Parkson Competes in Grueling Ragnar Relay Race
February 11, 2014 (Miami, FL) -- Parkson Corporation sent 12 of its most physically-fit employees, along with four driver/coaches, this past weekend to compete in the Ragnar Relay Race - a two-day, 198-mile road race stretching from Key Biscayne (Miami, FL) all the way through Key West. The annual race, comprised of teams throughout the United States, raises money for the Special Olympics and other charities and brings companies and communities together.
Parkson competed in the race for the third-straight year and posted a company-best time of 30:19:37, finishing a sensational 39th out of 472 teams in the mixed (M/F) open division.
“What a fantastic event for Parkson to participate in,” President/CEO Shamus Hurley says. “It was a great team-building exercise for the company with a lot of camaraderie. What a fun and healthy way to spend a weekend in support of some great causes.”
Team Parkson was a hybrid team formed by eight Parkson employees including Shamus Hurley, Bill Maesalu, Frank Arleth, Chez Chiranjeevi, Michael Cole, Omar Gadalla, Steve Paternel, John Pilgrim, two employees (and a spouse) from its parent company Axel Johnson Inc., - Michael Milligan and Annie Litaize (with husband Brad Knox) and one employee from Axel Johnson AB in Sweden - Louise Green. Serving as drivers and coaches for Team Parkson Van #1 were Mark Turpin and Steve Little and in Van #2, Tony Edwards and Luc LaHaie.
All team members ran three different legs - over a span of two days and one night - on the route to Key West. The distances for each leg ranged from just under two miles up to the longest leg of 11.8 miles.
For the approximately 6,000 runners, the race began Friday at 6am at Virginia Key Beach in Key Biscayne and ended Sunday afternoon where the finish line was reached at Higgs Beach in Key West (the southernmost city in the continental United States). Each participating team had two support vans where team members rode along when they weren’t running. At any given time, each team had one runner on the roadway and two vans traveling between designated “exchange” points where runners were swapped.
About Ragnar Events
Based in Utah, Ragnar Events, LLC is the largest overnight running relay series in the United States. Traversing inspiring and scenic destinations around the country, these events make testing your limits a team sport. In the Ragnar Relay Series, teams of 12 run a 200-mile relay over two days and one night; in Ragnar Trail Relay, teams of 8 run a 120-mile trail relay over the same time span. Participants connect in memorable relationships, conquer a challenge that could not be done alone and celebrate with medals and finish line festivities.
