The 500 Festival Virtual Employee Wellness Challenge (EWC) is a great way for companies of all sizes to promote employee wellness, add excitement to team-building, and encourage company participation in the Month of May. Whether you will be participating in your 45th OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon or taking on your first Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K, the Virtual Employee Wellness Challenge offers opportunities for all experience levels and distances!
The program is simple to execute, as we provide training resources and marketing materials that can be personalized for your employees. The Virtual EWC also offers businesses with the opportunity to add a little excitement with a head-to-head competition against other companies to win awards for company participation. There is no cost to enroll your business in the Virtual Employee Wellness Challenge!
The Virtual Employee Wellness Challenge is open to ANY company ANYWHERE. You don’t have to be based in Indiana to participate!
Registration for the 2021 Virtual EWC will close on April 23, 2021 at 11:59 pm EST.
How do I get my company involved?
Step 1. Chose a Team Captain: Each company will need a team captain to lead their team motivation and to coordinate with the 500 Festival. The 500 Festival will provide promotional and training materials. Team Captains also have the opportunity to receive a free entry, merchandise, or Athletic Annex Reward based on team growth.
Step 2. Enroll Company: The Team Captain will fill out a team registration form
here. The 500 Festival will provide the Team Captain with a link to your team's online registration.
Step 3. Get Your Team Signed Up! The Team Captain will reach out to their coworkers with all of the promotional and training materials along with the team registration link.
Step 4. Start Recruiting! Here are some recruiting tips you can use to capture employees:
- Motivate your team- Encourage your colleagues to sign up by offering small prizes or incentives to people who register.
- Spread the word- Let your coworkers know that you are looking for anyone to join the team. They may know someone in another department that would be willing to participate. Also let them know that friends and family can participate in the challenge as well.
- Stay active- Remind your teammates to go for a quick run/walk during breaks, lunch hour, or even after work.
- Make it fun- Continue to update your teammates on how many people have registered, or even plan weekly or monthly challenges for running/walking virtually. Anyone who is isn’t signed up might see how much fun it is and will be inspired to join
- Communicate the benefits- Team members receive discounted registration, an opportunity to engagewith colleagues, customized training plans, and other virtual resources.
Benefits of staying active
According to Nuvancehealth.org, exercise is essential for well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Exercise can reduce stress, boost the immune system, and improve sleep.
- By doing this, it will not only help you with work, but will also provide a healthier lifestyle.
How to stay active when working from home:
- Family exercises- go for short walks, runs, bike rides, hiking, etc.
- Get outdoors- during lunch break go for a run or walk. Don’t have much time? Break your runs/walks/workouts into smaller sessions by splitting up your times.
- Set goals- challenge yourself by setting up goals and making plans to achieve it by a certain date.
- Examples:
- Try to beat your fastest mile or 5K
- Run X number of miles in a week or month
- Make a detailed running plan that will lead to 13.1 miles by a certain date
Virtual Resources
Training BlogsOur friends at OrthoIndy have featured blogs and videos on training for the OneAmerica 500 Festival Virtual Mini-Marathon and the Delta Dental 500 Festival Virtual 5K. These are great resources to share with your team members. 8 Quick Tips on How to Train for a Mini-Marathon
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