Keep on running. That’s one of our many mantras, especially among the Starttech runners crowd within the company.
We’ll admit, it’s been a while since our last running venture, the Athens’ Classic Marathon. Then, back in November, a small team of us ran the whole race. So yes, we needed a small break. But, we are now up and running (pun intended) again, having taken part in our first event of 2019.
Starttech Runners meet the Evrotas Half Marathon
Our first mission of the year, the Evrotas Half Marathon, took us little south into the countryside. Nine hearty runners from the Pakia, Yodeck and Epignosis teams tested their limits and ran in the middle of winter in almost freezing temperatures on Sunday January 13.
OK, this one was not a 43km run. It was, however, a really demanding route across the flatlands of Evrotas. A route that is close to a beautiful area dotted with orange trees near the legendary mountain of Taygetus, renowed from Greek mythology.
The team: Starttech Runners
Taking a last piece of advice and some useful tips from our running coach Aris Myrkos, founder of ScienceTraining.gr, a week before the race our team increased in number. We had representation in the three different races: 5km, 10km and 21km.
From Pakia
- George Krypotos , CEO and Co-Founder, 21km
- Angie Soltatou, CMO, 10km
From Yodeck
- Valentine Konstantis, Software Engineer, 21km
- Vasilis Depastas, Business Development Manager, 10km
From Epignosis
- Yiannis Panagopoulos, Senior Software Engineer, 10km
- Maria Logotheti,Customer Happiness Specialist, 10km
- Natalie Petsali, Customer Success Manager, 21km
- Georgia Vakalopoulou, Sales Executive, 5km
- Ana Casic, Media Relations Coordinator, 10km
What the Starttech Runners said
Just like the Athens Marathon, we had a full house of finishers, which is always goal number one in any running event. And judging by the comments of the Starttech runners involved, it was another fantastic experience.
“Running is not just about being fit or moving forward. It’s about our urge to pass beyond our limits, overcome ourselves, be uplifted and overwhelmed,”
said Ana, who was running her first ever 10k race. Well done Ana!
We definitely agree that running is a huge challenge. And undoubtedly, it’s a form of exercise that requires pulling you well away from your comfort zone, just like running a startup. Not only that, it’s also about the community and camaraderie according to Ana.
“We push each other and share the euphoric rush of endorphins when we make it through the finishing line. In Evrotas we ran, we laughed, we danced. And we brought back all this new positive energy with us to spread around.”
Hear, hear. Now if that isn’t a great way to build a culture of trust within your business, we don’t know what is.
Run on…
Stay tuned for more of our Starttech runners stories coming up in the next few weeks as we stay true to our other mantra, Anima Startup In Corpore Startup. Last but not least, congratulations to all of our Starttech runners, and here’s to achieving all of our new running goals this year.
Next stop, the Lycabettus Run in March!
