The university run has seen unprecedented interest from students and the public. Participants ran or walked an incredible 23,247,650 steps altogether! Donation to charity will help disadvantaged children with their education
The participants of the UHK USO Challenge 2021 with BATIST Medical managed to conquer the target of 5,000,000 steps on Tuesday, 4 May, just one day after the start of the event. And with five days still to go, it was clear that the final number would overcome all initial expectations. There were 16 runners who collected the maximum number of steps (210,000).
With that number of steps (23,247,650) we could have run almost anywhere on Earth, even New Zeland, as the crow flies of course. "First of all, we are happy that we managed to run or walk the necessary number of steps to meet the charitable goal of our event, thank you very much to everyone involved," comments the result of the week-long effort the Rector of the University of Hradec Králové Kamil Kuča. Thanks to BATIST Medical from Červený Kostelec that donated CZK 50,000 to the Diocesan Caritas Hradec Králové. The charity challenge took place from 3 to 9 May 2021.
Best runners:
- Martin Vavřena - 261450 steps
- Libor Klempíř - 250639 steps
- Markéta Čížková - 242656 steps
- Libuše Svobodová - 232525 steps
- Martina Kepková - 228754 steps
- Zuzana Kroulíková - 227712 steps
- Jan Kříž - 223025 steps
639 people were involved in the challenge. Every one of them collected steps with the Pacer app, and the enthusiasm of the participants resulted in exceeding the target of 5,000,000 steps the very next day. On the other days, participants competed with their performances to win UHK merchandise. "We only regret that we cannot reward everyone involved, but hopefully at least the knowledge that we have helped families in need will serve as a moral reward," said UHK Rector Kuča.
"The value of taking care of those in need is very high on the priority list at BATIST Medical."
Due to the pandemic situation, the award ceremony remained online. Representatives of the university, BATIST Medical and the Diocesan Caritas Hradec Králové met in a virtual environment and the cheque handover had to be a bit improvised as well. "The value of taking care of those in need is very high on the priority list at BATIST Medical. That's why I'm glad we could be part of this event. I believe that the money donated to the charity will help where it is supposed to, i.e. single parent. We will be delighted to be invited to similar events in the future," says Tomáš Mertlík, the manager of BATIST Medical in East Bohemia, who also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Hradec Králové and is one of the most successful Czech businessmen according to Forbes magazine.
"Thanks to this donation, we can help incomplete families purchase basic school supplies for their children."
At the online meeting with representatives of all three institutions, Aneta Maclová, director of the Diocesan Charity Hradec Králové, also reminded that the long-term cooperation was already evident last year, when university students produced protective shields for the charity's staff on 3D printers. "We appreciate all acts of mercy and compassion for those who have been less fortunate in life and we humbly accept the gift," said Vojtěch Šůstek, director of the Hradec Králové Regional Charity. "Thanks to this donation, we can help single parent families to purchase basic school supplies for their children, or to buy medicine that some sick children do not have enough due to their difficult financial situation," concludes Zdeňka Koutníková, the head of the Home for Mothers with Children.
