YES WE DID IT, we ran the DHL Ekiden! A few months ago we decided to sponsor the Brussels Ekiden, because for us the well-being of our people is high on the agenda. We wanted to challenge them but also pass on those healthy jitters to other companies.
It was “a great challenge to complete as a team,” explains Gauthier Capelle from Customer Operations. Besides the sporting part, this was mainly teambuilding. “The DHL Ekiden was a top team-building event, where the well-being of our employees was central and we were able to give extra attention to SOS Children’s Villages,” says our CEO, Danny Van Himste, with a big smile.
Because of course SOS Children’s Villages was – for those who know us, no surprise – our chosen charity. When registering, you could choose to donate an extra amount to them. Or you could also sign up to ‘buy’ a fast (of course!) courier from us, in case your top team got injured and you could not find a replacement.
“It was great! But tough guys…”
Or, as our colleague Tom Kennes from Customer Operations puts it nicely, “suffered but enjoyed”. This is how Saturday can be summarised in a few words. Whoever thought that Brussels was as flat as the Netherlands and that it would be a walk in the park, was seriously mistaken! However, the park was there. The course took you through the beautiful park of Laken and past the Atomium. Beautiful, but seriously hilly. The last hundred metres were run in the King Baudouin stadium, where you were welcomed by hundreds of cheering supporters. This gave you the extra energy to go flat out those last few metres. You imagined yourself to be Usain Bolt for a moment!
A tough track. But 7km of enjoyment and goose bumps, especially arriving at the King Baudouin Stadium, gives you wings!
Maarten van Baelen – direct sales
New record at DHL Ekiden
Records were also broken during our DHL Ekiden. 612 teams ran their legs under their bodies, but the fast men of the Runners’lab Athletics team smashed the 2005 record.
They ran the 42,195km in 2:04’02. That is no less than 3 minutes faster than 16 years ago. This achievement deserves a thunderous applause and our courier hats off.
DHL Express HEROES
To say that our DHL teams did fantastically well is an understatement. Everyone finished, some with less red cheeks than others. Everyone with the same satisfied feeling.
And we proved once again that we are ‘Express’. Here too, some top times were achieved. The winning DHL team was The Flying Ketjes. Bravo: Ezra, Jasper, Anthony, Jimmy, Tarik & Evi, you are the speedy gonzales of DHL. But our rocket was Bruno, who trains his legs every day as a bicycle courier in beautiful Antwerp. He finished the 10 km in 37 minutes. Euhm … say what? Yes, 37 minutes!
Just being together, AS ONE
After the effort, all our runners and their fervent supporters were invited for a BBQ.
Actually, it was even more important after the sports part. Drinking something together, eating something together, meeting each other again in the new normal. No zoom or conf. call for a while. No one was yet concerned with his result, but with the DHL culture “As One”.
Jos Derekx – Key Account Manager
That we give the DHL Ekiden a 10/10 for atmosphere and sociability is obvious by now. But we challenge you to come and try it yourself next year.
Start training your legs, because the King Baudouin Stadium might turn yellow and red again for its 18th edition.
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