Westport Inter-Company Duathlon goes virtual
THE Westport Inter-Company Duathlon (WICD) charity fundraiser was launched on Thursday last at Westport House. The fun inter-company event is going ahead this September despite the challenges of Covid-19.
WICD 2020 will be a virtual event which will open it beyond the confines of Westport to every place on the planet. Entries are already in from the UK, Australia and USA.
The run-cycle-run duathlon takes place anytime during the week of September 7-13.
WICD is a co-creation of Portwest and AbbVie (formerly Allergan) and all profits go to Mayo Pink Ribbon and Mayo Roscommon Hospice.
Gary O'Mahony, HR director, AbbVie, Westport, said: “Every year, thousands of AbbVie employees across the world participate in company-supported initiatives designed to highlight and promote the importance of regular exercise to personal well-being. We are delighted to join with our colleagues in Portwest to organise the duathlon. Getting active is key to boosting personal resilience and, with the challenges of Covid-19, this has never been more important.”
The aim of the event is #GetYourCompanyMoving and WICD is designed so that people of any fitness level can take place. It can be done by teams of two or three members, or by individuals. The distances for adults are a 4km run - 18km cycle – 2km run. For youths (15-18 years) and juniors (7-14 years) the distances are 2km run – 10km cycle – 1km run. All youths and juniors must have a family member participating in the event.
Deirdre Clarke, HR manager, Portwest, explained: “This event evolved from the idea of simply getting people active as well as building camaraderie within workplaces, and also within the community.
“Our inaugural event in 2019 proved more popular than we had ever imagined and sold out in record time. The feedback was incredible, and I think it really did achieve the aim of building community spirit and bringing companies, colleagues, friends and family together in a non-competitive environment.
“For many participants it was their first ever event, with the relatively short distances making this possible. Above all, being able to enjoy such a unique event while contributing to such worthy charity partners as Mayo Pink Ribbon and Mayo Roscommon Hospice is especially rewarding.”
Even though it’s a virtual event, there are giveaways for the first 300 to complete the challenge. Adults will receive a premium technical t-shirt and medal, while youths and juniors will receive a neck buff.
Advance registration is essential and the cost is €20 for adults, €10 for youths and €5 for juniors. The easiest way to register is through https://www.runireland.com/.
All you need to do is:
1. Register yourself or your team.
2. Complete the event as an individual or as a team in the week beginning Monday, September 7.
3. Use a Garmin or any tracking device or phone app to record your times and upload them to the link you will receive upon registration, on or before Sunday, September 13.
4. Participants are encouraged to share the secure GoFundMe link https://gf.me/u/ypg59r to support additional fundraising for our charity partners, Mayo Pink Ribbon and Mayo Roscommon Hospice.
WICD is a fun event to do with the people you work with and at the same time contribute to two really wonderful local charities. Even if you’ve never done a duathlon before why not give it a go for 2020.
Get involved and #GetYourCompanyMoving. See Facebook for updates and details.