Team Vanguard on track for the Melbourne Marathon

The Melbourne Marathon is a perfect opportunity for team engagement, as staff come together to support each other, train together, and raise funds that help transform the lives of children and young people.

We spoke to Vanguard Australia, whose team raised nearly $19,000 in the 2022 Melbourne Marathon. Their success was the result of hard work, support from their organisation, and a shared commitment to the cause.

What inspired Vanguard Australia to support Berry Street in the Melbourne Marathon?

‘Strong Start for Kids’ is Vanguard’s signature philanthropic initiative, guided by the belief that all young children, given the right resources, can learn, thrive, and reach their full potential. In 2022, we began supporting the work of Berry Street through our Melbourne Marathon festival team and we will do so again in 2023. Berry Street is the type of impact-driven organisation we like to support through community fundraising efforts.

What were your team’s highlights and greatest challenges in 2022?

We had 29 participants sign up across all the events at the Melbourne Marathon festival in 2022, which was a record for Vanguard Australia. It was great to see the large team come together, in person, after over 2 years of mostly COVID-enforced solo running! After a couple of years of disruptions to the Melbourne Marathon, getting back into a regular training regime and properly preparing for the event was definitely the hardest part.

What steps do you take to manage the team?

We’ve set up a running community in the Melbourne office to share training plans, information about events and to meet up for lunchtime runs. We have more than 30 runners competing in 2023 across all events, including an amazing 11 people running the full marathon, which is a big increase from previous years.

How did the Melbourne Marathon bring you together as a team?

The Melbourne Marathon festival is one of the cornerstone events for our Vanguard Australia community each year. We subsidise the entry fee for our team in exchange for participants fundraising for Berry Street. This in turn increases awareness of the work of Berry Street with our employees and their networks.

As a team you raised a fantastic $18,709 in 2022. What did you find was the most effective way to raise these funds?

It’s incredibly motivating to fundraise as a team and to see the total of the collective funds raised going up as we approached race day. With Vanguard’s community fundraising efforts centred around early childhood, we are able to focus our efforts on organisations local to us that are making a difference.

Were there any standout efforts from individual team members in 2022?

In 2022, one of our runners ran the Melbourne Marathon after completing another marathon the weekend before. Many of our team were happy just to finish the one race, and the thought of two-in-a-row is definitely impressive!

If you’ve ever thought about competing in the Melbourne Marathon, now is the time to register, before the prices rise on 26 July.