A partnership between energy gel pioneer GU Energy Labs and Strava, the online network connecting the global community of athletes, has raised US$58,683 for the Challenge Athletes Foundation (CAF).
Nearly 70,000 athletes from 156 countries participated in Strava’s CAF Ride & Run for Challenged Athletes. The challenges inspired athletes to use their running and cycling activities to raise money for equipping physically disabled athletes with adaptive sports equipment, including running prosthetics and hand cycles, allowing them to take up or resume an active lifestyle.
During the 21 days of the challenge, the Strava community ran and rode a collective distance of 17.5 million kilometres – or more than 24 trips to the moon and back. GU Energy donated US$0.01 for every kilometre run, and US$0.01 for every three kilometres ridden, by each participant. Additionally, participants who individually ran 50K or rode 300K during the challenge unlocked the ability to purchase a limited edition tee-shirt from Strava. All profit from the sales of the tees were donated to CAF.
“The response from athletes around the world was spectacular,” said GU Energy Vice President of Marketing Adam Chamberlain. “They rose to the occasion and in taking on this challenge proved that they want to help others with challenges of their own.”
Virginia Tinley, Executive Director of CAF, said, “This was an inspiring, global effort by GU and Strava. They’ve proven that the athletic world cares about helping athletes with physical challenges gain access to sports like they have and we’re very grateful.”
“Kudos to Strava’s global community for enthusiastically supporting the mission of the Challenged Athletes Foundation,” said Strava co-founder and CEO Mark Gainey. “We are proud to have partnered with our friends at GU and CAF to enable more individuals to get involved in sports and lead athletic lifestyles.”
The funds delivered to CAF can be used to supply five young athletes with running prostheses, or funding the cost of hand cycles for twelve athletes with spinal cord injuries.
GU Energy and Strava are brands dedicated to an athletic, active lifestyle, and believe that their global audiences can make a difference for athletes facing physical disabilities. Founded in 1994 and based in San Diego, CAF has raised more than US$50 million and provided life-changing support to more than 9,500 athletes.
GU Energy Gel, ‘the original energy gel’, was developed in 1993 in Berkeley, California. To this day, GU notes that it remains ‘the market share leader by a margin of more than two to one, and is still the premium gel available to endurance athletes.’ GU Roctane, Chomps and Brew are designed to provide athletes with scientifically-based, performance-tested nutrition.
Strava is the online network that connects the global community of athletes. Founded in 2009, millions of athletes have joined Strava for the competition and camaraderie found in tracking and sharing their fitness activities. The company’s free mobile apps and website help members discover and plan workouts, record and share activities, and analyze and compare performance.
www.GUenergy.com
www.strava.com
www.challengedathletes.org
