Liz Randall's Cycling Blog - a life behind bars

"With ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable"



Monday 22 December 2008

My latest work project

This is what is currently energising me at work and preventing me from even thinking of retiring....this and other projects my group is putting into place.

The concept is not new..I took part in something very similar about 10 years ago at my gym and of course there is the Global Corporate Challenge.

The Round Australia Challenge (TRAC)

A Workplace Wellness and Communications Group (WW&CG) initiative.

TRAC is a virtual journey around Australia commencing on February 1st and ending on April 30th. The journey will be completed by teams of 4 staff members via their aerobic exercise which can be done solo, with the team or with others not involved in the challenge.

  • Each full hour of aerobic exercise is valued as 40km, 30 minutes as 20km, and 15 minutes (the minimum allowed) as 10km - no session less than 15 minutes can be counted.
  • The exercise can be any form of aerobic exercise eg cycling, running, walking, and swimming or sports eg soccer, basketball or even playing with the kids as long as it involves an aerobic component but not relatively static play such as kick to kick.
  • Walking done at work does not count ( lunch break aerobic exercise can, of course, be counted)
  • Any work with weights is not deemed to be aerobic work and so may not be included.
  • Despite the above, ANY gym class offered by the WW&CG will count regardless of its content.
  • The journey commences in Melbourne and all teams will travel in an anticlockwise direction visiting Sydney first.
  • One trip around the country is 14,390km. How far can your team go in 89 days? The distances are as follows:

Melbourne to Sydney 890km

Sydney to Brisbane 1027km

Brisbane to Cairns 1841km

Cairns to Darwin 2796km

Darwin to Perth 4342km

Perth to Adelaide 2749km

Adelaide to Melbourne 745km

  • Each campus will have a giant map of Australia showing where all the teams have got to. It will be updated each week.

Teams

  • A team will comprise of 4 staff members, who can be from any department/ward and either campus.
  • Each team must have a name.
  • In order to maintain an element of equality and fairness, each team will only be able to have 1 “super trainer”. A “super trainer” is defined as someone who regularly exercises extensively already.
  • Each team must be registered with a campus representative (***** at WH and Liz Randall at PJC), giving the team name, team members, the name of the “super trainer” if there is one and nominating one person as the contact for the team.
  • Every Monday the team contact must email Liz or **** with the team’s weekly exercise total. The maps will be upgraded by 5pm each Tuesday.
  • The team should let the campus rep know if any team member is unable to continue.
  • Late starters should contact one of the campus reps who will help them find/create a team. Late starting teams will commence their journey at a location just behind the slowest team.
  • Each participant is encouraged to keep an exercise log and to help with this will be provided with a simple spiral bound book.

Cost

Nothing..there is no cost to participants at all.

What you get:

  • Fitness
  • Fun
  • Friendly rivalry/competition
  • Prizes: these will be given out along the way: spot prizes if you arrive at a certain pre-determined location plus encouragement prizes for struggling teams. At the end there will be prizes for the most improved team, biggest solo improvement, best non super trainer etc etc, and of course the 3 teams who have travel the furthest by midnight April 30th (if you get back to Melbourne before April 30th you just have to keep going!). And the prizes will be GOOD.
  • Free lunches with talks on fitness/exercise topics – The first will be a “launch lunch” then another mid-way and finally during May there will be a wind up get together and presentation.

So what do you need to do right now?

  • Create a team
  • Decide on a name..be inventive!
  • Decide who will be the team’s contact person
  • Register your team via email with either ******** or Liz Randall nominating your contact person and super trainer (if you have one).
  • Wait for the launch lunch invite.

Fine print…in the interests of retaining the element of fun and fairness please ensure you really do have only one super trainer in your team. The organizing group retains the right to check all results on an on going basis.


Waddya think? If each team member puts in 1 hr/day, the team will not quite manage the round trip, but personally I think many will be well on their way round a second time come April 30th.

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