What was the thought behind starting an initiative like the Bloomberg Square Mile relay?
When the event concept was created in 2007 in London, we had a vision of creating an event that would enable corporates to fulfil their sporting passions alongside their colleagues, improve their personal well-being and create strong shared memorable experiences that replicate the business environment but in a fun and engaging way. In 2019 the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay successfully convened over 11,000 runners from 700 companies across 12 major cities of the world to harness the power of running to improve their health and well-being and drive positive social change though sport. We are focused on corporate well-being and ensuring we offer a fully inclusive, fun and enjoyable environment for all to fulfil their potential, whilst delivering a positive impact in each race city through The Extra Mile program.
How do events like these amplify social causes pertaining to a specific city? How did you think of Mumbai?
The social impact piece is really key for us in each city and is central to the relay, allowing runners to choose to run for something they believe in, which is why our key message is: “Your Lap. Your Cause. Your Impact.” Each city has its own social challenges and it’s important that when we put on events in each city we recognise the social challenges specific to that city. At least 25% of all team entry fees go to The Extra Mile program, supporting local projects delivered by The Magic Bus in Mumbai, who deliver fantastic work across the city with their poverty alleviation programs.
Why Mumbai?
Firstly, the fact that Mumbai is such global financial hub naturally lends itself to hosting the race and the enthusiasm that India has for fitness makes it a natural fit. We were blown away by the reaction from the business community in the city and the atmosphere that everyone created in the Race Village ranks as one of the very best we’ve experienced in any of the race cities.
What are the causes that you would run for?
We have worked with our local charity partner, Magic Bus, to identify the three of the most important causes in Mumbai; Livelihood, Girls empowerment and Education – the cause with the fastest average time across the runners wins the funds and Magic Bus then delivers a programme for the year focussed on that specific cause.
What has been the global impact of this event so far?
Having been established back in 2007, the impact of the series has been truly global as we now deliver races in 13 cities, 10 countries across 4 continents and this year we’ll see approximately 15,000 people attend the events. Since the first relay, we’ve had over 1,200 different companies take part which is fantastic and means that a huge number of businesses really grasp the importance of physical activity and implementing team-building through exercise. Another area that we’re hugely proud of is the impact of our charitable work through, The Extra Mile which in 2019 supported over 22,00 young people through the power of sport and this year will see us break the USD $1million mark for donations since its inception.
Tell us something more about the global challenge?
On race night, all runners have the opportunity to compete in an additional challenge in the race village at The Extra Mile stand, where they compete to win points for their city, against other cities in the Global Series to win a further US $10,000 to go towards the project based on the winning cause. Last year it was a speed-based reaction game and there was some intense and high-speed reactions across the series! This year, we’ll have a brand new challenge that will be unveiled at our first race of the series in Dubai on 12th February.
What impact did the last edition have on Mumbai city and tell us something about the charities that were supported last year.
Magic Bus is imparting life skills to adolescents and youth in marginalised communities in Nallasopara (near Mumbai) believing that gaining these skills at school can develop adolescents into capable individuals who can take pathways that help them exercise their agency and realize their goals. ‘The Magic Bus Employability Education’ programme supported by Bloomberg Square Mile Relay brings together three core requirements – life skills, employability skills and employer linkages and in that provides a holistic platform for youth to begin a productive life.
The programme reaches 1,000 adolescents on a weekly basis in the age group of 15 to 18 years, studying in grades 9 to 12, over an intervention period of two years. In order to increase accessibility and ease delivery and scale, as well as acquaint beneficiaries with digital platforms, the employability skills content is being delivered electronically through tablets and supplemented by classroom sessions and self-application exercises.
Do you plan to take this to any other city of India and what are your global expansion plans?
This year we’ve added Frankfurt, Germany to the race roster as our 13th race, which makes an already busy race calendar very full, including 3 races in May! In terms of more race cities, we’ll see but I we want to make sure that people have the best experience when they come to our events and so we’re expanding our offering throughout the year. Sustainability and the environment is hugely important to us and last year we reduced single-use plastic on race nights globally by 87% and are aiming for 100% in 2020. We also added an all-female team category and this year we’re launching run clubs in each city for our participants and a Team Captains Club to show some love to our dedicated captains who pull together each team! Long-term, we’re looking at an exciting proposal for the relay which I can’t share just yet but hopefully I can later in the year and as a business we’re looking at bringing a new concept to market as well as a new business venture….it’s going to be a busy 2020.
