July 28, 2017
Over one thousand people took on sporting challenges as part of our EPIC Week – EPIC Challenges’ biggest and most inclusive community event to date.
The aim of the event was to inspire people of all ages to become more active and take on new challenges. More than 1,000 school children and over 160 individuals got involved, raising over £25,000 to date for two charities – Guernsey Mind and This Is EPIC.
The money earmarked for Guernsey Mind will help the charity invest in a community project to provide support services for the mental health of adults with Autism and Asperger’s, while the money for This Is EPIC will go towards projects that empower people to overcome poverty in a sustainable way through savings and loans projects in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Throughout the week, participants took part in their own swimming, cycling, running, walking or triathlon events alongside local endurance athletes Philip Smith and Warren Mauger, who took on their biggest challenge to date – seven Ironmans in seven days. Warren successfully completed four out of the seven days with Philip completing five Ironmans in five days before ending the challenge on day six due to exhaustion.
Teachers at Vauvert, Castel and Amherst primary schools ran activities all week for their pupils, including hula-hooping, cycling, circuit training and playground games.
Our very own First Central Group Hotshots set themselves the challenge of completing a five kilometre run every day of the week. The group of 15 employees trained hard and supported each other from start to finish. Each day for seven days, the group ran at different locations and on one of the mornings, joined pupils at Vauvert Primary School for their warm-up.
HR Manager, Hayley Phillips, and member of the First Central Group Hotshots running team, said: "This week has been a great challenge – we've pushed ourselves hard to acheive our goal and have all really bonded as a team in the process. I'm amazed at what you can achieve when you put your mind to it, and to be given the opportunity to take part during work hours is very supportive and a real credit to First Central Group as an employer."
The seven-day event concluded with a celebration at Octopus Bar & Restaurant, where participants were invited to come and share stories of their personal achievements.
First Central Group Hotshots team member and Group Operations Manager, Lisa Vidamour, said: “It’s been an incredible week for everyone involved, with lots of the island community achieving personal goals and doing something epic that they previously wouldn’t have even dreamt of attempting.
"It doesn’t feel like this is over. I know the First Central Group Hotshots team has started a weekly running club, and I’m sure many others are feeling inspired to make positive lifestyle changes. Supporting the community in which we work is part of First Central Group’s DNA and events like this really bring the community together, raising money for two charities that do amazing things. We’re excited to continue supporting these events and see what else people can achieve.”
We have formed a meaningful partnership with EPIC Challenges over the years and have been the main sponsor behind a number of their events. We previously supported the EPIC Moonlight Marathon in December 2016, which saw over 150 people run a marathon, half-marathon, five-mile and five-kilometre distances in the early hours of the morning.
EPIC Challenges Co-founder, Philip Smith, said: “We’re still processing the impact of the First Central Group EPIC Week. We wanted to make this community event about the community and not about Warren and I taking on our challenge. Success for us was for people to realise that by setting big goals, they can achieve more than they could ever imagine.
"To see the pictures and read the stories of what people achieved has been incredible. Everyone taking part in our EPIC Week had so much support during their challenges, Guernsey came together to be epic for a week and the challenge now is to take this forward and change even more lives.”
The aim of the event was to inspire people of all ages to become more active and take on new challenges. More than 1,000 school children and over 160 individuals got involved, raising over £25,000 to date for two charities – Guernsey Mind and This Is EPIC.
The money earmarked for Guernsey Mind will help the charity invest in a community project to provide support services for the mental health of adults with Autism and Asperger’s, while the money for This Is EPIC will go towards projects that empower people to overcome poverty in a sustainable way through savings and loans projects in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Throughout the week, participants took part in their own swimming, cycling, running, walking or triathlon events alongside local endurance athletes Philip Smith and Warren Mauger, who took on their biggest challenge to date – seven Ironmans in seven days. Warren successfully completed four out of the seven days with Philip completing five Ironmans in five days before ending the challenge on day six due to exhaustion.
Teachers at Vauvert, Castel and Amherst primary schools ran activities all week for their pupils, including hula-hooping, cycling, circuit training and playground games.
Our very own First Central Group Hotshots set themselves the challenge of completing a five kilometre run every day of the week. The group of 15 employees trained hard and supported each other from start to finish. Each day for seven days, the group ran at different locations and on one of the mornings, joined pupils at Vauvert Primary School for their warm-up.
HR Manager, Hayley Phillips, and member of the First Central Group Hotshots running team, said: "This week has been a great challenge – we've pushed ourselves hard to acheive our goal and have all really bonded as a team in the process. I'm amazed at what you can achieve when you put your mind to it, and to be given the opportunity to take part during work hours is very supportive and a real credit to First Central Group as an employer."
The seven-day event concluded with a celebration at Octopus Bar & Restaurant, where participants were invited to come and share stories of their personal achievements.
First Central Group Hotshots team member and Group Operations Manager, Lisa Vidamour, said: “It’s been an incredible week for everyone involved, with lots of the island community achieving personal goals and doing something epic that they previously wouldn’t have even dreamt of attempting.
"It doesn’t feel like this is over. I know the First Central Group Hotshots team has started a weekly running club, and I’m sure many others are feeling inspired to make positive lifestyle changes. Supporting the community in which we work is part of First Central Group’s DNA and events like this really bring the community together, raising money for two charities that do amazing things. We’re excited to continue supporting these events and see what else people can achieve.”
We have formed a meaningful partnership with EPIC Challenges over the years and have been the main sponsor behind a number of their events. We previously supported the EPIC Moonlight Marathon in December 2016, which saw over 150 people run a marathon, half-marathon, five-mile and five-kilometre distances in the early hours of the morning.
EPIC Challenges Co-founder, Philip Smith, said: “We’re still processing the impact of the First Central Group EPIC Week. We wanted to make this community event about the community and not about Warren and I taking on our challenge. Success for us was for people to realise that by setting big goals, they can achieve more than they could ever imagine.
"To see the pictures and read the stories of what people achieved has been incredible. Everyone taking part in our EPIC Week had so much support during their challenges, Guernsey came together to be epic for a week and the challenge now is to take this forward and change even more lives.”