Did Your Team Place?

If your team placed in the Corporate 5k, we have a prize for you at Track Shack! Come by the store to pick it up.

Results can be found here.

The Story Behind the Shirt

This years T-shirt contest was quite dramatic, with Beck's Disaster Relief taking an early lead, but in the end, PBS&J's shirt took the prize. We asked them for the story behind their shirt, and here is what they told us.

"It was the morning of January 13, 2010, and word quickly spread throughout PBS&J’s Orlando office that Lee Strickland, transportation planning group manager for central Florida, was missing in Haiti. He had gone there the day before, filling in for a colleague at a presentation. He was staying at the Hotel Montana, which was in shambles. For 34 long days, coworkers hoped, prayed, and finally, grieved together when word came that Lee had been found and did not survive the earthquake.

In addition to providing leadership to PBS&J’s central Florida transportation planning group, on a personal level, Lee was many things—devoted family man, Sunday school teacher, avid Gator fan, cookie baker, roller coaster aficionado, joker, and free spirit. He was also fitness fanatic, whether it was working out at RDV or running marathons at Disney. More than just participate, he encouraged everyone around him to get involved. He served as team captain for PBS&J’s Corporate 5K team for several years. And so this year, PBS&J’s 2010 Corporate 5K team chose to participate in memory of, Lee, who was our friend and is dearly missed."

-Billie McLean Breedlove, Regional Marketing Manager, Florida, PBS&J

Race Course Preview

Runners and walkers in this year's Corporate 5k will make history by participating in the largest road race ever held in Orlando city limits!

A few of us from Track Shack (and a running buddy from FreshPoint) ran the newly designed route starting at 7:15 p.m. on a Thursday night.   Here's a preview of what to expect.  

Heading east on Central you'll experience very little of downtown Orlando's famous brick streets for about a half mile. Think of this route as a rectangle that surrounds classic downtown neighborhoods and passes right by Carl Langford and Rose Arden parks. Along the way you'll be refreshed by hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers serving at two water stops and energized by a DJ and live music, including a mariachi band that welcomes you back to Lake Eola.  

Nice wide roads and straight stretches lead you across the finish line and into the Office Party of the Year!  Mich Ultra will be flowing and this is the time to celebrate your accomplishment with thousands of other fitness enthusiasts!

The Track Shack crew getting ready to run the course.

Mea Culpa

We missed a T-shirt entry when putting the contest together. The new entry is "U.S. Lawns", and can be voted for in the box below the main T-shirt voting box. The shirt design can be found in the same post as the others.

Food Drive!

Come prepared to race AND feed your neighbors in need.

The Christian Service Center invites your team to join our team by helping us to reach our goal of collecting 12,300 (one can per person) cans during this year’s Corporate 5K!

We would like to challenge all teams and participants to collect canned or nonperishable food items, which can be dropped off during the race in either of two drop off locations at Lake Eola. The first donation site will be set up on Rosalind Avenue near the Amphitheatre and the second site will be located on Eola Drive, near Panera. 

The Christian Service Center is honored to be the recipient of such collective support from our community for the fourth year in a row.  100% of donated items will go directly to families in our community who are struggling to put food on the table.  Not only will your donation satisfy someone’s belly, but your kindness and generosity will encourage their heart. 

Food items in high demand include: baby food, powered milk, canned vegetables and fruits, canned tuna, soups, pastas, pasta sauces, instant potatoes, rice, breakfast cereals, cake mixes, bisquick, peanut butter, jellies, and beverages such as fruit juices.

On behalf of the Christian Service Center and the families we serve, I look forward to joining you for the race on April 15^th and personally invite you to check out our website to learn more. www.christianservicecenter.org 

Robert F. Stuart

Executive Director 

And the Nominees are...

Click on image to view full size

                                                

To vote for U.S. Lawns, please use the box below the main voting poll. Thanks!

Voting Rules

Voting for the T-shirt Design contest starts tomorrow (no joke), and the rules are pretty simple.

1. Anyone can vote- friends, family, co-workers, complete strangers- so get the word out, and encourage people to vote for your team's design.

2. Only one vote per a person is allowed.

3. Voting closes at midnight April 10th.

The designs will be put in a post, and linked to on the right side bar under the "2010 T-shirt Design Contest" heading. To vote, find the name of the company whose shirt you want to vote for in the box on the right, select it, and click "vote".

Good luck to everyone who submitted entries!

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade is one of the largest teams thats participates in the Corporate 5k presented by IOA. Here's some of their goals and team building tips from team captain Lorraine. 

Team History:
-We have had a team of people since 2003. Our team size that year was 24.
-In 2004 I ran with the CCC team for the first time and we had 25.
-In 2006 I took over as the team captain and met with a team who decided to have the ministry pay for all but $5 for each person wanting to participate...We had 125 that year!

In 2007 we had 225, in 2008 we went just over 300 and in 2009 we hit 412! The price for each team member is still $5 and we have had kids as young as 4 and as old as 70 complete the 5K! A lot of our company brings their whole family..one family with 6 kids has done the race for 4 years! We have provided a box dinner for each runner each year and we are probably one of the last teams to all go home because we have so much fun hanging around afterwards and interacting with each other and other teams downtown!


