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INTERNATIONAL. Something remarkable is happening in travel retail today and through this weekend, writes Martin Moodie.
All over the world, runners from over 100 travel retail teams have begun or are about to begin participating in The Moodie Multi-National Marathon, sponsored by M&M’s, a unique initiative that is raising funds for industry charity Hand in Hand for Haiti.
 Just what the doctor ordered |
| Around the globe they ran on the beaches, they ran on the land, they ran on athletic tracks, they ran on treadmills. They ran past famous landmarks. They ran in silly costumes. They completed their “˜runs’ on surfboards. They ran with heart and passion. They ran, and ran, and ran. |
| The Moodie Blog |
The Marathon – to be run in teams of six – can be conducted any time between 4 and 7 March. Each team member will run/walk one-sixth of a marathon (7.03km), anywhere in the world, over the course of the four days. The money raised will go towards building a world-class school in Saint Marc, Haiti, as part of the response to the tragic January 2010 earthquake.
So far, US$153,2927 has been raised for the cause through the official marathon website (click here for access). Several significant donations have also been made directly to www.HandinHandforHaiti.com, bringing the estimated tally to about US$166,000.
DFS CEO Ed Brennan led a mass run on Friday in Hong Kong. He told The Moodie Report: “We held a successful marathon event today in Hong Kong with 450 people attending and 60 teams running or walking. Scental Asia came with 19 teams and created lots of excitement with their costumes. I believe once we tally our worldwide donations we will raise over US$200k.”
Friday also saw DFS Singapore kicking off its mass run/walk in Singapore’s East Coast Park, where over 300 turned up for the event. Brand partners such as Beam Global, Shiseido and BPI, Pernod Ricard, VMSD, Luminart, RGB & Tradall SA (Bacardi) joined in the event, with donations also coming from leading companies such as British American Tobacco, Asia Pacific Breweries, Remy Cointreau Group, and William Grant & Sons. Total amount raised has exceeded $23,000 and counting.
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Christine Mazy of the Glorious WIT for Haiti team braved her Marathon leg in the freezing Bois de Boulogne |
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Virginie Cordero and Zoila Andonie of Glorious WIT For Haiti cover their 7.03km along Miami’s South Beach |
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Liliana Sobredo completes Glorious WIT for Haiti’s Marathon in sunny but windswept Punta del Este |
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Towering achievement: The Lagardère Services HQ team in Paris |
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The ‘M&M’s Runners’ team, including Mars International Travel Retail General Manager Jack Tabbers (right), ran around the Mars chocolate factory in Veghel, The Netherlands 4.5 times, buoyed by the aromas of of M&M’s production. They were supported by the remainder of the International Travel Retail team, along with red and yellow M&M’s characters as cheer leaders, with pom poms, streamers and loud horns to inspire the participants. Team Captain Lynsey Eades commented: “It was a really fun team event and great to be able to participate in such a worthwhile charitable cause. |
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DFS Australia (Sydney) with the youngest participant to date – Madison Brown at 8 months old, who clocked 1 hr 3 mins |
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The Sydney Slickers incorporated the iconic Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge on their grueling 7km route |
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The entire Jonathan Holland & Associates team out in force to support the Asian Tigers’ training run in Bintan, Indonesia |
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(Left) Anita Li at Hong Kong’s Golden Bauhinia Square; (Right) Eleen Holland scaring off the real tigers in Kuala Lumpur
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(Left) Ashish Vyas on a royal run near the Presidential Palace in Delhi, India; behind him is the iconic India Gate;
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(Left) Pearlina Tay backed by the magnificent Singapore skyline featuring the Marina Bay Sands; (Right) Singapore-based Englishman Jonathan Holland going truly international as he takes his running shoes to Bangkok, Thailand
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The TFWA Flying Team, featuring TFWA MD Alain Maingreaud, recorded a very respectable total team time of 4hr 13mins. A big thank you to the Management Committee, which will match the US$2,235 sponsorship raised by the team |
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The triumphant Relay France team take a break in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris |
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The CTC-ARI team at Larnaca fully embraced the marathon effort and have even stretched to running in traditional attire |
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SSP team runs for Haiti at the home of aviation, posing post-run in their chefs’ whites next to Concorde |
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Before and after: The Moodie in Motion team captain Rebecca Mann goes the distance – powered by a MAC/Wonder Woman T-shirt – in the exotic environs of Essex, England. The time? 39.48
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Runners in Australia, Singapore, Europe, Hawaii, the Middle East and North America have contacted The Moodie Report over the past 24 hours, saying they were all set for the big day.
In Cyprus, the efforts of the team from airport retailer CTC-ARI (the CTC-ARI Olympians) gained national television coverage. Retail and Marketing Manager Toni McDonald told The Moodie Report on Friday: “Our Moodie Multi-National Marathon effort was covered by the Cyprus media, press and TV. I have just heard from staff that we are all over the evening news! The sheer determination and team spirit that has been shown today by our team of six has been inspirational to all passing through the shops. Passengers have been carried away on the tide of enthusiasm and have been cheering and roaring along with the rest of us. We are all so very emotional about the whole event.”
She continued: “Larnaka Duty Free shops were alive today with the triumphant cries of ‘bravo’ as the CTC-ARI Olympians took center stage running the Moodie Multi-National Marathon on a treadmill inside the shops!
“The team, named after the gods of Greek mythology, were the subject of great interest as hundreds gathered around the treadmills. Members of the Cyprus media, passengers, customs and other airport personnel, together with colleagues and friends, all roared and cheered their support as the magnificent six-man team hit the treadmill one after the other, giving their all to raise money for the Hand in Hand for Haiti fund.The Olympians have so far raised in excess of €2,000.
