Beyond the Barriers team run the 2010 Windsor Half Marathon
Seven months ago Beyond the Barriers signed a team up in the 2010 Windsor Half Marathon with the mission of encouraging fit and active lifestyles amongst their clients, colleagues, acquaintances, friends and family. Most people need a goal to work towards, to keep them motivated and on track, so committing to a half marathon was just the incentive that they needed.
Being part of a team also has the added value of support and encouragement of team mates and the fun of camaraderie. We had 24 runners in the team, ranging from seasoned runners who had run many half and full marathons before, through to others who had never run more than 20mins in their life! People travelled from far and wide to be in our team, including Quan Campbell who came all the way from San Diego, California to experience the beautiful Great Windsor Park.
The months rolled by and as the training started to kick in, those who were not regular runners (or exercisers) began to realise how much better it was making them feel and how much more energy they had. As expected, however we had a few people drop out with injuries and illness but we had built up a waiting list and found a number of enthusiastic and willing runners to step in right up to 2 weeks before the race.
Race day arrived, it was overcast with a rather chilly and strong northerly wind and those that made it in under the 2hour 15min mark stayed dry. We all congregated in the Beyond the Barriers marquee for pre-race stretching, bananas and a team photo. There were some pre-race nerves as well as some friendly competitive banter about times, who was going to beat who and race tactics. Steve Farmer, MD of Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet services jokingly claimed that he was going to ‘sprint off the start to get out in the front, cruise for 12 miles and then sprint the last half a mile!’ I think he did a lot more sprinting than cruising when he sped round in a very impressive 1hr 39 minutes.
The course went up the ‘Long walk’ for a mile before heading into the heart of Great Windsor park with one small lap followed by a larger lap and then back down the long walk to the finish. The course was described as hilly and generally undulating. Many people complained about one particularly nasty hill around mile 8/9. That said, everyone in the team did amazingly well, we had some very quick times from both male and female runners as well as a number of PB’s including one from Rob Lambert who took an astonishing 20minutes off his personal best! There were also some remarkable achievements from some people who 7 months ago would never have dreamed of running 13miles.
Many congratulations and very well done to everyone in the team! Thanks for supporting Beyond the Barriers and being in our team, we look forward to inviting you to our next sporting event. From the sound of the comments below the team enjoyed it and are enthusiastic for the next one. Watch this space…
‘I could hardly sleep last night my body was so sore and I can hardly walk this morning. But hey I loved it! Thanks a load for organising it and getting everyone motivated, you guys did a fab job!’
Julia Leckey, Creative Director, Edge Architecture and Design
‘Thanks again for all your hard work organising the event. Whilst my legs ache… agreeing to take part really was the catalyst for me getting myself out of the office at a reasonable time and getting fit again so thank you all’
Julie Townrow, Healthcare Consultant, JLT online benefits
‘Thanks guys for yesterday and for the invite to run for BTB. I had a great day and good to meet some new faces.’
James Callard, Marketing Director, Ambition
‘Thank you for including me in the event – I had fun, even though I didn’t think I was even going to be able to take part a few weeks ago. Thanks also for your help and encouragement along the way. I would love to be involved in more events!!’
Rob Lambert
‘Thank you very much for your hospitality yesterday. We all thought the event was fantastic and a great achievement for us all. Not too stiff this morning, the massage obviously did the trick!’
Andy Omerod, Director Plant Services, Balfour Beatty
‘Thanks enjoyed the run – bit of a shock to the system having been on the bike for a lot of the last 3 years. Was very glad of your masseurs!
Cameron Jack, Head of Relationship, Bank of New York
For more photos go to our facebook page
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