In late July, I attended the Marcum Workplace Challenge as an invite from Farrell Fritz Law Firm. This was the first time in many years attending the challenge.
I attended the challenge more than 10 years ago when HJMT had a team there. We had about a dozen people participating and I remember trying to run it and couldn’t get passed the first mile without bonking out! Amazing how times have changed…
My Observation:
When I got to Jones Beach, I was truly amazed at the size of the event. It was huge! There were thousands of people there from nearly two hundred companies.
Farrell Fritz, one of the sponsors, was located in the “white tent” area. Each tent housed a different corporation. Many of the businesses had food catered in from the outside. Others, set up BBQ’s and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It was definitely a sight to see.
An event like this takes a year to plan. There were so many working components. According to Mindy Davidson, Race Director, “there were 8,450 runners and walkers at the start line.” There were more than 12,000 people in attendance and 195 companies on Long Island represented.
Volunteers:
It takes a ton of volunteers to make this event a success. The volunteers were delightful. They all had a big smile on their faces and were extremely helpful. Mindy told me that there were 300 volunteers, a small staff, and logistics crew at the event.
Course:
The Marcum Workplace Challenge started at the Jones Beach Theatre and then looped around on a closed parkway. The first mile and a half had a magnificent view of the water. It was particularly crowded and difficult to get around people.
The second half of the race didn’t have a view, but it was quite lovely.
Every mile, there was water on the course. And, every time there was water, I dumped it on my head! There was a lot of plastic. My only complaint was that they didn’t use paper or recyclable cups.
Lorraine Sullivan of Farrell Fritz and I ran together. The first mile, we did 1/30 and then followed it up with 30/15 as our run/walk ratios. It was great running together. We both seemed to have a similar stride.
It was a hot night and we ran slower than usual but it was still a blast!
There were so many people participating. At times, we had to run around people. It just added to the excitement.
Charities
Through the years, Marcum has raised more than $900,000 for local charities. This year, they supported:
*Long Island Children’s Museum
*Long Island Cares
*Children’s Medical Fund of NY
*The Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
It was a nice corporate event and great for team building. Thanks, Farrell Fritz for the invite! I enjoyed being on your team!