February 14, 2013—Forty-two minutes. That’s how long it took for this year’s Corporate Cup to reach its 250 team limit. The popular Bloomsday competition has filled up quickly in the past, taking only three days in 2011 and a mere 16 hours in 2012, but this year’s time is certainly a new record.
“The level of interest this year was overwhelming,” said Carol Hunter, Bloomsday board member and director of the Corporate Cup.
As the popularity of the Corporate Cup has grown, so has the demand. “We wish we could accommodate everybody,” said Hunter, “but in order to maintain its special features, we have to have a limit on the number of teams.”
These special features include a separate starting line, gear transfer from the starting line to the finish line, and a post-race party.
The Corporate Cup, which is sponsored by Orthopaedic Specialty Clinic, is a competition within Bloomsday in which businesses of similar size compete against each other in teams of five and is used to encourage fitness and healthy lifestyles among employees. It uses a unique scoring system that matches runners in each age and gender bracket against the top Corporate Cup Runner in that bracket.
In addition to the race day competition, Corporate Cup teams compete to see who can come up with the most unique and amusing team name. Last year’s contest was won by the Spokane Valley Fire Dept. with “Feeling the Burn.”
The top team of the Corporate Cup will be rewarded with a plaque and the coveted Bloomsday Corporate Cup traveling trophy. Plaques will also be rewarded to second and third place teams, winners of each division, and team name winners.
This year’s Bloomsday Run is on Sunday, May 5th. Individual registration is currently open at www.bloomsdayrun.org.
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