Imperial staff and students get active in sporting challenge

Close to 200 staff and students flocked to Hyde Park this month to take part in Sport Imperial's annual 5km challenge.

The One Big Thing race, now in its third year, challenged participants to complete a 5km course in any way they liked – whether it be walking, jogging, running or something more inventive. Costumes were encouraged, with prizes being awarded for the best dressed runners, as well as the fastest.

Prizes were awarded to the best dressed runners, as well as the fastest.

The race aimed to promote physical activity among both staff and students, and tied in with the end of GoFit at Imperial, a 12 week team challenge which encouraged the Imperial community to increase their activity levels by making simple changes to their daily routine.

Over the past 12 weeks  44 teams – totalling 300 participants from across the College, have been logging their movement minutes through the online GoFit platform. Team members were able to set and track their own personal goals, with their performance contributing to the team total.

Following the race, prizes were presented to undergraduate students Alex Mundell as the fastest female runner, James Ellis as the fastest male, and Louisa Young for the best dressed.

Prizes were also awarded to the following GoFit participants for their success on the challenge: 

• Overall Individual Winner (for the most minutes logged by an individual): India Jordan, Student Activities Coordination at Imperial College Union
• Overall Team Winner (for the most minutes logged by a team): The Boot Camp Commanders team
• Sport Imperial Award (for the most dedicated and improved team): The Outsiders

Neil Mosley, Head of Sport Imperial, said: “It was great to see so many people of all abilities taking part in this event. Lots of participants achieved personal bests and some that participated in a 5k race for the very first time. It’s great to see students and staff getting more active.”

Jenni Phillips, from Sport Imperial, organised the event. She aid: "We had some very impressive finishing times achieved by winners James and Alex. It was also fantastic to see the winning GoFit team ‘Boot Camp Commanders’ taking part to celebrate their inspirational journey together as a team. Congratulations again to all participants!”

Student Mireille Rack, member of winning GoFit team, the Outsiders, and President of the IC Volleyball Club, said: “The GoFit Challenge and One Big Thing provided fun opportunities for IC Volleyball Club members to actively engage in activity off the court.  GoFit is a great motivation to incorporate exercise into your daily routine and One Big Thing was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the challenge”

Student Sussana Mitolo, also a member of the Outsiders, said: “The GoFit challenge really pushed me to be healthy and increase the amount of activity I do. It also helped me to schedule my weeks to ensure I balanced work with enough movement, increasing my productivity and my mental well-being. And getting a prize was wonderfully unexpected - I really felt that logging in all those minutes was worth it.”