but not least, were The Proclaimers who walked or ran a total distance of 1,145.3km. Special shout outs go to Andy Green and Jenny Pham who both achieved a fantastic daily average of over 14,500 steps. The other team members were Amy Livermore, Jennifer Creevy, Kevin Luu, Intila Abedhin, Nik Jeram and Felipe Bassi.
Big Team Challenge charity donation
We’re grateful that the Big Team Challenge inspired us to get moving such an impressive number of miles. THP has now donated £800 to the following charities chosen by the winning team:-
Cancer Research, The Alzheimers Society and NSPCC.
Being old and somewhat physically unmotivated these days, my own contribution didn’t come anywhere close to the youngsters in my team. I mean almost 8 miles every single day? I struggle to do 5 miles in a week! But the fact that my team won the challenge overall certainly highlights the importance of good teamwork. Very satisfying!”
To learn more about the Big Team Challenge, visit www.bigteamchallenge.com
About Jon Pryse-Jones
Since joining THP in 1978, Jon Pryse-Jones has been hands on with every area of the business. Now specialising in strategy, business planning, and marketing, Jon remains at the forefront of the growth and development at THP.
An ideas man, Jon enjoys getting the most out of all situations, “I act as a catalyst for creative people and encourage them to think outside the box,” he says, “and I’m not afraid of being confrontational. It often leads to a better result for THP and its clients.”
Jon’s appreciation for THP extends to his fellow team members and the board. “They really know how to run a successful business,” he says. He’s keen on IT and systems development as critical to success, and he continues to guide THP to be at the cutting edge and effective.
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