Stepathlon 2014 launched with participation of over 5000 Tata Steel employees

Jamshedpur, August 31: Stepathlon 2014 �The race and a �virtual world� that is creating a global health revolution amongst corporate professionals has been officially launched.

On Sunday (Aug 31) morning, the Jubilee Park in Jamshedpur was painted blue with over 2870 Tata Steel employees sporting the Stepathlon pedometer and cap to mark their commitment towards staying fit. Led by T.V. Narendran, MD Tata Steel, the team walked 10,000 steps to kick off this event which enters its third year.

The Leadership Walk was replicated across 12 other cities, with leaders at these cities inspiring the employees. The Kolkata contingent of Tata Steel with over 320 employees was led by Peeyush Gupta, Vice President � Steel, Marketing & Sales, while 227 Tata Steel employees at Tarapur were led by Sameer P Gupte, Chief – CRCW. The other cities where the Tata Steel leadership walk was conducted included Mumbai, Delhi, Jharia, Noamundi, West Bokaro, Gopalpur, Joda, Sukinda and Bamnipal.

The KPO business unit of Tata Steel also participated in the event with its 284 employees being led by Rajesh Jha, Vice President � Engineering, KPO. In all, 5045 Tata Steel employees from across the country are participating in Stepathlon 2014.

We are extremely delighted to kick off our third edition of Stepathlon with the leadership walk at Tata Steel, said Ravi Krishnan, CEO, Stepathlon. �This walk will surelyencourage many corporates to conduct similar events to motivate employees to derive maximum benefit from participation.�

Speaking on the occasion, T.V. Narendran, MD Tata Steel, stated, �Tata Steel takes pride in imbibing the culture of corporate fitness to achieve a greater goal. A goal, that not only focuses on the prosperity of the company, but also focuses on the well-being of our employees. We are positive that this will have a great impact on our organisation.�

�Studies have shown that more than half of all employees say they feel disengaged at work: organisations that value their employees are the ones that will invest in their employee�s well-being. We at Tata Steel believe that Stepathlon motivates our employees to be healthier, happier and fitter. We are happy to be a part of The Movement for Movement again in 2014�, said Suresh Tripathi, Vice President, Human Resources Management.

�We witnessed each team member making an effort to contribute in 2013, because nobody wants to let their team down. Additionally a predominately sedentary lifestyle is resulting in high levels of stress, physical illness and low levels of productivity. Stepathlon is the solution to this, for us as a company,� Kulvin Suri, Chief, Corporate Communications.

Both the online and mobile platforms of Stepathlon provide an engaging and interactive interface for the growing community of Stepathletes. It allows participants to access relevant information regarding nutrition, health and well-being through expert resources, interesting apps and much more.

In its 3rd year, Stepathlon has seen a large number of companies sign up, many also them returning after achieving great results in the previous editions. This year Stepathlon will provide a 12 month program that aims to create a healthy sustainable lifestyle.