Everyone knows there’s a sense of achievement in completing an event like The Age Run to the G, but for many corporations it’s also about building a sense of community.

Increasingly, The Age Run to the G is becoming a popular event for corporate companies to enter as a way of team building and boosting staff morale. And the benefits start well before the gun sounds on the day.

Corporate groups will typically start training together many weeks before the event and there’s no better way for staff to get to know one another than by swapping their powersuit for gym gear and heading off for a sweat around the park together.

John Rowland, Managing Director of Unico, has been encouraging his staff to challenge themselves physically for the past two years and says the rewards for both the company and individual staff members have been amazing.

>“We have a strong sense of community as a company. We don’t just have employees or workers, we have a community,” he explains. “We’re an IT company so our staff perform very sedentary jobs. We try to look after them and fitness in my belief is really important. We’ve had a number of staff lose in excess of 30 kilos and some have become very strong runners.”

While Rowland says staff retention and productivity have been welcome spin-offs of the company’s endorsement of fitness, he says the main reward is the positive shift in the individuals. >“People start to see the company as more than just an employer. If fitness is incorporated into your work environment and actually encouraged, I think you feel like you’re getting something more than just a salary,” says Rowland.

Unico engages Dean Casamento from REAL Fit Personal Training and Corporate Health to guide staff members through a fitness program. It’s not compulsory for staff, it’s merely a service the company provides for those who are interested.

REAL Fit provides a holistic approach to health management, initially by conducting a series of health assessments for each individual, including body composition and V02 max tests, to ensure everyone is given a program which is challenging but achievable for their level of fitness. A variety of different exercises are included in the programs including running, boxing, agility and strength training to ensure there are activities to suit different people.

Casamento regularly sets his clients for events such as The Age Run to the G and expects between 40-50 will participate in the event this year. >“With the corporate groups, because there’s an event there, a direction, it gives the staff a common interest,” he says. “They’re not just getting together for training, there’s also the competitive nature, which is a good, healthy thing.”

And with the variety of distances offered at The Age Run to the G 2007, there’s an event to challenge all levels of fitness. >“When we do things like Run to the G, with the half marathon, 10 and 5K it’s all about new experiences. It changes a lot of people’s perception about what they’re capable of. It’s changing people’s lives.”

Regardless of whether they’ve run the half marathon or walked the 5K, each member of the corporate training group is there at the end, cheering each other home and truly celebrating each others achievements.

>“There’s a real sense of community for those who participate,” observes Rowland. “You actually see it in their eyes in terms that they’re more passionate, more directed, more focused. Certainly in the couple of years we’ve been far more active in this area.”