say 150-mile “run of misery” across the Gobi Desert will test their limits, march them closer to their customers. By Robin Dalmas
MSW Senior Editor 2,
office Home And Business 32bit key, 2008 masochist’s dream starts June 8. That’s when employees Orlando Ayala, Debby Fry Wilson, and William Calarese will begin an epic 150-mile (241.4-km) foot race across the Gobi Desert, a grueling rite of passage journey from Gazi to Upal in China’s Xinjiang Province. It’s called the Gobi March, and it’s built for pain. The Gobi will punish them with 40°F (4.4°C) nights and 100°F (37.8°C) days. Its 10,000-foot (3,048-meter) mountain passes will squeeze their lungs. Sudden sandstorms could choke their oxygen supply, blow away their tents, and render the course invisible. And there are no bathrooms. pretty much a comfort-free activity,” said Debby Fry Wilson,
cheap office 2007 Standard, team captain. Hardship, as it turns out, is the point. The brutal race will march them straight into the communities they serve as members of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential (UP) Group. This global initiative aims to bridge the digital divide and bring technology to hundreds of millions of rural citizens. Ayala is the UP’s senior vice president, Fry Wilson is its senior director of marketing communications, and Calarese is its director of international public relations. doing the race,
office pro 32bit, we can experience the culture in that part of the world in a very personal way,” Fry Wilson said. “It will affect our hearts and make us more dedicated to the work we do at Microsoft.” Microsoft’s Team UP, which began training eight months ago, also will raise money for Save the Children. Most of those funds will go to victims of the recent natural disasters in China and Myanmar. shoes hit sand, the team will travel to western China to conduct official business. On June 5, they visit Urumqi to donate two InfoWagons, or high-tech buses that serve as computer training centers on wheels for farmers and villagers throughout China. On June 6, the team will travel to Kashgar to open a “Partners in Learning” school, the first of its kind in western China. The school will offer technology, curriculum guidance, and teacher training. June 8, when the sun rises on the fourth largest desert in the world,
office pro 32 bit key, they will put away their blue badges and pull on their racing bibs. Ayala knows he’s in for a beating, and he’s getting mentally prepared. “I was reading a quote from Lance Armstrong that blew me away,” Ayala said. “‘Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside, and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.’ I’m sure in those seven days, there will be moments like that. I’ll remind myself of Armstrong’s quote. All the greatness in life comes from persistence.” greatness that comes from a corporate title, however, will get sandblasted. “We will have to let go of who we are at Microsoft,” Fry Wilson said. “We have a work hierarchy, but it doesn’t work out in the field when you’re trying to do something as grueling as this race. We have to work as equal team members.” Ayala, senior vice president, becomes contestant number seven and gets to sleep in a tent with his two teammates and seven perfect strangers. Did we mention there are no showers? other Microsoft UP Group employees will share sweat detail. Josh Nash, executive communication manager; Camilla Buttery, senior strategy manager; and Roxanne Seubert, international project manager, signed up to be volunteers. They will help set up camp, man checkpoints, distribute water, and “sweep the course,” or walk with the end of the pack in each stage and collect markers. And they will root the winners on to victory. volunteers will sweat just as much as the runners. “Some of them will run the race because they are encouraging and supporting,” Calarese said. Nash, Buttery, and Seubert also will have an incredible opportunity to experience village life firsthand in this remote part of China. Furthermore, their work on the overall infrastructure of the race will directly contribute to the local economy. place in the Gobi March earns a trophy. If Microsoft's Team UP finishes the grueling race, Ayala, Fry Wilson, and Calarese will each win a finisher’s medal. They face stiff competition. “There will be some of the world’s greatest ultra runners in this race,” Fry Wilson said. “There will be great athletic achievements in this race.” great athletic achievements will not occur on our team,” Ayala quipped. just wants to be there and hopefully finish. “By doing this,
office Pro 2007 sale, we develop a new appreciation for survivors all around the world and a heightened level of empathy for the challenges that people face in different parts of the world,” Fry Wilson said. team daily on the Gobi March Live Spaces site. Go to the Save the Children Web site to help the team raise money for the victims of recent disasters in China and Myanmar.
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