Fit by design

OIC/briarpatch employees who walk regularly on their lunch hour include (left to right) Kelly Hagan, Heidi Gould, Kelly Adams, Laura Marr, Ken Gibson and Mary McGraw.

Eight of the 10 employees of OIC/briarpatch will compete in Saturday’s Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k. And the other two probably will be on the sidelines for support.

It’s no fluke that this small graphic design and advertising firm will be so well-represented at the popular running event. At OIC/briarpatch, the focus on fitness comes from the top.

Kelly Adams, a managing partner who likes to run, set up a wellness program this year that awards points to employees for taking care of themselves. Points are tallied up and rewarded with prizes.

Employees don’t necessarily have to participate in the 10k to get points. Not everyone’s up for the six-mile-plus trek. “Even if you show up that day, you get points,” Adams said.

Apparently, other companies are putting increased emphasis on physical activity as well.

“There are more teams this year than ever before,” said Scott Schricker, marketing director for the Richmond Sports Backers, which organizes the 10k. This year, a record number of runners - 14,000 - have signed up for the race, as well as a record number of teams - 63.

Teams are not necessarily corporate. The Richmond SEAL training program, for instance, usually enters at least a couple of teams.

A team is made up of five people. There are three team awards, which are presented according to average time for all five runners, Schricker said.

“This is the biggest wellness event in the area,” he said. Obviously, it’s getting noticed within the offices and cubicles of Richmond’s workplaces.

At OIC/briarpatch, employees leave the building every day for lunchtime walks and runs, training for the 10k. Management applauds such behavior.

“When you’re outside the office, you get to know somebody so much better than when you’re in the office,” Adams said. Those lunchtime exercise sessions lead to better communication and smoother operations within the company, she said.

That’s just one plus to the wellness program she began in January, when OIC and briarpatch merged.

Under the “Wellness University” program, individuals earn points for exercising, going to annual doctor checkups, taking vitamins, skipping a daily java jolt, avoiding the urge to light up a cigarette, volunteering at school, filling up recycle bins - just about anything that constitutes a conscientious effort to improve yourself or the world.

The rewards are tangible. Racking up 200 points, which typically takes several months, earns a $30 to $40 prize or gift certificate. Racking up 500 points, which could easily take a year, earns a $125 prize.

The contest has prompted loads of encouragement within the office, Adams said, which has enabled employees to lose weight, get more fit and cut back on bad habits.

Money spent on promoting health - such as the cost of prizes and registration fees for this weekend’s 10k - are investments for the future, Adams said.

“I don’t see [this program] saving us anything now, but I see it saving us in the long run.”
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Maria Howard is a group exercise instructor for the YMCA of Greater Richmond. Contact her at or c/o Balance, Richmond Times-Dispatch, P.O. Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293.

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