BTC have just been announced cycling challenge regional winners by AoC Sport. On the 8 June, AoC Sport set 2 National challenges to all Colleges. Challenge 1 was to walk/run 456 miles which is the equivalent distance from the most Southern member College (Truro and Penwith College) to the most Northern College (Northumberland College).
Challenge 2 was to cycle 3,369 miles the equivalent distance to visit all 212 AoC member Colleges. The challenge was set and staff and students had 4 weeks to complete by recording all activities via the App Strava.
Bridgwater & Taunton College were the only College in the South West to complete the distance for both Running/Walking and Cycling Challenges set by AoC Sport and finished in the top 5 Colleges in the cycling challenge where over 60 other Colleges took part. Over the 4 weeks BTC recorded 635 activities across both challenges.
BTC Assistant Principal Jason Gunningham said,
This was a great challenge for both students and staff. It personally gave me the inspiration and motivation to get back exercising on my bike. The competitive edge to the challenge encouraged me to do a few extra miles than I maybe normally would!
It was incredible to see not only the BTC community get involved, but Colleges up and down the country engaging in such a positive manner and once again demonstrating how FE can lead the way in supporting health and wellbeing. Everyone at BTC thanks AoC Sport for organising the challenges and we look forward to competing in many more in the future.
Here at Bridgwater & Taunton College we have loved taking part in the recent AOC Sport, ‘Go The Distance’ Challenge. We have had fantastic engagement from both our staff and students.
Curriculum Manager for Sport Alex Leach said,
I really enjoyed the Go the Distance Challenge, it brought out the competitive side in me as I wanted to help the college climb the leader table. This gave me motivation each day to go out and run at least 5km, even if my legs were sore and tired, which eventually led to me achieving a new 5km PB. The challenge was a great way for staff and students to focus on their health and fitness, which in the present climate, is more important than ever.
The Go The Distance challenge was a great way to encourage people to get outside and be active, from simply walking the dog, or running the same distance as a marathon. One BTC coach cycled over 80 miles in one activity and one of the College’s runners nearly completed 100 miles in just one week.
Team BTC Manager, Jamie Laird added,
It was great to hear such positive feedback from everyone who took part. We have been trying to keep students and staff engaged with us since we are unable to see everyone at the College during these unprecedented times. We hope that this along with other sporting challenges are helping our community to stay motivated and active for the positive physical and mental health benefits.
BTC stats and overall stats:
BTC Cycling club
3955 miles cycling
247 activities
BTC Running/walking club
1527 miles 15th highest
388 activities 15th highest
Overall stats
70 Colleges took part
68,243 miles by walking or running
97,954 miles by bike
24,264 activities
