The TCS Run Club gets ready for TCS Lidingöloppet

Running is about solitude and peace, but also about passion and company.

ShrutiPs shows up early in her running gear. She doesn’t look like she’s just ended a long workday – the TCS Lidingöloppet-logo on her black t-shirt, the runner's energy pumping through her legs.

She started at the TCS Stockholm office as a developer only a month ago, and two days later she joined the TCS Run Club. And even though she has experienced one of Stockholm’s coldest Mays in years, she is ready to go. The wind bites and the rain trickles, but Shruti is all smiles.

“I love nature and I love company. I started running in my small hometown in India, which is full of beautiful nature. When you run you can feel solitude and peace, but also meet new people with the same passion as you,” she says.

INSPIRATION AND FUN

Employees at TCS come from various backgrounds so it is a way to come together outside office hours.

Andreas Hjalmarsson, Business Development Manager at TCS, started the TCS Run Club in 2024. Members meet every other week to run together and prepare for the TCS Lidingöloppet 2025. Andreas “got hooked on physical challenges and experiences” around 2018 and started running, swimming and cycling. He developed new habits, joined a club, met new friends and discovered a whole new lifestyle.

He had a dream of running the Iron Man in Kalmar, Sweden. He signed up for the triathlon in 2020 and when the pandemic cancelled the race, he did what any normal running maniac would do – he created his own one man-Iron Man-race. He got some friends to help him with the control stations and he completed a whole triathlon by himself in his home town Upplands Väsby, just north of Stockholm. Since then he has done a few Iron Mans and swimruns, including the Ötillö (Island to island) – the swimrun world championship.
So, he sounds like a ball-busting run club-leader. Is he?

“The focus of the run club is to have fun. At TCS, we come from various backgrounds so it is a way to come together outside office hours. That is the most important thing. Also, TCS believes in health and wellbeing as an engine for positive change in society and business which is why we sponsor marathons all over the world. This is another reason why we want to inspire our workplace and colleagues to run. And, we want to prepare for the TCS Lidingöloppet together,” says Andreas Hjalmarsson.

CREATING HABITS

Intervals in a beautiful park in the middle of Stockholm, helps create good habits.

The TCS Run Club sometimes meets at lunch and discusses running. When they run they leave together for Humlegården, a green and lush park in the middle of Stockholm where people once grew hops for brewing beer. Behind the towering National Library of Sweden and under the gaze of a statue of Carl Von Linné, they focus on building strength, technique and stamina. For about 45 minutes.

“It’s a great place. It has just the right amount of space, so that everyone can stick together and inspire each other and you don't just see the backs of people far ahead. We often do intervals on a small circular footpath where you can set your own pace, but also challenge yourself. All this helps us create good habits. It is easier to become a better runner when you set goals together with others,” says Andreas.

FOR THE LONG RUN

To go from potential to performance, you have to be in it for the long run.

TCS’ HR department is strongly represented in the club. HR Generalist Maximilian Fuchs just started running this year:

“It’s nice to have a community, especially as I am new at running and don’t really know how to yet. And it is so much fun doing it with your colleagues and friends. I am really looking forward to the challenge of the TCS Lidinglöppet.”

Jenny Anderson, HR manager Sweden, and Sandeep Halkara, HR Business Partner- are both training for their third Lidingölopp:

“Running has always been a part of my family. As a kid I used to watch my father run races. I run to get out in nature and clear my head. Doing it together, the community, and sharing tips ahead of the TCS Lidingöloppet is great,” Jenny says.

“This club lets everyone get better and increase our endurance at our own pace. It will be fun running the TCS Lidingöloppet with my colleagues in the nice environment outside the city. I hate the hills, but it is fun when you complete the race,” Sandeep says.

Abijith Unnikrishnan,IT Support Technicianat TCS, says the club helps him get out of his comfort zone:

“It helps me both mentally and physically to run together with my colleagues. I have run a few marathons and the cheering from the crowd always gets me going. It makes me perform better,” Abijithsays.

Andreas Hjalmarsson sees many gains from running with colleagues. Business and running have a lot in common:

“In business, as in running, you have to be persistent and have endurance to complete projects and build strong partnerships. To go from potential to performance, you have to be in it for the long run.”