Last year we worked really hard on our t-shirt design and finally we were able to capture a t-shirt award for best design! I have been the "team captain of the year" twice, in 2007 and in 2009. (We have lots of folks to vote I guess) :0)

Our goal for this year is to bring as close to 500 as we can recruit. In the past year we have adopted a new "Wellness program" for our staff which is 3 fold:
1. A WEIGHT MANAGEMENT INCENTIVE
       Each staff member who wishes to sets a weight loss goal can receive $5 per pound they loose! With   
       a top 3 prize worth over $200! Those who sign up get e-mails to encourage them and help them  
       track their loss.
2. GYM MEMBERSHIP
       To help people begin and maintain a healthy lifestyle, gym membership up to a 50% rebate is given 
       to those who workout at least 10 days a month.
3. WALK 2 HEALTH program
       By signing a pledge to walk at least 4 days a week you are given a pedometer and assigned to a 
       "walking team". You can win a prize by recruiting the team with the most walkers who complete 
       the program!

These are some of the new programs we have at our office to encourage and reward those who pursue a healthy life style!

I am excited about the part that the corporate 5K has played over the years in the health and active lifestyle of our staff!!


Want your team to be featured? e-mail Emma@TrackShack.com

A Great Team Recruitment Tool

Kudos to Allgen Financial for putting together this great e-mail ad.

Past Winners

You all asked us for samples of past winners of our T-shirt contest, so we went digging through the archives. Here's what we found:

Remember, submission deadline for artwork is March 26th!

Christian Service Center

Many companies and organizations look forward to the annual Track Shack Corporate 5K as a fun team builder.  The race is a great way to get to know co-workers in a casual environment and throw a little healthy competition into the mixJ.  At the Christian Service Center, this is especially true!  The race holds such meaningful symbolism to our organization.

The Corporate 5K reminds me a lot of the Center itself.  It provides a unique opportunity for staff, volunteers, board members, and clients alike to join together as one unified team, leaving any barriers that separate us at the door.  During this race, it doesn’t matter what your age, religion, ethnicity or job; it doesn’t matter if you came to the Christian Service Center because you need help or because you want to help someone else.  We all wear the same outfit, run the same race and share the same satisfied smiles as we cross the finish line together. 

Team Christian Service Center extends an open invitation to any community partners, families or individuals who would like to join a Corporate 5K team!  Starting this week, team Christian Service Center is holding practices up until race day every Monday at 6 p.m. at Parramore Heritage Park (corner of Parramore and Central).  For more information on the Christian Service Center or to contact us, please visit www.ChristianServiceCenter.org.     

Thank you Track Shack for this annual opportunity and for adding a whole new dimension to our definition of “team”.  We look forward to seeing you on April 15^th!

Chrissy Garton

Director of Marketing & Development

Christian Service Center

The Christian Service Center is the beneficiary of the Corporate 5k presented by IOA food drive. We received no compensation for blogging about them. If your team would like to featured on out blog, e-mail emma@trackshack.com.

"It's Just Good Business"

That's the slogan for this year's Corporate 5k presented by IOA, to help you get those creative juices flowing for your t-shirt designs. Remember, the deadline for design submissions is March 26th!

Run it. Live it. Share it.

Hey Corporate 5k Captains and Runners!

How do you inspire your 

co-workers to run?

Share it with us in the comments of this post.

3 Lucky winners receive sport towels and large coffee mug! 

Post responses by Friday, 2/26 5 pm. Winners will be contacted via email.

How to Register

Courtesy of: Keith Morlock, Rockwell Collins Team Captain
(click images to enlarge)

A Little Competition Never Hurts...

Did you know you can see what teams have registered for Corporate 5k presented by IOA and how many people they have registered? Check it out here.

Corporate 5k presented by IOA Information Slide Show

Training Resources

Track Shack's Training Program- an 8 week training guide to help you run a 5k

Florida Hospital Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine- injury and training advice

Track Shack's Training Programs- come work out with a group!

Cool Running's Couch-to-5k Training Plan- Cool Running is a great online resource for runners

Runners' Lounge- an online running community

Runner's World Ultimate 5-k plan- a six-week training program from a popular running and walking magazine

The Track Shack Blog- a great resource for training, nutrition, and more

Know any other great resources? Add them below in the comments.



Post discloser: cmp.ly/6/pi4f66

2010 T-shirt Design Contest Submission Requirments

Does your team have the creativity it takes to win our t-shirt design contest? There's only one way to find out. Here are the rules:

1. E-mail your submission to Corporate5k@TrackShack.com, subject line "T-shirt Contest"
2. Include company name and the color of the t-shirt you will be printing on with your artwork.
3. All images MUST be submitted as a JPEG, minimum size of 240X160. 
4. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 26th. No entries will be accepted after the deadline.
5. Voting begins April 1st, here on the blog. Voting rules will be posted closer to the deadline.

There will only be one category, "Best Overall Design", and voting will be open to all 2010 Corporate 5k participants. The entries will be posted on the blog for everyone to see and vote for, so make sure they look good! We will e-mail the winning team and announce it on the blog. The award will be presented at the Awards Breakfast.

Building Your Team

So, you've registered your team for Corporate 5k. Now, what do you do next? Here are some ideas for building your team.

1. Get your boss on board. Nothing spreads the word about your company's participation faster than having upper management involved.
2. Use the "invite" option on your team's Active.com account to invite people via e-mail.
3. Talk about the event in your company's newsletter.
4. Invite clients and vendors. Use this as an outreach opportunity. 
5. Put up signs and posters around your office.
6. Use social media- blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It's quick, easy, and best of all, free!

Did your company do anything in the past that worked well for you? Share ideas and tips in the comments!