Empowering Runners in Africa- The Braveheart Story with Alistair Davison
Discover Alistair's transformative journey from former CFO of IKEA Group and Tetra Pak to the founder of Braveheart Coaching, dedicated to empowering African runners. This episode reveals how his passion for running and vision for social change are making impactful strides in communities in Africa.
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Empowering Runners in Africa - The Braveheart Story
Episode Summary:
In episode 234 of the Jens Heitland Show, titled "Empowering Runners in Africa - The Braveheart Story," we're introduced to an inspiring narrative featuring Alistair Davidson, the founder of Braveheart Coaching. This episode is not merely a chronicle of Alistair's personal journey into running but unfolds as a significant mission aimed at empowering and transforming lives in the African running community. Alistair's extensive background, as former CFO roles at the IKEA Group and Tetra Pak, provides a unique lens through which he views and approaches the world of athletics and philanthropy.
A Late Start with Lasting Impact
Alistair's venture into the world of running was sparked at the age of 50, driven by a dual motive: to challenge himself and to support a cause deeply meaningful to him. He embarked on this journey by participating in the London Marathon, a decision motivated by a personal connection to children battling leukemia. Despite facing physical challenges post-marathon, this experience marked the beginning of Alistair's enduring commitment to running, not just for health but as a medium for change.
Beyond Personal Achievement
The narrative takes a compelling turn as Alistair explores the vibrant running community in Iten, Kenya, known as the "Home of Champions." This eye-opening experience in Iten, coupled with the stark realities faced by local athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, ignited Alistair’s resolve to leverage running as a tool for broader societal empowerment.
The Genesis of Braveheart Coaching
Motivated by the struggles and potential of Kenyan runners, Alistair established Braveheart Coaching. This initiative transcends the conventional boundaries of athletic coaching, focusing on comprehensive support and finances for runners. Through projects like Braveheart Runners, Akili Heart, and Nezima Heart, Braveheart Coaching is dedicated to nurturing talent and providing a foundation for sustainable success and community upliftment.
Empowerment at the Core
Central to Alistair's mission is the empowerment of African women, men and young athletes, recognizing the unique barriers they face in the realm of professional running. Braveheart Coaching is committed to not just developing athletic prowess but also ensuring educational and personal growth, enabling these athletes to become agents of change within their communities.
The Transformative Journey of Running
Alistair's work with Braveheart Coaching embodies the transformative essence of running. It's a testament to how sports can transcend physical boundaries to become a catalyst for social change, community development, and individual empowerment. Alistair's initiatives are redefining the narrative around African runners, portraying them as empowered individuals capable of making significant contributions to society.
Envisioning the Future
Looking forward, Alistair envisions a future where running is celebrated not only as a sport but as a powerful tool for empowerment, especially in Africa. He aspires for Braveheart Coaching to be recognized for its heart and its profound impact on lives. Alistair's invitation, "Come, join us, the best is still to come," is more than a call to support Braveheart Coaching; it's an appeal for collective action towards recognizing and nurturing the potential of African athletes.
Timecode:
00:00 Introduction to Braveheart Runners
00:21 The Journey into Running
01:42 Training Regime and Running Philosophy
03:21 Running in Switzerland and Kenya
06:37 The Birth of Braveheart Runners
07:50 The Impact of Braveheart Runners
09:50 The Future of Braveheart Runners
12:48 The Role of Sponsors in Braveheart Runners
15:35 The Success Stories of Braveheart Runners
19:04 The Future of Running and Braveheart's Vision
25:06 Conclusion: The Best is Still to Come
Guest Links:
Alistair on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-davidson-0137031/
Braveheart on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/braveheart.runners
Braveheart Website - Coming soon: https://www.braveheartrunners.com/
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Transcript:
(This Transcript is AI generated)
[00:00:00] Alistair: So what we're doing is that we provide a roof. We provide food.
We provide a place that their children can be in. We help them with the school fees for the children when that's the case. We give them coaching.
And we hope that within that 12 month period, they can actually become, Kenyan commercial runners, either again or for the first time.
