Nearly 20 Chicago-based Perficient colleagues participated in the 2019 installment of the annual J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Race. This was the second year they ran together as Team Perficient.
Colleagues had many reasons for taking part. Among the motivators:
1. Running for a Good Cause
Team Perficient joined more than 28,000 competitors from the business and public sectors who participated in the 3.5 mile run / walk to raise money for local charities and nonprofit organizations. The scenic urban route made for a fun way to give back.
“Most of the race took place in Lower Wacker, but the last half mile was above ground and gave great views of the city skyline,” said Erin Turley, associate technical consultant at Perficient.
2. Getting to Know Teammates
Erin and her teammates once again found the event to be a perfect opportunity to bond with each other outside of the office. “Most of our Perficient runners waited in line for 45 minutes before we could start running, so we passed the time by playing games and telling stories,” Erin said.
Patrick Truskowski, lead technical consultant at Perficient, ran in the 2018 race. He enjoyed the time with his teammates so much that he decided to sign up again. “I talked to more people than I normally do since I don’t always attend our office happy hours,” Patrick said.
Toni Milushev, product engineering manager at Perficient, agreed. “It allowed me to meet new people from Perficient,” Toni said. “The overall experience was awesome. Plus, we got finisher shirts.”
Shirts and great eats. “After the race, we all met at the Perficient tent and ate Blackwood BBQ,” Erin said.
3. Establishing an Annual Tradition
Patrick is encouraging his teammates who haven’t taken part yet to give it a shot. “I think more people should do the run. It’s very fun even if you don’t like running,” Patrick said. “I didn’t train but was able to run the majority of the 5k. I still had fun even though I’m out of shape.”
Erin also joined the team, in part, to get moving again. “I decided to participate as a way to motivate myself to start running more. It especially helped that the weather has gotten so much nicer,” Erin said.
As for the 2020 race? Team Perficient already has at least one interested member. “I’ll probably run it again next year,” Erin said.
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