Over the summer we talked with our community during our monthly Networkplaceless virtual networking events about health and wellness in remote work — staying physically as well as mentally healthy and connected with remote peers. During these discussions Cantilever came to us with the idea of creating a fun Remote 5K event, and we were on-board to bring it to life.
Leading up to the event, our training hearts couldn’t resist following along with a 5K training plan. Competitors shared remote training photos and inspiration along the way until race day officially arrived on October 11th.
During the live event we welcomed 25+ racers from across eight different time zones. Plus, more racers joined on their own schedule and shared photos with us via social channels. The live 5K race started with participants hopping into a Zoom meeting from wherever they are remotely located in race gear and ready to start. We opened with a couple remarks from Jacqueline Zeller, CMO at Workplaceless and Ty Fujimura, CEO of Cantilever.
With the racers at each of their respective remote starting lines, they took off at the mark of “Go!” A handful of participants stayed on the Zoom throughout their complete race, such as Andrew Heins of Cantilever who jerry-rigged his phone to his hat to livestream his route. Others hopped in and out of the Zoom, while others rejoined at the completion of their race to share results. We all took the post race arrivals as an opportunity to wind down from the run or walk, to share stories, and to connect about the experience. The live race concluded with a short and sweet awards ceremony. Race day photos and results were shared at #remote5k2019.
We’re thankful to all of the inaugural Remote 5K participants for showing up and joining the journey. An extra shout out below to our top finishers and winner across some important recognition categories!
5K Top Finishers – Men:
- Scott Dawson – Check out his article: My First Foray into Virtual Racing
- Bryan Stutzman
- (tie) Ty Fujimura
- (tie) Andrei Scarlatescu
5K Top Finishers – Women:
- Laura Sale (shared via Instagram)
- Megan Eddinger (live on Zoom)
- Kaylen Steele
Awards Recipients:
- Best 5K Swim (!!) – Raul Rovira
- Most Dedicated Training – Jillian Alexander
- Most Vocal during the Race – Andrew Heins
- Most Family Friendly Race – Eric Miller
- Coldest Run (tie) – Kristian Erik Munk
- Coldest Run (tie) – Teresa Douglas
- Best Multi-Generational Team – Tammy Bjelland & Martha Bjelland
- Cutest Companion (tie) – Meaghan Williams
- Cutest Companion (tie) – Tara Sowa
- Most Creative Route Planning – Mike Gallers
We were grateful for the partnership with Logitech in incorporating the Remote 5K as a cap off event to their full #WorkFromAnywhere week.
A special shout out to our sponsors:
- Art of Working Remotely – as our first sponsor on board
- Deel – with the most team members participating
- Work Well Wherever – for cheering us on along the way
Additional sponsors include:
We love finding new ways to help remote workers connect with one another, and deliver opportunities to practice what we teach. We’re grateful for the inspiring individuals and teams in this remote community.
