The unifying power of sport

Good atmosphere at the Augsburg venue

The race in Augsburg took place for the 14th time and has now established itself as a highlight in the calendar of sports-loving workforces in the greater Augsburg area. The run is not only a sporting highlight, but also a great opportunity to present yourself as an employer and network with other companies and organizations. Part of the entry fee goes to charitable organizations in the region. For a number of years now, FORUM has participated.

In glorious weather, 25 motivated employees from the Merching companies and one colleague from Spitta GmbH in Balingen, FORUM’s newest subsidiary, competed at the exhibition center in Augsburg. As there were a few last-minute withdrawals, the starting places that became available were passed on to family members. Along the way, several music groups and numerous spectators ensured a good atmosphere. In the end, all participants crossed the finish line happy and satisfied.

Global Event

Since the Covid pandemic, when the company run could only take place remotely, the organizer, km Sport-Agentur, has been offering a virtual alternative to the on-site run. Athletes can choose a route from anywhere in the world and log into an app that records their time via GPS and stops after 5.3 km. The only condition was that the run had to be completed on May 20, German time. Accordingly, FORUM advertised the company run worldwide and entered a truly international team.

In Germany, in addition to running locally in Augsburg, three runners also started at individual start times remotely in the region, as well as three runners from Spitta in Balingen. Other European subsidiaries also took part: a large running team of 22 employees started at Editorial Jurídica Sepín in Spain. Most of them ran together in a group. 13 colleagues also ran together in Prague. Four employees took part in the run in Poznan, Poland.

In North America, employees from all three subsidiaries there took part. The largest group was from the Trade Press Media Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the weather there was very bad, so some runners had to retreat to an ice rink with an integrated running track. Colleagues from Gemba Academy in Texas and Kenilworth Media in Toronto, Canada, also participated.

FORUM was also represented by individual starters in an easterly direction around the globe: A colleague from the Australian subsidiary nextmedia ran along the Sydney Harbor Bridge, while a colleague from Lighthouse Independent Media completed the run along the harbor promenade in Hong Kong.

Great performances

In general, the company run focuses on fun and the community experience, but FORUM is also proud of some impressive sporting achievements. The fastest participant in the group was Jiří Flodr from the Czech Republic, who completed the 5.3 km in an impressive 19:53 minutes. This put him in 4th place overall among all virtual participants. Nacho Bertolá from Spain was almost as fast. He completed the course in 20:36 min, placing him 6th among the virtual participants. The fastest woman from the FORUM team was Klára Lupoměská from the Czech Republic with a time of 26:37 min, putting her in 8th place among all virtual runners. On site in Augsburg, four runners could enter together as a team. The women’s team from FORUM VERLAG HERKERT GMBH put in an impressive performance, taking a total of 1:50 h to finish in 8th place out of 310 women’s teams.

For FORUM, the run was a great opportunity to strengthen the feeling of international belonging and to have fun together. Providing all participants worldwide with newly created FORUM running shirts made from recycled polyester was quite a logistical challenge. Fortunately, the shirts arrived on time everywhere. The employees enthusiastically shared photos and videos of the arrival of the shirts and, of course, of the run itself. The idea of global participation is set to be repeated next year.