[00:00:21] Jens Heitland Podcast: How did you get into
[00:00:22] Alistair: running? I think I've always had running in me, but I really only started running when I turned 50. That's interesting. I decided with a friend to, do the London marathon as a silly challenge, uh, really. Yeah.
But it was also because I was the godfather of the friend's son, and the son had leukemia and had recovered from it. So we ran for, uh, children with leukemia, and did the London marathon.
[00:00:46] Jens Heitland Podcast: And you didn't run before and you just started running a marathon, or did you train properly? How did it all start?
[00:00:52] Alistair: So for that marathon.
I thought I had trained properly because I gave myself, uh, 3 months to get ready. Oh. Um, and, [00:01:00] uh, I ran a good time 3:33. So that's, you know, for the first time I'm at 50, it was it was, uh, pretty good.
Yeah. But I got injured at the end because, um, my body wasn't strong enough, and, uh, my back went to PC's about 2, 3 weeks, uh, later.
so, you know, when I turned 50 and then, you know, I was probably getting a bit too fond of my glass of wine, putting on a bit of weight, uh, not doing enough exercise, and getting into running kind of gave me an opportunity to choose to change my life. And I tried to build on that and try to keep my marathon, half marathon, uh, running going while I was working.
And then later on I, uh, made it into my life.
[00:01:42] Jens Heitland Podcast: Yeah. How does a training regime, like, a week look for you in a moment?
[00:01:46] Alistair: What I try to do is, get 60 kilometers, a week, and I try to get 2, uh, fitness sessions in, one with the coach. That's a tough session. Yeah.
And then another one that I can do myself at home. That's the [00:02:00] basis. When when you get a bit older, your body can only take so much. So avoiding injury is the number one priority because as soon as you get injured, um, you lose the benefit of what you've done in the past and it takes a lot of time to get going again.
Yeah.
[00:02:13] Jens Heitland Podcast: What does running represent for you as a person?
[00:02:16] Alistair: So I think running, in general is really, really good for, mental health. Um, I think it's good for your physical well-being. And, you know, the combination of those 2 just make me feel that, um, I'm in a better place. I'm probably a better person. It also helps me to, uh, think about what I eat, what I drink, um, how much sleep I get.
And I I think that I have, uh, much fewer mood swings now that I kind of get into a permanent mode of always paying attention to try to keep my, uh, health and running, going in a good way. Yeah.
[00:02:54] Jens Heitland Podcast: That's that's interesting. When you have a vision, when you have something you you strive for, especially when [00:03:00] it is health related or exercise related, then everything else falls into places because you zoom in to Exactly.
[00:03:06] Alistair: Exactly.
Yes. So, you know, going up till 4 o'clock in the morning and dancing and drinking Yeah. Is, uh, might be fun at the moment, but I know that the punishment, uh, of recuperating from that is going to be so big. So maybe he'll go home at 1 o'clock in the morning.
[00:03:21] Jens Heitland Podcast: So you live in Switzerland. Are you as well doing mountain runs or more mainly for
[00:03:25] Alistair: that? Yeah. So I've, um, I've switched to doing both. I do, uh, road, uh, during the first part of the year up until May, June, uh, and then I switched to trail running for, uh, July, August, maybe September as well, and then I go back to road running, uh, for the alleged part of the
[00:03:42] Jens Heitland Podcast: yeah. So you mentioned when we talked last time that you have been in Kenya, what was the first time you have been in Kenya, and how did you end up in Kenya
[00:03:49] Alistair: and Iten?
So the first time I was in Kenya was when I stopped working and this friend called me up and said uh, come and run a marathon with me.
[00:04:00] It's in a game park, , in the middle of nowhere in Kenya. And we'll do camping at the same time. Okay. Uh, and I said, okay. Yeah.
Um, and we went up and did this Lewa marathon. It was in a game park, But the story I like to tell is that it was actually 2 times around the circuit, and there were 1500 participants. They couldn't have more because, uh, the game parties didn't allow it. Yeah. And, uh, of the 1500 people, only 150 people did the second, uh, of 1.
