A Step-By-Step Virtual Marathon Guide For Employers

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it." - Oprah Winfrey

Everyone knows that running is one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy. Running improves health, boosts immunity, increases endurance, and so on.

Besides its excellent benefits on physical health, it also significantly improves mental health. If you feel depressed, down, or in need of mental upliftment, a short run can do wonders to lift your mood and make you happy.

Running in a Corporate World

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo / Unsplash

Because of its outstanding benefits, running is incorporated in most corporate wellness programs. Physical activities like running especially, are a great way to improve employee health and fitness and keep them away from diseases.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not uncommon for employers to conduct running events for their employees. However, because of the pandemic, mass gatherings are now strictly restricted, and conducting such events have become a strict no-no.

But with the cancelation of running events, virtual runs or virtual marathons have started to gain popularity. From fitness enthusiasts to top athletes, people worldwide are now taking part in virtual running events to stay healthy and fit.

What is a Virtual Marathon or Virtual Run?

A virtual marathon or a virtual run is a running event in which the progress is tracked using a fitness app, and that can be run anywhere or anytime at one's own pace. Participants can keep track of their progress and compete with others using the app's leaderboard.

What are the advantages of a Virtual Marathon for organizations?

A virtual marathon or run can be an excellent way for an employer to keep its employees fit and healthy during situations like the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are some advantages of virtual marathons for organizations -

• Virtual marathons can be a cost-effective and time-saving method of leveraging technology to improve employee health and increase productivity.

• A virtual fitness event can be a great way to increase employee engagement and improve employee retention.

• Taking part in a virtual marathon can improve the brand image of an organization.

• Virtual marathons can be a safe and effective way of keeping employees healthy, mentally, and physically, while maintaining social distancing and other safety norms.

• Employers can easily customize the marathon specifications using wellness platforms without the need for organizers and physical equipment.

How to Create a Virtual Marathon

If you are an employer who wants to improve your employees' health and well-being, a virtual marathon can help you do so. As mentioned above, there can be significant benefits of starting a virtual marathon in your company.

Here's how you can start a successful virtual marathon for your company in 5 simple steps -

• The first step is to set a goal that you want to achieve as an organization. Whether your goal is to improve employee fitness and health or run for a charitable cause, such as breast cancer awareness, decide beforehand.

• After setting the goal, you will need a virtual wellness platform that enables you to create a virtual marathon with ease.

• The next step is to decide the length and duration of the virtual marathon or run you want to organize. For example, you can choose to organize a 5K run for a day, or go all out and decide to run a full marathon for five days.

• Choose what prizes you will give out to the winners of the event. Also, reward participants with small prizes such as discount coupons, paid day-offs, online yoga classes, etc.

• The final step is to create awareness about the event among your employees and also educate them on the benefits of running a marathon. Ensure to get all the members of your organization involved to maximize participation.

Creating an Amazing Virtual Marathon with Vantage Fit

Vantage Fit is a comprehensive all-in-one online wellness platform that helps organizations create and implement virtual corporate wellness programs to improve employee health. It can enable you to easily create and customize wellness challenges such as a virtual marathon for your employees.

Here's are some ways Vantage Fit can help you create a successful virtual marathon in your company -

• You can easily customize your virtual running event as per your organization's requirements and track your employees' progress with the help of an intuitive admin dashboard.

• Vantage Fit has a feature-rich smartphone application with features like a realtime leaderboard with which your employees can easily track their progress in the marathon and compete with their colleagues.

• It supports a wide variety of wearable fitness devices like smartwatches available in the market to create a seamless fitness experience.

• You can easily reward your employees with Vantage Fit's flexible point-based reward system. Employees can redeem the points earned for completing the tasks as gift cards from major global brands such as Amazon.

Book a demo now to learn how Vantage Fit can help you create a successful virtual marathon in your company.

Besides working as a content marketer at Vantage Circle, Shah Alif Ahmed is also an internationally certified nutrition specialist, competitive bodybuilder and a musician. For any queries reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com