“The action was streamed live to Pafos Airport and CTC-ARI colleagues and passengers joined in the fun and fund-raising there too. The event was a huge success with the team exceeding their own expectations regarding time as they were spurred on by the sheer exhilaration and pride at being part of this multi-national fund-raising event.”
In a poignant development, the DFS Auckland team, led by Auckland Airport General Manager David Segreto, have been given dispensation to channel their fund-raising efforts towards the earthquake appeal in fellow New Zealand city Christchurch.
Segreto told The Moodie Report: “We are working hard over the next four days to raise money for the earthquake appeal and it will finish Monday with our marathon Run in Auckland. We had originally planned to do this with the rest of DFS for Haiti but talked to Ed [Brennan] and he fully supported our move to donate to Christchurch.
“We are receiving some great support from our brand partners, customers, Auckland Airport and staff both here in Auckland and all over the world, plus Ed has told us we (DFS) will match what we raise. The stores are black & red [the colours of the Canterbury rugby team – Christchurch is the capital of Canterbury province – Ed], the staff are in black & red and we are full speed ahead.”
On 7 March, the SSP Food Travel Experts team ran their Moodie Multi-National Marathon at the Mercedes Benz World race track in Brooklands, Weybridge, deemed to be the ideal location for a travel retail event. Brooklands is the home of the Flying Village which housed many of the greatest pioneers of British aviation, from 1910 to the outbreak of World War I. Post-run the team posed in their chefs’ whites next to Concorde.
The SSP Team, comprising Jon Capel, Pam Cranfield, Debbie Taylor, Chris Rayner, Mark Kassapian and Richard Barclay, completed the Marathon in just under five hours. The fastest leg was run by Capel in a lightning 30.26.
The Glorious WIT For Haiti team, led by Sunny Touch Corp’s Virginie Cordero, ran a suitably glorious – and very cosmopolitan – Moodie Multi-National Marathon. Christine Mazy and friends braved the freezing Bois de Boulogne in Paris; Cordero and Zoila Andonie soaked up the sun in Miami South Beach; while Liliana Sobredo completed her leg in Punta del Este.
The ADAC “Shop Dine Unwind” team took the speed theme to heart and ran their Marathon at the Yas Marina F1 circuit. They were joined by five DFS Abu Dhabi teams, and completed almost 2.5 laps of the track.
Kate “The Whippet” Ashley clocked the fastest team time of 33.48, followed by Michael Ibbitson with 38.02, Mark Proudley with 41.36, Jim Romanis with 43.19 and Emma Hawke and Richard Isaac, each with 47.09.
Shop Dine Unwind alone raised over US$7,500. A special thank you to ADAC, who generously sponsored the team AED10,000.
On Saturday 5th March, the EL (Estée Lauder) Beauty Globetrotters descended on the East Coast Parkway in Singapore to run their Marathon. The team, captained by Cheryl Joannides, represented several countries and brands from the Lauder group portfolio, and raised a magnificent US$4,865.
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Dubai Duty Free Financial Controller Bernard Creed completes his leg in New Orleans, US |
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Dubai Duty Free’s Manager – Retail Sales Michael Schmidt completes a smart 33.54 time in Al Ain |
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LS Travel Retail ASPAC’s Grant Fleming completes his leg of the run in Wan Chai, Hong Kong
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The Suisse International team, featuring ACI staff, braves 4 degree temperatures in Geneva
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A sea of blue descends upon East Coast Park as runners from DFS Singapore do their warm-up exercises by the beach |
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A solid finish by the Singapore Slingers team, led by DFS Managing Director South East Asia and the Middle East Craig McKenna (back row, second from right); the team also produced one of the fastest runners of the day |
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A spontaneous show of effort from DFS Changi Airport General Manager Keith Tam (third from left) and his team from Changi Airport, the Hip Hop Bunnies, who later won ‘The Most Creative Team’ award for their bunny costumes |
At Dubai Duty Free, Manager – Operations Sean Staunton is preparing for a unique contribution to the cause. He writes: “On March 6th I will commence my journey as part of the Moodie Multi-National Marathon. I will run 4 marathons (42km each) in 4 continents in 4 months. I will run in the city of culture, style and harmony, Barcelona. The peaceful and natural Borneo. I will run with the Maasai tribes through the Laikipia plateau in the beautiful Kenyan wilderness. Lastly I will samba through the marvellous city of Rio de Janeiro.
“All proceeds from this event will go to Hand in Hand for Haiti Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake that hit the country on January 12, 2010.”
A special thank you goes out to MEDFA, who have already generously sponsored Sean US$500.
[To sponsor Sean, please visit http://moodiemarathon.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=461550&lis=1&kntae461550=D0892E5A8A2B4D2183ED7EC5DD4D5635&supId=321218182&emaillogid=4309609460].
NOTE TO TEAMS: Please send photos of your contributions, team times etc to Martin@TheMoodieReport.com and Rebecca.Mann@TheMoodieReport.com. In coming days we will compile a special pictorial report on this amazing collective industry effort.
FOOTNOTE: Due to my hospitalization this past week, I will be running my split of the Moodie In Motion team’s marathon within an eight-week deadline, writes Martin Moodie, in order to honour my sponsors’ fantastic support. To show solidarity with my team, sponsors and the overall event, I today completed a landmark half-kilometre walk (pictured above).