And, uh, that meant that for really long periods of time, you were running on your own in the middle of a game park with animals all over the place in Africa. So, uh, you got the double excitement of running, a marathon and then maybe, being the next, animal's meal as well. So it was, uh, it was fun.
[00:04:50] Jens Heitland Podcast: Tell me about Eaton I've heard that it's somehow a a very special place for runners, but what is
it about Iten?
Yeah. Well, you you can't really experience [00:05:00] Iten without actually going to it. Um, when you, uh, get into Itan, you know, mister big village, a little town, um, then you're met by an arch that says the home of champions.
And initially you're a bit dubious so I think that's a little bit cocky yeah and then you realize that this is where all the champions are The, um, east African runners, the Kenyan runners, uh, all congregates there, uh, but you have a huge number of international runners that come and train in there. The speciality of Iten, uh, is that it's at 2400 meters, so you're running with a much lower level of oxygen, which for training purposes, makes it, uh, tough, but then you get the benefit when you, uh, come down. And then the, uh, what the, uh, speciality is in Kenya is that you run together. So you challenge yourself, uh, to run.
And, uh, you're you're running on dirt tracks. You're running on road. Uh, you know, it's it's not [00:06:00] easy, uh, running in the way that you do it. And, uh, the day starts at 6 o'clock in the morning. You get out of bed.
You get up to, uh, Jogo or where the arch is, and you meet with your running team, and off you go. When you come back, you have some breakfast and you rest. And then you probably go out, uh, again at 3, 4 o'clock in the afternoon and do what they call an easy, you know, 10 kilometer run just to, uh, complete the day. And that's that's a bit the life of the runners. But, uh, Iten is, uh, it's it's just difficult to describe.
Right. Let's
go.
How did this inspire you to create a company that is working with
[00:06:43] Alistair: It's a lot of different pieces that came together over time.
You know, I went to Kenya first time. I went to Kenya second time. The second time, I went into one of these high altitude training camps up in Itan. Yeah. I started to meet a lot of people.
I started to understand the benefits of running [00:07:00] at altitude. And when we finished that first camp, we wanted to go back again. And by this time, I'd actually linked up with my friend Peter, who is a Kenyan who runs with me and, uh, participates in everything that I do, in the Braveheart context. And the third time that we went back was, actually during COVID. And when we went back during COVID, we met all of these uh, really, really depressed athletes because Yeah.
For an African runner, if you don't have races, you have no income. Yeah. And so, uh, that was when, you know, kind of triggered to say, these are good people. They've got a fantastic talent. Um, let's see if we can help them a little bit by, um, bringing them some benefits to be able to keep running even if the times are really tough.
Yeah.
[00:07:50] Jens Heitland Podcast: Tell me about Braveheart, what is a Braveheart?
[00:07:53] Alistair: Actually, Braveheart, was the theme of my fiftieth birthday party for charity money raising for my [00:08:00] London marathon. Yeah.
But then I created this company called Braveheart Coaching, which is a Swiss company, Um, and kind of Braveheart, stuck with me. And, um, the company was created in 2011, but we started the whole Braveheart adventure really in 20 22, and that's why we called it Braveheart Runners. We think that the combination of Brave and Heart links up well. And then when you say Braveheart, you still have this image of Mel Gibson slaughtering people, uh, during the film and, getting dressed up in his fancy Scottish warrior clothes. I
[00:08:37] Jens Heitland Podcast: love that.
So Braveheart is a company that is working with running, is coaching running? Tell me,
[00:08:44] Alistair: So the name of the company is Braveheart Coaching. Yeah. And, really, all that it does is bring the financing together for the projects that take place in Kenya.
Okay. The company is not the focus of what we're doing. Yeah. What we've then done, we we had our first project that really kicked off in 20 [00:09:00] 22. We got the fantastic benefit of having a sports equipment company called Scott who have supported us since the beginning.
