Wanting to run the 10 Miles, but not wanting train alone. With that thought, some 20 employees started the ‘Start to 10 Miles’ in January. Together with coach Bram Vogels, they started training after the Christmas holidays. Last weekend, their big goal finally took place: the Antwerp 10 Miles.
This year, for the first time, the Sports Department organised a running training session for UAntwerp employees in view of the Antwerp 10 Miles. All employees could register. You didn’t need to have experience or be able to run fast. Everyone could and did participate, and so 20 colleagues made their good intentions come true.
Leave together, return together
Training started immediately after the Christmas holidays. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, participants met up to run as a group. The faster runners made sure to include slightly slower ones. ‘It’s nice to run with colleagues’, Wouter De Pesseroey from the Marketing and Communications Department says. ‘We motivate each other and if someone can’t keep up, we looped around to pick them up. That way, everyone can still start more or less at their own pace.’
‘Colleagues you didn’t know before suddenly become running buddies with a common goal.’
Maddie De Pauw – Infrastructure Department
Running coach Bram also made sure everyone could join in. ‘I think it was really sweet of all the fellow runners to run extra laps to wait for me, because I really am the slowest runner of all’, Veerle Van den Broeck from the Student Services Catering & Conference Rooms Department says. ‘Bram always says: leave together, return together.’ Bram also gave participants personal running tips and taught certain practices that are useful when running in such a big crowd.
A friendly gang
Many participants saw the preparations not only as running training, but also as a chance to get to know their colleagues better. ‘Colleagues you didn’t know before suddenly become running buddies with a common goal’, Maddie De Pauw says. They motivated each other to come to every training session and keep going. A friendly gang with a coach who is hugely enthusiastic, that can only result in a good experience.
‘I really recommend “Start to 10 Miles”’, Maddie responds enthusiastically. ‘It’s a friendly gang, a great environment and through personal, professional coaching, you run straight to your goal. The “Start to 10 Miles” starts early enough in the year for a gradual build up, making it achievable for everyone. A fun initiative!’
A fun, wet experience
On Sunday 23 April it finally happened: the Antwerp 10 Miles. For some participants this was their first edition, for others this was their fifth time or more. Everyone had a goal: from 1.45 hours to just running the 10 Miles.
On the whole, all runners were very satisfied with their performance and found the Antwerp 10 Miles to be a fun, surprising and, this year, wet experience. Definitely worth repeating, just like the ‘Start to 10 Miles’ preparation
