EJR-Quartz has heart and soul and, if last week was anything to go by, muscle and stamina. Alongside the day-to-day of writing, editing, publishing, and promoting, our team members got active for some wonderful personal and social causes.
Road to Noordwijk. Credit: Adrian Suhanea.
Thursday 18 May in the Netherlands was ‘Fiets naar je werk dag’ (Cycle to work day) in support of De Hartstichting (Heart Foundation). Despite colder May temperatures and threatening rain clouds, team members hopped on their bikes (for some as per usual, for others as a healthy challenge). Some cycled well over 30 km return, with breaks in between to enjoy the sights South Holland has to offer.
Emily Baldwin completes the Leiden Marathon 2017! Credit: Emily’s support team 🙂
Sunday 21 May was the annual Leiden Marathon. Science editor Emily Baldwin had been training for months in preparation for the 42 km event. In fact, she has set herself the personal goal of running a race – of any distance – each month this year. With a couple of half marathons and a 30 km race under her belt already, the Leiden event was the first full marathon in her diary.
The prize, besides the immeasurable feeling of accomplishment, the mass endorphins, and free pass to eat everything in sight afterwards, was this year’s astronomy-themed, glow-in-the-dark medal featuring the Leiden Observatory (est. 1633!). Emily sported her EJR-Quartz team shirt during the race and came in at 04:25:51. She also made it to work the next morning. A major round of applause to her.
“It was pretty tough with the heat – I was actually slower than last year’s attempt – so in the end I tried to treat it less as a race and more as a dress rehearsal for my next big running challenges: a downhill marathon in Austria in July, and a 54k ultramarathon here in the Netherlands in September. Hopefully there’ll be more sunny days now to get used to running in warmer conditions again!”
Be sure to follow Emily on her Instagram and Twitter to hear how those races go!
Karina, Zoe, and Erica at Roma Race for the Cure 2017.
Also on Sunday 21 May in Rome, Italy was the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Our managing director Erica Rolfe and editors Zoe Hallington and Karina de Castris joined the ESA ESRIN ‘Flying Roses’ team for the 5K race that took place in Rome’s city centre. This year broke the records with 65 000 participants, including more than 6000 ‘survivors’ in their characteristic pink shirts and caps. Clear skies, exercise, and a great cause meant for a well-spent Sunday.
Congratulations to our team members for being great sports and supporting wonderful causes. Here’s to more exciting challenges in the future.
Enjoy some great photos:
