Nearly 3,000 registrants took on the challenge of running or walking, individually, one or more times the 5, 10 and 20 km courses, between November 1 and 22, following the audio guidance of the connected application: a first in Europe.
As the Geneva 20km by Genève Aéroport cannot take place this year in its usual format, the organizers offered participants a connected and audio-guided competition respecting the health measures in force. Everyone was able to set off over the distance of their choice, on the desired day between November 1st and 22nd, in Geneva. The 3 courses: the 5 km by Generali, the 10 km by Romande Energie and the 20 km by Genève Aéroport, more than 50% similar to the original courses, crossed the City of Geneva as well as the municipalities of Pregny- Chambésy, Bellevue and Genthod.
In front of the Broken Chair, on the Place des Nations, the runners warmed up and took photos before crossing the virtual starting line. Once started, all you had to do was follow “the voice” to find your way around the course. “I took part in the 20km and I honestly loved it. The audio guidance is very well done and the explanations are interesting. The route is incredible, plus I passed through places that I was completely unfamiliar with. I recommend this race to everyone.” Redge Marty, participant in the 20 km by Genève Aéroport.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Breast Cancer Network (RCS) was the charitable partner of the event. Runners, benefiting from free registration, were encouraged to support the association by making a donation when registering. “Despite therapeutic progress, breast cancer remains a very common disease affecting 1 in 8 women of all ages. The mission that the RCS has set itself for 19 years is still relevant today: to reduce the impact of this cancer and its treatments on the lives of women and their loved ones,” explains Marylise Pesenti, co-president of the RCS. Thanks to the generosity of participants, CHF 12,050 was raised to support this cause. These donations will be allocated to the RCS physical and telephone hotline, based in Geneva, which supports people suffering from this disease as well as their loved ones.
The mild weather over the past three weeks as well as the beauty of the routes have motivated runners and walkers to take part in the event.
Andriy Muzalyev, participant in the 20km by Genève Aéroport, is very happy with his race: “It allows you to rediscover in a certain way the atmosphere of a real popular race”. Well trained for his race, Didier Morard, participating in the 5km by Generali, had the pleasure of “experimenting with a new race concept and achieving a goal in this particular year.”
With or without a goal, it was possible to participate several times in order to test several distances, improve your time or even maintain your form. In addition, participants could compare themselves to two other people who had already competed using a feature of the application.
More than 600 members of sports clubs, associations or companies took part in the team challenge; a collective objective which allowed them to challenge each other, taking turns and keeping their distance. The objective was to motivate as many participants in your team as possible to win the challenge. The Léman Running group won this challenge hands down with 50 runners and walkers. Among the many teams, the Triathlon Club Genève was delighted with the concept: “The 2.0 challenge was a superb way to return to training with finally a goal following the cancellation of many events this year.”
“I had a lot of fun completing this superb route which crosses international Geneva,” explains Marie Barbey-Chpuis, the administrative advisor of the City of Geneva in charge of the Sports Safety Department. “I congratulate the organizers for being able to keep their race alive despite the health crisis.”
The title partner, Genève Aéroport is delighted with the success of the event: “Take-off 2.0 more than successful! We can say today that the digital version of the race is a real success and, as title sponsor, we are very proud to be part of the adventure. Thanks to the concept and the innovative application, participants rediscovered the enthusiasm and pleasure of popular races...while respecting health rules. Sport is a fantastic tool for social cohesion, it creates emotions and motivation. The success of this digital edition is the perfect example.”
Benjamin Chandelier, director of the event, is also delighted with the success of this edition: “We are proud to have been able to organize the Geneva 2.0km by Genève Aéroport in a connected version. We studied several solutions to find the winning combination and we are happy to have succeeded; feedback from participants is excellent. And a little anecdote, for the first time, a good part of our Committee was able to participate, which is completely impossible in normal times! Finally, on behalf of the Committee I would like to thank our title partner Genève Aéroport, the City of Geneva and the other municipalities involved (Pregny-Chambesy, Genthod and Bellevue), as well as all our other partners and in particular Generali and Romande Energie, without whom this event would not have been possible.”