Move with Motive – how a virtual challenge led to a marathon
27 SEPTEMBER 2022
World Mental Health Day is just around the corner and this year's theme focuses on making mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority, exploring the continued impact of COVID-19.
We wanted to take a moment to reflect on our 'Team Motive' achievements this year, and how together, we got through a pandemic.
At Motive, employee wellness lies at the heart of our People strategy. Our comprehensive Employee Health and Wellbeing program offers numerous initiatives and benefits to help our People stay fit, healthy, and happy, keeping us functioning as the very best Motive we can be.
When COVID-19 hit, it threw some obvious challenges to our usual ventures around fundraising and team activities as along with the rest of the population, the majority of Motive employees became remote workers.
To help us stay connected as a team, Motive HSEQ Advisor Averil Marwick (pictured left) came up with the idea of a virtual walking challenge. This common goal would help all employees stay in touch, as well as motivate everyone to keep active and healthy during the lockdown.
So began the ‘Move with Motive’ initiative, which would eventually become an ongoing series of virtual walking tours that have helped our global team stay connected, through the pandemic and beyond.
During COVID, I knew that everyone was facing different challenges. Some people were living alone and feeling isolated, while others were thrust together, home-schooling children and spending more time together than they had done before.
I really enjoyed evening walks and felt massive benefits from dedicating time to get out of the house, for both the mental and physical aspects from being outdoors. The idea came from a conversation with one of my colleagues when I had told them I had set myself a challenge of walking 100 miles that month – they agreed to join me so we could encourage each other and the 'Shire to Sharjah' idea grew from there.
It is great to see that this challenge has had such a positive impact on the team and is something I am really proud to be part of.
- Averil Marwick - HSEQ Advisor @ Motive Offshore Group
Inspired by the virtual challenges, a chance conversation would lead to 'Team Motive Vs the Edinburgh Marathon,' as Graeme Chalmers and Eddie Moore (pictured right) decided running a marathon would prove the ultimate challenge to date.
On the 2nd of January this year, I called Graeme to wish him a Happy New Year and we got on to talking about plans for the year ahead to which he replied, “I want to do something crazy, like a marathon.”
We have been friends for a long time and there’s a healthy competition that comes with that, so of course, I immediately said I would do it too and to our surprise six other like-minded colleagues joined the team - to be further known as the “No Farahs”.
The fact that the eight of us committed to doing something really difficult, purely for the challenge, is a testament to the calibre of people we have at Motive. Suggesting difficult but worthwhile ideas and seeing them through is just what we do!
- Eddie Moore - Regional Director, APAC @ Motive Offshore Group
A marathon was something I absolutely never thought I would do, but after our walk the world challenge set up by Averil and her team I started to get into running a bit.
Once Eddie agreed and signed up it was a done deal because we could hold each other accountable, and no one was going to let the side down.
Eight trained, eight traveled to Edinburgh, eight started and all eight finished – this is what Motive does.
- Graeme Chalmers - Regional Manager, Middle East @ Motive Offshore Group
Rallying a team of eight participants, with Daniel Janicki the only previous Marathon runner, the mainly rookie running team spent months of training in preparation for the 29th May 2022 Edinburgh Marathon Festival.
Wanting every minute of their training to really count, the team decided to turn the event into an opportunity to do further good, fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Working equally as hard on the fundraising front, the final total raised by the team was an amazing £5,803.00 - enough to pay for a Macmillan Nurse for 5 weeks or provide 16 people living with cancer a Macmillan Grant.
Well done to all our colleagues who took part in this momentous challenge. Proving whether it's delivering a client project, or looking for new ways to contribute to our community, Team Motive definitely shares a "what more can we do" mindset.
Watch this space, as rumour has it a second Team Motive marathon is on the horizon...
Macmillan work 365/24/7 to ensure nobody has to face cancer alone. They also offer outstanding support to their fundraisers - check out the Macmillan website for inspiration on how you can get involved.
Information and support:
MIND World Mental Health Day awareness campaign 10th October 2022