And, uh, we created this 10 people running team, uh, 5 women, 5 men. We always make sure that we have a proper gender balance in, um, everything, uh, that we do. And, uh, for that first year, then we, you know, ran some races in Kenya. We ran some races in Switzerland. We did some trail running.
Um, we went back to Italy and run again. And so we find out, uh, who we were. And then 20 23, we just improved in everything that we had done in 20 22 and, uh, became a bit more professional, a bit faster in the way that we were actually building up our running activities. But what, uh, that project has done, uh, has given us experience. And now what we feel that we're able to do is to add new projects on.
[00:10:00] So in 20 24, we will add a new project called Akili Heart. Heart is always in the name of all of the projects that we have and Akili means mind. Yeah. So it's mind and heart which is what, uh, you know, the best runner of all time says is the key to running performance is get your mindset right and get your heart, uh, pumping at the right level. Yeah.
Uh, your legs will follow suit and keep you going. So we, um, uh, have that 1 that kicks off this year. It will be a team of, uh, about 8 runners, um, probably more in the marathon category that uh, we're going to be running in. Um, and then we found another sponsor that was more in the, helping people side. And we've decided to make another project that kicks off in 20 24 called Nezima Heart, which means whole heart.
And this is a women only team, where we will have, a combination of young, usually [00:11:00] single mothers, who have shown promising aptitudes in running. But because of their pregnancy and because of their financial situation, they couldn't get back into running again. So So what we're doing is that we're actually giving them the chance to get it back into professional running. So we provide a roof. We provide food.
We provide a place that their children can be in. We help them with the school fees for the children when that's the case. We give them coaching. We give them fitness. We give them massage.
And we hope that within that 12 month period, they can actually come and become, Kenyan commercial runners, either again or for the first time. And we decided that we will also add on a feature to have young women who are basically coming out of high school, who we think have the aptitude support. And so we'll add, um, these young ladies into the group as [00:12:00] well. So that's kicking off right now. I must say I I found it really, really, exciting because this is, uh, going from discovery.
We think that these ladies have it, but if you want to become a good runner, you've got to test yourself, see if your body is resisting to injury, and see if your mind can actually take getting out of bed 6 times a week and doing what is pretty gruesome, uh, athletic demanding runs. Yeah.
[00:12:27] Jens Heitland Podcast: What is fascinating, it's not just impacting their own lives. It's impacting their family's life, and it's impacting their whole village sometimes where they come back. And what I've seen, I'm not sure if that's true, is all the money they earn while they're running is not for them to be rich and be famous.
It's they give that back to them where they come from. Is that same in in what you have seen?
[00:12:48] Alistair: Oh, absolutely. In Kenya, religion and family are, uh, really, really strong.
So they live a little bit in the fear of God, but also in the belief that God's plan is what's going to provide for them and and help them [00:13:00] in where they go. And, um, when they make money, the family will, expect to get some benefits out of it as well. It's also 1 of the main motivators for what, I'm doing because, you know, we we tend to see, uh, Africans not always being able to, uh, fend for a living. Um, here, they've got this talent that can actually, make them, uh, earn some good money and, provide and also uplift, um, the impression of Africa as well.
When you you meet these people, uh, they're, uh, just, you know, super humble, fantastic, hardworking athletes. Yeah.
[00:13:35] Jens Heitland Podcast: Did I understand you right 2 running teams with different runners in it? How many how
[00:13:39] Alistair: many So we've got 3 running teams.
We've got Braveheart runners, Akili heart runners, and Nizima heart runners. And the way that we do it is that for the professional runners, that's brave heart runners and Akili Heart um, art runners k. We actually let them, run with the team of their choice. But, in order to know what they're up to and what they're doing, we give [00:14:00] them a smartwatch, and we record all of their runs in Strava. So I can actually see, uh, on a daily basis, uh, what they're up to.
Because in winter, there's a 2 hour time difference. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that I do is I go on Strava, and I see what runners have actually been, um, are doing and what they've been up to.
[00:14:17] Jens Heitland Podcast: That's fascinating. Because when I started, triathlon with the coach, he was also coaching me on distance, and he was always checking my runs literally, like you said, this technology is so far.
