Adventure Archives - Randox Laboratories

The sun came out for the Wild Atlantic Adventure Race (WAAR) on Saturday 11th May 2019 as brave competitors once again took to the sea and shore to take on the iconic race.

The event started early in the morning with individuals being tasked to complete a 10k run, 42.5k cycle, 2k hike and 1k kayak along one of Ireland’s most beautiful coastlines – the run even featured a stint on the live runway of Donegal airport!

Cheered on by crowds of spectators along the challenging route, over 600 participants battled against eachother to be crowned WAAR winner.

Congratulations to Shaun Stewart who was the first male across the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 5 seconds.

Congratulations to Siobhan Gallagher who was the first female across the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes and 48 seconds.

Dr. Ciaran Richardson, Head of Research & Development at Randox Teoranta in Dungloe, said:

“We are delighted to have partnered with the WAAR event, in our ongoing work to promote positive physical and mental health in the wider Donegal community.

“The race was an outstanding success, and we even had our own Randox Teoranta employees taking part – congratulations to Noel, Donal, Eibhlin, Nadine, Rosemary, Ernest, Michael, Claire, Michelle, Robert and Breid.

“This race is a test of both physical and mental strength. Indeed, in the last number of years at Randox Teoranta we have developed ground-breaking innovations aimed at the diagnosis of a broad spectrum of conditions including kidney disease, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders and stroke.

“As headline sponsor of the Wild Atlantic Adventure Race and on behalf of everyone here at Randox Teoranta, I would like to say a massive congratulations to all WAAR participants, organisers and those who helped in any way on the day – what a fantastic achievement! You should all be very proud of yourselves.”

All the results from WAAR 2019 can be viewed here.

For more information on Randox Teoranta, please contact the Randox PR team at RandoxPR@randox.com or phone (+44) 28 9442 2413.

Randox’s Public Relations Executive, Amy McIlwaine, tells us about her time in New York State, working in Camp Wakonda (Homes for the Homeless)

We’re celebrating the bright and vibrant lives of Randox employees, and the way in which these inspiring individuals have helped to make Randox as great as it is today. Stay up to date with the #WeAreRandox hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to hear more stories.

We were discussing our most inspiring moments with Amy McIlwaine, Public Relations Executive of Randox Laboratories, this week. She told us a story of her time volunteering with children in New York State that we knew we had to share! We hope her story inspires you as much as it did us:
Here is Amy’s story:

“During my years at school and at University I worked as a part-time lifeguard in a local pool. I’ve always been quite ambitious, so, when the time came to graduate and I decided to do some overseas work, I applied to be Waterfront Director at a camp in New York State, called Camp Wakonda.

When I say the words ‘Summer camp’ to people they usually picture expensive facilities with music suites, maybe some horse stables and jet-skis, with a love-able rogue Joe Jonas lookalike thrown in for good measure, but Camp Wakonda wasn’t quite like that!

Camp Wakonda is a Summer camp that is run by the Homes for the Homeless organisation, and accepts children between 6 and 10 years old who are homeless and living in New York shelters.

The camp has limited resources, cabins with no electricity, and various (sometimes) friendly camp companions such as bears, chipmunks and rattlesnakes (we were in the middle of the woods). Children came to camp with very few belongings – sometimes even without a decent pair of shoes. But in spite of all that, it’s one of my favourite places on this earth. Being free from the stresses of everyday life (mind you, working with 90 children at a time brings a different kind of stress!) is wonderfully liberating and living in the middle of nature brings a certain serenity.

Although we had such limited resources, we had the time of our lives! You learn to be really creative – we had themed days throughout the summer like a Harry Potter banquet, a ‘Fairytales of Wakonda’ pantomime, and even Christmas on the 25^th July! That one was probably my favourite – some of the children had never had a real Christmas before. I’m happy to admit that I welled up when I saw how incredibly excited they were at receiving just one small gift.”

Smiling from ear-to-ear, Amy went on to highlight the importance of the camp she worked in, in offering homeless children from New York the opportunity to just enjoy being kids, and how this inspired her:

“The spirit of the children, and the counsellors, at Camp Wakonda is something that I had not come across before, and have not come across since. For children who have had such a difficult upbringing, they came to camp with the biggest smiles on their faces, and the smallest things like three hot meals a day meant the world to them. It was great to see them free from the stresses of their unfortunate circumstances. For me, as their swimming teacher, nothing made me smile more than when a child came running up to me shouting ‘Miss Amy, I learned how to float today!’ or when a camper who had been so scared of the water finally got in and had a beaming smile from ear-to-ear when I handed them a swimming certificate. Many of the children had never left the city, and so had never experienced some of the things that we take for granted – like being able to see the stars in the sky at night.

I lived and worked in Wakonda for three months during 2014, and went back again in 2015, as Unit Leader of the older girl’s unit. I was responsible for counselor training, and the welfare of both the girl campers and the female counselors. When you’re practically working 24/7 for three months, the children become your entire life – everything that you do is with their needs in mind. Because of this, the children are so grateful of the time and attention that the counselors give them.

The work that Homes for the Homeless does for those kids is amazing, it really makes a difference to their lives, and I’m so glad that I have been part of it.”

Find out more about Camp Wakonda in this NY 1 News coverage video, here.

Randox wouldn’t be the innovative and caring healthcare company it is today without the hard work of young people with fresh perspectives and world experience like Amy – so we’re delighted that she has brought her enthusiasm to our team! We hope her story inspired you to take part in your community through volunteering. For us, we never stop. We’re helping to improve healthcare and diagnostics through consistent hard work, because for us, this means saving lives.

If you’re looking for a career in Business, Science or Engineering, let Randox be the next step in your adventure!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or stay up-to-date with the hashtag #WeAreRandox. Visit our website to view our careers opportunities at Randox Laboratories.