#ChallengeAccepted is in our DNA
Here is one of the most incredible stories from our employees. Last year Chris Leek completed the Enduroman Arch2Arc triathlon challenge from London to Paris. Following Chris' example, our colleague from the Prague office, Reka accepted the challenge to become the 11th women in the world attempting to complete this triathlon competition.
“Since I was a child, I have always wanted to swim across the English Channel. When I learnt about the Enduroman Arch 2 Arc challenge I thought it was the chance to realize my dream. It’s an ultra-distance triathlon race from London to Paris, that includes running from London to Dover, swimming across the English Channel and cycling from Calais to Paris. Only 46 people have completed it, of which only 10 are female.
When I will compete, in August 2020, I will be the first female Hungarian athlete and the youngest challenger! My training is focused on speed, technique and resistance: on weekends I start at 9.00am in the morning and finishing at 6.00pm in the evening. I am also training my mind to stay focused throughout the challenge.
When you train this hard you really need to engage your mind. Working in the IT department in AB InBev allows me to balance a full-time job with my training scheduled. I joined last year, and I was lucky to be able to help building the IT Service Desk in Prague from scratch. It was very challenging, but I learn something new every day by interacting with people from so many countries.
I have faced many challenges in my life, but training helped me get through it. When I am swim training, I think: ‘it has been hard, but now I’m here and I’m doing this!’. This race is now the chance to prove, to myself, to any person or young girl that sees me, that you can beat the odds.
I hope to inspire people with my example.”
Dreaming Big takes us further
Reka travelled from Prague to the UK, and continued to stay smiling and keep training while waiting for the green light to start the Enduroman.
Dreaming Big is in our DNA, and although we don’t always get to where we want to go, it’s in living our ambition that we get further than we ever could have imagined. Unfortunately Reka’s triathlon was cancelled, due to bad weather over the English Channel, preventing the swim crossing, Reka was not able to complete the Eduroman challenge as planned this August. She waited in anticipation for the weather to change, and there were other challenging factors occurring too, such as changes in travel permissions due to COVID-19. We applaud her for all the hours training and prepping, for showing remarkable ambition and resilience, and we look forward to supporting her in any future challenges.