CERN Relay Race 2019
On your marks, get set, GO!!
Once again, this year, the CERN Running Club, together with the Staff Association, urged us to put on our trainers and take part in the annual CERN Relay Race.
This event has become a highlight of the CERN calendar, drawing participants from across the Organization. It provides a wonderful opportunity for colleagues to get to know each other and meet in a friendly atmosphere. This is all the more so as some teams also added a touch of humour to the event by donning some very creative fancy dress!
The 49th CERN Relay Race, which took place on Thursday 23 May 2019 at the Meyrin site, once again kept all its promises with 838 entries in the various categories. 131 teams of runners and 52 walkers covered the route around the Meyrin site. Congratulations to all of them!
The start of the race was given by the president of the Staff Association, Ghislain Roy.
Once again this year, a team from the Directorate, including our Director General, took part in the race. Thank you for this much-appreciated participation!
A Race made especially for the Children!
For the first year, a special 900 m route was created for the children of the CERN Staff Association Jardin des Particules school to run. With the help of the teaching staff and the parents, the children had to train for several weeks to be ready for the race.
A 3 x 300 m relay, without timing, was designed especially for them. For this event, the children made posters and contributed to making this celebration a moment of joy shared with the parents and the staff of the school. It was the parents who had the idea of this magical moment and who took charge of the organisation of the race.
Thanks to Yves Sillanoli of the Management Committee, TSO Nina Koivunen, Nicoletta Garelli, the parents' representative and David Bozzoni, all involved in the life of the structure of “Le Jardin des Particules”. But above all, congratulations to all our mini runners!
In the overall results, the Run Your Life, Open category won the race in 11 min and 52 sec, followed closely by the Atlas Open Heads, Senior category, with a time of 12 min and 13 sec. On the women's side, the Cheerleader Rejects, Ladies Open category, won with a time of 15 min 06 sec, followed by the Vacuum Girls, Ladies category, with a time of 15 min and 28 sec.
At noon, stands presenting the various activities of the Staff Association Clubs and commercial partnerships linked to Interfon, as well as refreshments, animated the lawn of Restaurant 1 and allowed the many spectators to the various offerings and exchange ideas in a collegial atmosphere.
A stand also caught our attention, that of the Williams Beuren Rhône-Alpes Syndrome Association, for which the Team Williams - Raid Amazones team ran, and which offered a cake sale in support of this cause.
The organisation of such an event requires a significant investment in order to cover all logistical aspects such as the preparation of the race, the setting up of stands and activities, in compliance with CERN rules and the safety of participants and the public. We would like to thank the members of the In-Form-Action Commission, in particular Elsa Clerc and Patrick Blaise, who made this event a success, as well as all the volunteers of the Staff Association. Many thanks also to the Clubs who exhibited or demonstrated their activities. Thanks also to the HSE unit and the CERN Fire Brigade for their participation as runners and fire service protectors.
Find all the race results on the Running Club website:
https://runningclub.web.cern.ch/fr/RelayResults
Congratulations to the lucky winners of the raffle organized by the Staff Association in partnership with Interfon. The winners all have been contacted individually and most of them have already collected their prizes!
See you next year!
