Hundreds of onlookers, volunteers and Lycra-clad industry moguls from across Sydney and beyond braved wind, rain and early mornings for the annual AdNews Challenge yesterday (Sunday).
The event, held at the Clifton Gardens Reserve in Mosman, is not for the faint-hearted involving a 2km kyak, a 6km run and 1km swim and – in a new twist – a 1km stand up paddleboard. While most challenge participants braved the course in teams of four, 13 individuals completed it solo.
Seasoned pros and newbies both took the challenge head on, with those from the likes of Holler, Multi Channel Network (MCN), Whybin\TBWA, Adshel, News Corp and MEC battling it out.
Event organiser and AdNews publisher James Yaffa said: “The AdNews Challenge is a great reflection of the amazing people that make up our industry. It is a challenge of fitness, endurance, skill and mental toughness.
“It is great to see individuals and teams working so hard to be the best they can be. You can see the determination on there faces striving to get one up on there rivals - and many did just that.”
The event was packed with entrants from across the industry, and also featured kids' events, ESPN DIGITAL coffee and juice bar, Rocket Fuel massage tables, plenty of bacon and egg rolls and cupcakes courtesy of Atomic212, and water, protein bars and bananas from Videology.
The best mixed team went to MCN with M&C Saatchi coming in as the runner up.
Best individual female went to Donna Murchinson from TubeMogul which is the second time in a row Murchinson has picked up the trophy. Best individual male went to Dave Matthews from Whybin\TBWA.
The best female team went to Adshel and the best male team was won by fitness coaches, the Sandhill Warriors.
Money raised from teams goes to UnLtd, a not-for-profit foundation representing the media, marketing and advertising industry.
To prepare for the challenge, teams took part in regular training with ESPN Digital at Surry Hills.
Teams from the AdNews challenge got busy raising cash for charity in other ways last week too.
On 9 November Fairfax's team donned their aprons in the Great Fairfax Bake Off, generating $550 from the sale of over 200 slices of baked goodness. Add that to other fundraising efforts around the event and a total of $3,000 was expected to be raised for UnLtd.
Participant Eliza Mann won prizes and praise for her entry, the “Tea party cake”, which pulled in a win in both the “showstopper” and “technical” categories. Kathleen Vrinat won in the “signature” category for her white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake.
Judge Ardyn Bemoth, editor with Good Food magazine, said: “There was cakes, slices and loaves from one end of the Fairfax kitchen to the other - all of them were impressive, some of them should prompt their makers to think about a career in food!"
This year's major sponsor of the Challenge was ESPN DIGITAL. Supporting sponsors are Alto LandRover, Amobee, Fairfax Media, Mindshare, Rocket Fuel, Seven West Media, Videology. Associate sponsors are Atomic 212, GSP Print, Starcom Mediavest Group and Lavender.
The event is held to not only raise money but encourage team work and time out from the office.
Created with flickr slideshow.
See the full list of winners below:
Best creative agency team:
Winner: Holler
Runner Up: M&C Saatchi
Best media buyer team:
Winner: Starcom Mediavest Group
Runner Up: MEC
Best media company team:
Winner: News Corp Australia
Runner Up: Multi Channel Network
Best industry supplier team:
Winner: Team Google
Runner Up: RadiumOne
Best non-industry supplier team:
Winner: Sandhill Warriors
Runner Up: Sydney Grammar
Best mixed team:
Winner: Multi Channel Network
Runner Up: M&C Saatchi
Best male team:
Winner: Sandhill Warriors
Runner Up: Sydney Grammar
Best female team:
Winner: Adshel
Runner Up: Fairfax Media
Best male individual:
Winner: Dave Matthews, Whybin\TBWA
Runner Up: Tom Mort, M&C Saatchi
Best female individual:
Winner: Donna Murchison, TubeMogul
Runner Up: n/a
Best kayak male:
Winner: Tom Mort, M&C Saatchi
Runner Up: Nathan Shakespeare, News Corp Australia
Best kayak female:
Winner: Zoe Bradley, The Works
Runner Up: Fiona Clark, Fairfax Media
Best run male:
Winner: Dave Matthews, Whybin\TBWA
Runner Up: Charlie Dalziel, Sandhill Warriors
Best run female:
Winner: Madelaine Berry, M&C Saatchi
Runner Up: Christelle Cubizolles, MEC
Best swim male:
Winner: Dave Matthews, Whybin\TBWA
Runner Up: Trent Ellis, Holler Australia
Best swim female:
Winner: Madeline Rosenthal, Mindshare
Runner Up: Emily Young, Multi Channel Network
Best stand up paddle male:
Winner: Dan Hitchcock, Holler
Runner Up: Ben Derwent, Sandhill Warriors
Best stand up paddle female:
Winner: Hannah Owen, Adstream
Runner Up: Lara Biggs, M&C Saatchi
For a list of times for individuals, teams and kids, click the images below:
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