This week (September 3-5) saw 50 cyclists from across the affiliate marketing industry take part in ‘the endurance event of the year’ by cycling 300 km from London to Paris in 24 hours.
Hosted by affiliate marketing consultancy, Acceleration Partners, the charity event brought together members from a number of key companies from the affiliate marketing industry – Webgains, Awin, Partnerize, Optimise Media, Button, Wonderbill, Navigate Digital, Affiliate Summit and getCAKE. Everyone put their bikes to the test in a charity-minded ride, which spanned over 180 miles between London and Paris, while also engaging in some endorphin-boosting, exercise-based networking.
Funds raised during the charity bike ride was in support of the British Heart Foundation and over the course of the event, total funds reached over £12,800.
In addition, cyclists from Awin were also raising funds for their company charity Mind, with total funds donated currently standing at £11,500 – bringing a grand total of money raised from the event at over £24,000.
Incredibly proud
Reaching such a significant milestone and raising funds for charity, Acceleration Partner’s managing director, EMEA Helen Southgate who took part in the ride said she was “very proud” to have completed the challenge alongside her industry peers.
“I feel very proud right now to be part of an industry that has such a great bunch of people,” she said; “London to Paris in 24 hours is a tough ride for any cyclist, and many of those who took part were new to cycling. It was a supportive and fun atmosphere all the way along. Everyone should be incredibly proud of their achievement. In addition, to raise nearly £25,000 for the BHF and Mind is incredible.”
Echoing Southgate’s comments, Webgains CEO Richard Dennys along with his team said it was “fantastic” to ride alongside and support industry colleagues at all levels of the affiliate industry.
“It was a privilege both for Webgains and me to embark on this crazy hard challenge to raise as much as we could for our respective charities,” said Dennys; “hopefully now we’ve all been through this adventure (or ordeal/torture) together, we’ll remain good friends for years to come.”
“Getting the affiliate industry together to cycle London to Paris for The British Heart Foundation was such a good idea,” commented Stephen Rumbelow, Group CEO of Optimise Media; “London to Paris is one of the most iconic cycling challenges, and it’s tough too – cycling 300k in 24 hours hurts physically and also requires a lot of mental stamina. Massive kudos to everyone who took part – especially those who aren’t regular cyclists. It is an amazing achievement, and you should all be very proud of yourselves”.
Awin’s content analyst Rob Davinson added that for his team, the ride was a “monumental achievement” and something the team was extremely proud to have been a part of.
“The organisation of the ride was first class and there was a real sense of camaraderie between industry peers that definitely helped me get through some pretty tough miles along the way,” said Davinson; “In fact, you can probably judge how successful it was by how many of us were talking about doing it again next year on the Eurostar home!”