Over the course of your year being a Challenge Leader, you are tasked with presenting two workshops - one to prepare your teams physically for their challenge and the second - to be presented alongside our pre-departure briefings - to give your teams a little more insight into how their challenges will work. This blog aims to clear up what your responsibilities are, and how we’ll support you in fulfilling them!

TREKKING WORKSHOP #1: TREK TRAINING

Who does this apply to?

Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, Everest Base Camp, Colombia , Morocco, Balkans, Three Peaks

What’s it all about?

This workshop is designed to get your team clued-in about the best methods to get them fit enough to tackle the challenge ahead. It’s designed to get the team to identify the challenges they’ll face in-country, and to work out how to best address those challenges. The main message here is that the more they prepare, the better time they’ll have!

Ideally, have a training hike planned for soon after the workshop so you can put your plans in motion. Not only will this give this team some extra motivation to get out there, but it’ll get you nice and acquainted early on in the year.

Where can I find it?

You can find the overseas Trek Training workshop here. Those on the Three Peaks challenge can find their version here.

When is it due?

The Trek Training workshop is due Feburary.

MARATHON WORKSHOP #1: COUCH TO 5KM

Who does this apply to?

Amsterdam, Budapest, Bilbao, Athens

What’s it all about?

This workshop is designed to get your team to a base-level of fitness before they start a proper training plan for their marathon. Although this won’t apply to all members of the team, it’s important to provide this workshop to those who might not be so familiar with running. The workshop will introduce things like running apps, types of runs, and some top tips for beginners.

Try to have a training run booked in for after the workshop so you can put your words into practice. Nothing like a good run as a confidence boost!

Where can I find it?

You can find the Couch to 5km workshops here: Budapest / Bilbao / Amsterdam.

When is it due?

The Couch to 5km workshop is due 5th March.

TREKKING WORKSHOP #2: PRE-DEPARTURE

(KIT PACKING)

Who does this apply to?

Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, Everest Base Camp, Colombia, Morocco, Balkans, Three Peaks

What’s it all about?

The pre-departure briefing is designed to get your teams fully prepared for their challenge and it will virtual over Zoom. We will be running through everything from your full trip itinerary, to vaccinations, to insurance policies. If your team have any questions regarding your trip, rest assured they’ll be answered here.

Do bear in mind that we can’t travel to every campus to present these pre-departure briefings and sometimes they are virtual. We ask you either encourage the students to watch the brief from their emails or, run a group viewing of the pre-departure video and you’ll round off the briefing by presenting the kit packing section of the briefing. You’ll be talking through the full kit list participants are required to bring, as well as some top tips to consider before heading out to their challenge. Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with all of the annotated slides but it’s best practice to do a little research and preparation in advance of the briefing.

NOTE: due to the length of the meetings, you’ll need to book a separate room for the kit-packing workshop after the briefing. Please also crosscheck the below slides to the specific briefing pack for minor kit updates.

Where can I find it?

Your pre-departure briefing will be emailed 6 months before travel and the Briefing Packs are emailed out in November.

And you can find the Kit Packing workshops here:

Machu Picchu / Kilimanjaro / Everest Base Camp / Morocco

When is it due?

This is due to present immediately after the pre-departure briefing. If you can’t present it on the day, don’t stress - but do try and get it done ASAP. The Choose a Challenge team will be in touch about dates and room bookings a month or so prior to the briefing.

MARATHON WORKSHOP #2: PRE-DEPARTURE

(OUR MARATHON WEEKEND)

Who does this apply to?

Athens, Amsterdam, Budapest, Bilbao

What’s it all about?

This pre-departure briefing is designed to get your teams fully prepared for their challenge. We will be running through how participants should prepare for their marathon, from their own training plans to what best running apps to use. We’ll also run through the logistics of what will happen on race day, what runners can expect from the Choose a Challenge staff and the post-race logistics.

Do bear in mind that we can’t travel to every campus to present these pre-departure briefings and sometimes they are virtual. We ask you either encourage the students to watch the brief from their emails or, run a group viewing of the pre-departure video and you’ll round off the briefing by presenting the kit packing section of the briefing. You’ll be talking through the best sights to see, where to get the best food, and the best culturally-enriching spots. Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with all the annotated slides but it’s best practice to do a little research a preparation in advance of the briefing.

NOTE: due to the length of the meetings, you’ll need to book a separate room for the workshop after the briefing. Please also crosscheck the below slides to the specific briefing pack for minor kit updates.

Where can I find it?

Your pre-departure briefing will be emailed 6 months before travel and the Briefing Packs are emailed out in November.

And you can find the Kit Packing workshops here (not yet available):

Amsterdam / Bilbao / Budapest

When is it due?

This is due to present immediately after the pre-departure briefing. If you can’t present it on the day, don’t stress - but do try and get it done ASAP. The Choose a Challenge team will be in touch about dates and room bookings a month or so prior to the briefing.

General FAQs

Are the workshops compulsory?

Yes. If you have any issues with presenting them, or don’t feel confident, give us a shout and we’ll give you a hand.

Do I need to practice?

We’d recommend doing some research before presenting both workshops as it’ll help you articulate the main premise of training and preparing for your challenge.

Can I get help from Choose a Challenge?

Of course! If you don’t feel confident presenting part of your section, or any of it, get in touch and we’ll give you a hand.

What if Choose a Challenge aren’t presenting my pre-departure briefing?

You’ll need to show the team a video and present your workshop separately, as noted above.

I haven’t heard from Choose a Challenge about the pre-departure briefing, what’s the deal?

We’ll get in touch with you about when and how we’ll be running your pre-departure briefings in due time. If you haven’t heard from us there’s nothing you need to worry about yet!