The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is once again teaming up with the Knoxville Chamber to encourage local businesses to “get fit” by hosting the Fittest Company Challenge during the event set for March 30, 2008.
With more than 165 companies already entered, the marathon’s Fittest Company Challenge is gearing up for a spectacular contest and heated competition. Clayton Homes, Comcast, Pet Safe, ORNL, Jewelry Television, and LeBlanc Financial are among the Knox area companies with teams registered for the competition.
“The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon’s Fittest Company Challenge is a great program to motivate and encourage employees to pursue healthy lifestyles,” said Mark Field, Knoxville Chamber Vice President of Membership. “It’s a friendly competition and fun for the participants.”
The Fittest Company Challenge combines points of an organization's employees based on the race mileage each employee completes. The 5K equals 3.1 points, the half marathon earns an individual 13.1 points, and the full marathon is worth 26.2 points. Each participant in the 4-person relay earns 6.55 points. For the competition, the fastest times do not matter. Points are solely awarded on completion, regardless of time.
"This is our third year featuring the Fittest Company Challenge,” said Jason Altman, director of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. “The original idea was to generate more fun and teamwork for businesses and their employees. It has far surpassed our expectations.”
Nearly 25 percent (917 participants) of the total marathon participants in 2007 were employees representing their employers. Together they completed 8,601 total miles with an average mile per participant of 9.38.
Altman said many companies invest in this event to reap the benefits of a healthy work force. Many studies have shown that corporate wellness programs can lead to increased productivity, improved morale and reduced health insurance and medical costs.
The Knoxville Chamber presents awards to the top three companies based on points earned in the small (1-100 employees), medium (101-500 employees) and large (>500 employees) categories. Only Knoxville area companies are eligible, and only employees who finish the races qualify for company points. The Fittest Company Challenge does not count spouses and other family members of employees.
Points are awarded to employees who volunteer. For each employee that volunteers on race weekend, one point will be added to the company’s cumulative total. Volunteers can register online via a volunteer registration module.
To participate in the Fittest Company Challenge, employees register online at www.knoxvillemarathon.com and simply select their employer from the drop-down list on the entry form. If a company name needs to be added, contact Jason Altman at (865) 805-2476.
Online registration for all running events is available until midnight on March 26.
Download a customizable poster for your group: PDF document | JPG image.
