Tuesday, January 04, 2011

NEWS - Social Responsibility Scorecard

If you've ever read the Hit The Road Corporate Profile you may have noticed the following :-

"Hit The Road prides itself on being a social enterprise and as well as the financial bottom line we also focus on the social bottom line by ensuring that the communities in which we are based benefit from our presence."

Hit The Road is proud to announce our 2010 Social Responsibility Scorecard. 2010 has continued to be a much more challenging year for everyone due to the global recession. Also we've been focusing on some other business ventures heavily this year.

So here are our 2010 results...
Funds donated to charity through Hit The Road programs....$1,020.
Amount of litter collected from local trails..............9 bags.
Pairs of running shoes donated............................6 Pairs.
Number of volunteer hours through Hit the Road programs...80 hours.

Beyond this many Hit The Road members raise funds and volunteered on their own time for various charities.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in our programs in 2010 and we look forward to an even better year in 2011.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Running Free Resources

As Most of you know I am a member of Team Running Free in Ajax. Below are links to their sites.

Check them out....

RunningFree.com
Resource Centre
Team Running free
Team forum

Saturday, January 09, 2010

NEWS - Social Responsibility Scorecard

If you've ever read the Hit The Road Corporate Profile you may have noticed the following :-

"Hit The Road prides itself on being a social enterprise and as well as the financial bottom line we also focus on the social bottom line by ensuring that the communities in which we are based benefit from our presence."

Hit The Road is proud to announce our 2009 Social Responsibility Scorecard. 2009 has been a much more challenging year for everyone due to the global recession.

So here are our 2009 results...
Funds donated to charity through Hit The Road programs....$1,890.
Amount of litter collected from local trails..............6 bags.
Pairs of running shoes donated............................12 Pairs.
Number of volunteer hours through Hit the Road programs...94 hours.

Beyond this many Hit The Road members raise funds and volunteered on their own time for various charities.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in our programs in 2009 and we look forward to an even better year in 2010.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

CLINICS - Sierra Systems Walking Program

The Sierra Systems walking program is totally free to Sierra employees and takes place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:15pm. Those participating can meet in the Sierra Lobby just before 12:15.

This ongoing drop-in program for Sierra employees consists of a 30 minute walk followed by a stretching session.

Take a break from your work day and get some exercise. All sessions can also be claimed on Sierra's Fitness Challenge for some great prizes.

EVENTS - Rat Race

The Sierra Systems Running team will be taking part in this years Rat Race with all funds raised going to the United Way.

Sierra Team and supports can meet in the lobby of 150 York St. at 6:30pm on June 18th and we will be heading over to the race start at 7pm.

Post Race Party will be at Fionn MacCool's starting at 8pm. All are welcome.

Monday, April 13, 2009

CLINIC - SickKids Spring Running Program

SickKids Wellness Program - Run Team Training

Mondays 5pm - 6pm

May 4th to Jul 20th, 2009


This program is suitable for all levels from Beginner to Advanced. The program will meet once a week for planned and monitored group runs, strength Training and Stretching Sessions. Group runs will consist of speed and strength training, conditioning drills and injury prevention.

What you get:

-Drills based on your current fitness level
-Instruction on types of training, fitness, Strength and Conditioning from a certified Personal Trainer Specialist
-Speed, strength and conditioning training
-Technique and injury prevention
-Support of a group of people to run with
-Race and training support to get you through those tough runs
-Social events

Cost:

$90 for this training series. Space is limited so sign up soon.

Location:

Room 1250 Elm wing,
Hospital for Sick Children,
555 University Ave,
Toronto.

Contact:

For information or to sign up contact:
Tony Denford, PTS
Tony@hittheroadrunning.com

or

Tanya Bismayer,
Manager, Health and Absence Management
The Hospital for Sick Children

For more details or to sign up online visit http://hittheroadrunning.com/sickkids

Monday, March 02, 2009

EVENTS - 5 Peaks Trail Series

Our good friends at 5 Peaks Trail Running Series are looking for volunteers for their 2009 season.

2008 was an exceptional year for 5Peaks in Ontario ... the races hit record highs with both our capped events selling out and Rattlesnake Point hosting the highest attendance in 5Peaks history across Canada! The races have improved significantly over the past 3 years and much is due to the fantastic volunteers at each event. With the growth of the races, there is a greater need for volunteers and event support. Here is the rundown for the season:

Race Schedule:
April 25, 2009 - Chicopee, Kitchener
June 13, 2009 - Durham Forest, Uxbridge (race capped at 450)
July 11, 2009 - Rattlesnake Point, Milton (race capped at 650)
August 8, 2009 - Albion Hills, Bolton
September 12, 2009 - Horseshoe Resort, Barrie

Volunteer Benefits:
Free race credit
Post race BBQ just for volunteers
Race souvenir
Draw prizes just for volunteers
Industry discounts (MEC and Salomon volunteer appreciation events)
Appreciation and recognition from hundreds of crazed trail runners!

