Extraordinary moments as Moodie Multi-National Marathon begins

INTERNATIONAL. Extraordinary reports are beginning to come in as all around the world, travel retail management and employees take to the track, terrain and treadmill to complete the second Moodie-Multinational Marathon, being held from 15-18 June.

The event is raising funds for travel retail charity Hand in Hand for Haiti.

The Marathon – run in teams of six – can be conducted anytime, anyplace and anywhere over the nominated period. Each team member has to complete one-sixth of a marathon (7.03km). Close to 200 teams have officially signed up to take part.

Thanks to a staggering show of support, the running total raised for Hand in Hand for Haiti has already reached an estimated US$240,000, with over US$183,000 pledged via the official fund-raising site. But there is still time to donate (click here for details).

DFS Group President Stores and Business Development Michael Schriver reports from Hong Kong, where the company held its big run on Saturday: “It was a great day in Hong Kong with over 650 DFS employees and 109 from L’Oréal. We had folks from La Prairie, Citi bank and more. We think we got over HK$1 million (US$130,000) for the event.”

After the event we’ll bring you many of these and other extraordinary images of our industry participating collectively in a unique global event for a single cause [send your photos to Rebecca.Mann@TheMoodieReport.com and Martin@TheMoodieReport.com]. And we’ll make special awards for the most creative costumes and running locations.

Ryan Hill sets off on his epic run in the Gobi Desert

Ryan Hill, Regional Director Asia Travel Retail at drinks company The Edrington Group, has set off on a gruelling 250km race across hostile desert terrain to raise funds for Hand in Hand for Haiti. [STOP PRESS: Ryan completed the event in style, coming in a creditable 25th in a big field, many of them professional runners.]

Ryan is competing in The Gobi March 250km Race from 10 to 16 June in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province in western China near the Kyrgyzstan border as part of his efforts for the Moodie Multi-National Marathon.

7km of the epic 250km run is being counted as part of the Trinity Tryathletes’ Moodie Marathon team effort. Ryan’s personal fundraising target for the event is US$50,000. To follow his race Blog, click here or to sponsor his team click here.

The Moodie Report team have been out in force too. Mandy Sime, running in Dubai for the Trinity Tryathletes, turned in a blistering (in more ways than one) 44.07 minutes. Our man in New Zealand, Peter Dowling reports: “Tick your Auckland team member off the list: I did the 7.03 km out from Anawhata village to the beach on the Tasman Sea this morning in 35 minutes 14 seconds. A beautiful, bracing winter’s day, all of 4 degrees C when I set off.”

Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie completed his ‘run’ in the streets of West London, accompanied by his pet Golden Labrador Mickali, who led him on a merry chase for 67 minutes and 13 seconds. Rebecca Mann, team leader of ‘Moodie in (slow) Motion’ recorded an impressive 43 minutes and 2 seconds in Essex; Matt Willey posted a nippy 41:45 down in deepest Devon and Ireland’s finest, Dermot Davitt, posted 43:30 and headed straight for a pint of Guinnness.

First past the post, on Friday, was the ‘Lightfoot’ed in Singapore’ team, captained by Lightfoot Marketing Asia CEO Alex Cook. Alex and team-mates Rory Jones and Fraser James – who did no specific pre-event training – bravely covered the full marathon distance between them, fuelled by “natural fitness, a load of determination and pure stubbornness”. They started at 4am, and ran the second 21km of the Singapore marathon route twice.

Sinead El Sibai of Dubai Duty Free gets set for her early run in the Middle Eastern heat, while The Moodie Report’s Peter Dowling braces freezing temperatures to finish his marathon on the shores of the Tasman sea in Auckland, New Zealand

Incheon International Airport Corporation’s Yulim Lee ran alongside Seoul’s Han river

Alex Cook and Rory Jones prepare to go ‘Lightfoot’ed in Singapore’

Going green: The Moodie Report Chairman Martin Moodie is seen following up a strong lead from faithful and dogged newshound Mickali, who towed him around the marathon distance in the streets of West London

Those of a nervous disposition should look away now: The Moodie Report’s fitness supremos Matt Willey (left), in deepest Devon, and Dermot Davitt, having galloped in Galway, Ireland, enter prolonged post-race recovery mode

Spot the before/after difference: The Moodie in (Slow) Motion team captain Rebecca Mann hits a purple patch in Essex

The Trinity Tryathletes’ Jaclyn Wampler (left) and Mandy Sime turn on the style for their leg of the Marathon

ABOUT HAND IN HAND FOR HAITI

Hand in Hand for Haiti www.HandinHandforHaiti.com was set up in 2010 by the travel retail industry following the devastating earthquake which killed over 200,000 people and destroyed towns and villages across the country. Uniquely, the industry has not only built a school, Lycée Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, but is also running it. French Ambassador to Haiti Didier le Bret recently described the project as “the most important investment in the field of education outside of Port-au-Prince in the past 30 years.”

The target from this year’s Moodie Multi-National Marathon is to fund three facilities: a computer centre, a library and a music centre.

The Moodie Multi-National Marathon has generated tremendous interest among the travel retail industry