PIM Women´s Challenge

The PIM Women´s Challenge is a new project for the 2010 season that is directed at women of all ages and fitness levels and is part of PIM´s ongoing commitment to encourage people to incorporate running into their daily life.  The Challenge is open to any woman, whether based in the Czech Republic or elsewhere, and is built on two levels:

· Level 1 – Register, train and run: anyone can enter and be part of the PIM women´s community. There is no competition. The PIM Women´s Challenge is aimed at giving a goal and a sense of belonging to all women who want to do something good for their health, body and soul. By registering to take part in one of the PIM races that form part of the PIM Women´s Challenge, the preparation for the race, and the taking part itself, will give all those that enter the assistance and motivation to get started, and, finally, the enormous sense of achievement that completing the challenge will bring.

· Level 2 – Share your experiences and win the Challenge: register and have the chance of being selected to take part in a very special contest. A specially constituted Committee will choose a number of women (based on the overall number of entries, but likely to be between 8 and 10) whose stories we will follow through the maintenance of a diary, the carrying out of interviews, ongoing follow-up and more.  These women will be followed by a coaching team and take part in a contest that will be based partly on their fitness improvement and also on their perseverance in writing and their overall popularity.

Which races form part of the PIM Women´s Challenge?

· Hervis Prague Half Marathon – Saturday 27 March 2010
– as individual (1x 21.0975km)
– as team (4x 21.0975km)
– as relay (3x 5km + 1x 6.097km)
· Volkswagen Prague Marathon – Sunday 9 May 2010
– as individual (1x 42.195km)
– as team (4x 42.195km)
– as relay (3x 10km + 1x 12.195km)

Who is eligible for the PIM Women´s Challenge?

· Level 1 – anyone can enter the PIM Women´s Challenge, irrespective of age, occupation, fitness level and residence.
· Level 2 – for the 2010 season only, residents of the Czech Republic can register (but you do not have to be Czech). The participant should be able to be followed by our coaching team.

How will we choose the women to follow?

· The reasons why they are taking part and their motivation
· Their age
· Their occupation
· Whether they have children
· Their fitness level
· Whether they have ever run in an event before

For the selected women to follow (level 2):

The selected women will have the chance to take part in many special activities around their preparation, both during and after their chosen race.  The PIM Women´s Challenge represents a unique opportunity to meet like-minded people and to set and achieve new goals. 
PIM will follow these women from the start of their training regime to the successful completion of their chosen race and will help with their training, cover their stories and award prizes to those that meet with a number of criteria along the way.

– Their own personal training diary
– Interviews with runners during stages of their training
– Photographs of the runners training
– Interviews after the race
– Follow-up during the summer – what are they doing now?

What do we offer?

· Level 1 – on registration for one of the races in the PIM Women´s Challenge, all women will receive:
– A special training plan designed by our coach and posted on the PIM website
– Regular emails from our coach advising on workouts for the period ahead, and answering training, nutrition and health questions
– Receipt of the PIM newsletter
– Special PIM Women´s Challenge start number
– Special PIM Women´s Challenge T-shirt
– Special start bag

· Level 2 – the selected women will receive all of the above plus:
– Free race entry
– Fitness tests after selection and on a regular basis during their preparation, and before and after the race
– Free entry to spa
– Regular training sessions specifically for women with our coaching team
– Adidas outfit
– Access to the VIP area near the start and finishing line on race day
– Race briefing from our coaching team
– Free post-race massage
– Free race photos for free

PIM Women´s Challenge – Awards

· Award for the biggest improvement
– Election by the Committee together with the coaching team
– Based on a number of criteria, including weight lost, reduced heart rate, improved skin and appearance, gain in confidence etc.
– Each woman will be given a personal goal, based on her overall fitness level and personal situation. The award will be attributed according to the level of achievement of the individual´s personal goal.
· Award for the most popular woman
– Election through our fans on our website and Facebook
– Based on a number of criteria, such as most interesting life story, most interesting articles and reports etc.

How do you register?

· Level 1 – You can register online at www.praguemarathon.com. Go to the registration form for one of the races listed in the PIM Running Circuit (those eligible as above), and activate the button to be part of the PIM Women´s Challenge.
· Level 2 – You can register online at www.praguemarathon.com. Fill in the specific form for the section covering the women to be followed (level 2)

Deadline for registration

· Level 1 – from 1st December 2009 until 2 weeks before the race day
· Level 2 – from 1st December 2009 until 18th December 2009. The announcement of the selected women to be followed will be made by 23rd December 2009. The selected women are automatically registered for one of the races. The non-selected women will still have to register for one of the races through the normal channels.

Miscellaneous

· There will be no special ranking for the PIM Women´s Challenge as there is no time competition. The women taking part in the PIM Women´s Challenge will be listed in the normal ranking lists.
· There will be a specially dedicated booth at the Sport Expo with information about the PIM Women´s Challenge as well as special offers and activities from our partners.