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Inmarsat staff take on sporting challenge for Team Rubicon

Inmarsat’s Damian Lewis supporting Team Rubicon’s efforts on the British Virgin Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma

Inmarsat colleagues are to set to launch into a whole year of sporting challenges in support of disaster relief charity Team Rubicon.

From family fun runs to extreme events like the Marathon des Sables, the year-long campaign aims to raise £70,000 for Team Rubicon, which unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams in the UK and around the world.

Inmarsat already supports the organisation by providing emergency satellite communications equipment and connectivity for longer-term reconstruction projects. Over 30 members of staff have offered their personal support through Inmarsat’s volunteering scheme, signing up as Greyshirts to help deliver humanitarian relief wherever it is needed.

Hurricane aid

Among them is Damian Lewis, European Regional Sales Manager for Inmarsat Global Government, who was part of the Team Rubicon team deployed to the British Virgin Islands last October in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. He helped set up our satellite communications equipment, made repairs to damaged buildings and distributed aid.

What he experienced made him determined to do even more for the charity. He explained: “Disasters are brief and sudden events but their impact is lasting and relentless. Survivors endure the hardest day of their life and then they get up and start working to recover and rebuild. Responders expend their emotional and physical energy day after day, enduring the harshest elements of the aftermath to help and comfort those affected.

Inmarsat's Damian Lewis Training for Team Rubicon

“To gain a personal sense of what it feels like to be broken and then keep going, and to raise awareness of the fact that’s what survivors and responders of disasters do all the time, I decided to undertake a 12 month endurance campaign, Running for Rubicon.”

Ultra marathons

Damian will face three solo challenges – a marathon in the Sierra Nevada at the height of summer, a 165km ultra marathon in the Oman Desert and finally the Marathon des Sables, a 250km race in the Sahara desert in April 2019.

There will also be less extreme events for colleagues and our partners to take part in, starting with a Tough Mudder obstacle race in London on 5 May.

Andy Start, President of Inmarsat Global Government, said: “I’m really proud of what Inmarsat does with and for Team Rubicon. Running for Rubicon is a fantastic way for all of the company to get involved in helping to fund and support this amazing organisation.”