Volunteer Roles:
Pre-race - registration/racer check in, host site set up
On course - marshals, aid stations, sweep
Host site - food services, awards, finish line services

To recruit the kind of support needed for these larger events, 5Peaks is offering some additional incentives to specific groups. High school students who volunteer can earn valuable community service hours. Local clubs or teams who support an event with a minimum number of volunteers will receive a financial donation to their organization. If you are aware of any individuals or groups that might be interested in either of these incentives, please feel free to email john@5peaks.com for more information.

If you are interested in helping out with any (or all) of the races, please contact john@5peaks.com with your preferences. Thanks for your time and consideration and see you on the trails!

Monday, January 05, 2009

ARTICLE - Set goals, not resolutions

It's the beginning of January again and everyone is obsessed with New Year resolutions. I cannot tell you how many press stories I've already seen this year about resolutions and how many people break them (usually by January 2nd).

If you're part of the group of people who are serious about wanting change in your life then you should really think about goal setting rather than setting resolutions.

So what's the difference?

Goal setting is a specific process to define what you want to achieve and then defining a road map of how you're going to get there. The problem with resolutions is that you define the ultimate goal without checking if it's realistic or attainable and when you face a setback you tend to feel like you failed which results in quitting.

Goals have specific elements. They must be realistic, they must have a timeline and they must be specific.

People usually resolve to 'Eat Better' and the reason they want to do that is to lose weight. A much better goal would be to lose 10lbs by April. This goal is realistic (you can lose 10lbs in the next 3 months), it has a timeline (by April, even better set a date) and it's specific ('10lbs by April' and not 'some weight').

Once you have this goal, it's easy to break it down into smaller chunks like losing a pound each week for example. Also by having smaller interim goals you can adjust your program more often as you face setbacks or have success but you don't need to give up.

Probably the most effective way to succeed with your goals is to become more accountable. Tell everyone you know that you are aiming for your goals which will give you an added incentive not to give up and get their support to help you achieve your goals.

Hit The Road Running offers coaching services which can greatly increase your chances of achieving your goals, help you to set them and also provides the accountability and motivation most people need.

Good Luck and Happy New Year.

About The Author

Tony Denford is a certified personal trainer and owner or Hit the Road Running. He has been training primarily runners since 2002 and has worked with beginners all the way to Boston Qualifier Marathon runners.

Tony emphasizes balance and variety in his training methods and always tries to make sure his client’s fitness routines are fun as well as beneficial.

Visit www.hittheroadrunning.com for more details on Hit The Road’s programs and services.

NEWS - Social Responsibility Scorecard

If you've ever read the Hit The Road Corporate Profile you may have noticed the following :-

"Hit The Road prides itself on being a social enterprise and as well as the financial bottom line we also focus on the social bottom line by ensuring that the communities in which we are based benefit from our presence."

Hit The Road is proud to announce our 2008 Social Responsibility Scorecard. 2008 has been another great year for us being our most profitable to date but more importantly our social bottom line has continued to be impressive.

So here are our 2008 results...
Funds donated to charity through Hit The Road programs....$2,370.
Amount of litter collected from local trails..............8 bags.
Pairs of running shoes donated............................14 Pairs.
Number of volunteer hours through Hit the Road programs...190 hours.

Beyond this many Hit The Road members raise funds and volunteered on their own time for various charities.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in our programs in 2008 and we look forward to an even better year in 2009.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

ARTICLE - Extending your Corporate Wellness Program

More and more often our corporate wellness clients are asking us how they can extend the benefits of their employee wellness programs to their employee's dependants.

If you understand the great return on investment employers get from wellness programs, it makes perfect sense to extend these benefits to others who are covered by the companies insurance program and are therefore affecting the cost.

There are some challenges to extending the wellness program beyond the employees. Firstly wellness programs offered at work are often utilized due to their convenience. Family members are typically not physically at the workplace to participate in on-site initiatives. This can be overcome by offering wellness education with take-away items that could be passed on to family members. Also, offer a number of off-site events outside of business hours such as a company sports/games day where employees can bring their families along to participate.

The key thing though is to get the employees engaged in the programs and then lead by example. Inactive parents almost always lead to inactive kids. If your employees are adopting healthy habits, the children often follow.

Incentives almost always work too. Reward the employees and their families for participation and do not focus on results like weight loss. If they participate, they will get healthier. The key is to reward them for activity and healthy habits, not just for signing up.

The single biggest success factor is promotion of the program. If everyone else is doing it, there is a huge incentive for those less likely to take part and these are often the people in the more at-risk group.

If you have any questions about setting up a wellness program at your site, email them to info@hittheroadrunning.com