Teamwork in times of lockdowns

Text: Sven // Photos: Team
Show that running is a team sport....
We want to carry this mentality to the outside world, but of course we also live it within the team. In principle, it helps with this approach to train together. But if that's suddenly no longer allowed, it's a matter of getting creative and keeping motivation and team spirit high in a different way.


An idea becomes a team challenge
In the weeks after our team meeting in October, where we discussed our personal and common goals, the team spirit was higher than the price of carbon running shoes and there were more people in training than ever before. Everyone in the team was eager to push themselves and the others in the team and to come out of the dark season stronger together. But then came the second lockdown...
Laura, however, had a brilliant idea, which then turned into a team challenge for the time during the lockdown at the beginning of November: Since it was still allowed to train in teams of 2, there were no excuses not to arrange to meet twice a week as usual and complete the tempo sessions in twos. The teams of 2 were chosen once by pace, but also by distance to each other, so that it was possible to train together without much effort and without using public transport. The team with the most training sessions together at the end of the lockdown wins. Place 1-3 were awarded.

"This was one of the best ideas to continue to train in a focused and ambitious way."
– Britta








Rules for the Team Challenge
Feel free to copy & adapt 🙂
Joint training sessions count if a selfie/picture of the two people (Alternatively: screenshot of the activity on tracking platform...) is shared in our Team WhatsApp group.
- 1,5 pts. per runner if the tempo session is completed together with the duo partner
- 1 pts. per runner if the tempo session is completed with another team member
- Extras: bik support counts as a joint run
In addition to keeping up the team spirit, we of course also wanted to continue to have an exchange with each other within the team. And it was really cool to see how the whole thing developed. The live rankings of the individual duos could be followed in our "Member Area".

The injured were also competing
Our long-term injured and in-between long-distance swimmer with Olympic ambitions Anouk, when she was not busy on the Tempelhof field, pushed Björn during his sessions with bike support and jukebox.

"I try to get my running partner to cross the finish line as strong as possible and push him/her during the workout. Bike Support is totally fun and I'm happy when my running partner finishes the session strong!"
– Anouk
And apparently it also helped Björn, who easily ran 32:00 min with Anouk's support in a 10k test.








A team pulls out all the stops
Team45, consisting of Jonas and Björn T. were motivated from the start and realized how close they actually live together. The rest of the team is not sure if Team45 even opened a temporary shared apartment for the time of the Challenge. According to insider reports, Björn T. renovated or made his apartment suitable for a shared apartment during the mentioned period... In any case, the commitment of the two was exemplary and had the consequence that they could be found at the top since week 1. We could win Jonas (Hicham) for an interview directly after his last run:

"This was a great opportunity, of course. Thanks to Laura, who initiated the whole thing here. I think this was a top team performance. We knew the others were red-hot and we had to stay focused until the end. We put the pressure on from the start and tried to make a quick statement. I think we succeeded in doing that. With Björn T. we have of course an absolute top athlete in the team. Now we'll have a few quiet days and then we'll start preparing for the upcoming tasks."
– Jonas (aka Hicham aka Malek)


Closer together despite distance
In total, we scored 364 points in 6 weeks, which equals about 140 runs together. The Challenge has shown that the team sticks together even under unusual circumstances and that mutual motivation is possible. #CheersToTheTeam
What might have been invested in a Christmas party otherwise went this year as a donation to the non-profit organization Germanwatch to give something back. The organization is committed to global justice and the preservation of livelihoods.
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