Whether you see the hardware, you see the steps, you see everything.
[00:14:31] Alistair: Yeah. So, um, that's 1 of the things that, you know, we've been trying to work on with the I think is to say, let's try to see if we can use modern tech to uplift, who you are. So Yeah. I think initially, they're a little bit dubious about showing their runs and Strava and letting other people see it.
Yeah. I think they're okay with that today. I see some of the runners have hundreds of followers. You know? Yeah.
Because it's cool to follow, uh, you know, Kenyan athletes and see what they're actually, uh, up to and how far [00:15:00] they're running. And the other thing that we've done, uh, with the athletes because they're you know, we're we're trying to get them branded, uh, with, uh, equipment providers that brand them. Yeah. Uh, we try to, um, teach them how to build up their profiles in social media Yeah. So that they don't put, you know, rubbish pictures and they don't put inappropriate pictures.
They put pictures that they will be proud of in 5 years' time. Yeah. And people will be coming back to say, oh, this this person is really special. Yeah. Um, maybe, uh, you know, we can give that individual a shoe contract or a dress contract or whatever as we go along.
[00:15:35] Jens Heitland Podcast: Yeah. So talking about the runners, is there 1 story where you said, oh, this was really interesting.
[00:15:42] Alistair: I took, some runners to Italy last November, and this was the first time that they ever got in a plane. This was the every time, of course, that they had been into Europe. And this was the first time that they experienced running at sea level.
Yeah. And so, uh, then, you know, the the jury is out to [00:16:00] say, well, you know, how much are you going to improve your time by? Yeah. And these guys came, uh, to, uh, Italy with times of, say, 63, maybe even 64, uh, on the half marathon side. Yeah.
And, um, on the day, um, they only came in fourth, fifth, and sixth because there was a very strong pack that day. Yeah. But number 6 beat the course record. Wow. Yeah.
So So all of that is All of them came in, and they came in, uh, 1 came in in 60 40, uh, something. 1 came in 61 0 4. 1 came in in 61 30. Uh, but, you know, they they came they went away, um, as, you know, basically any Kenyan runner, and they came back as confirmed to have marathoners and that, uh, people will be attracted to take it on again in the future.
[00:16:49] Jens Heitland Podcast: Yeah. How was it them coming back after that experience and and telling the stories to their families?
[00:16:54] Alistair: You could feel a sense of pride. We actually had a professional photographer there that day as well. So we had some beautiful [00:17:00] pictures of them. And, uh, the twinkle in their eye, after the race, the twinkle in the eye once they got back home, it it it's it's it's a life changing experience.
[00:17:10] Jens Heitland Podcast: Yeah. For them, was the time super important or more being on that journey and seeing that they're capable and they have proven themselves.
[00:17:19] Alistair: Well, it's it's an experience. Right? So it's, um, you know, 1 is getting on a plane, uh, spending a night on a plane 2 nights before you actually run, getting the rest before it.
Yeah. Uh, coming to, um, Italy, they, you know, they they we they have down jackets, but they slept in their down jackets. You know, they they couldn't take the cold and humidity. And, um, so what they were complaining a little bit about, uh, that. And then natural, uh, you know, on race day, then they, uh, performed, uh, in line better than expectations.
It's it's it's something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Yeah. And 1 of those guys came back and because his social media was [00:18:00] up to the right level, uh, because his running was up to the right level, because he was, you know, very humble, nice guy. He actually left us, um, in January, but he left us to go and run with the Alabama University, which is 1 of the big, uh, sports universities, um, uh, in the US, and he got a a running scholarship to run with them. So his life has taken a completely different course, in a period of 12, 13 months with us.
[00:18:27] Jens Heitland Podcast: And that I believe that's something you can be incredibly proud of that. Helping someone going even if they're leaving your team, I think it's
[00:18:35] Alistair: Yeah. So so so we've kind of said we're we're probably not good enough to keep the athletes if they get up to top top top level, one of the bigger brands will probably come out and take them and so forth. But if we can help them to get on their way and get recognized, then I think that that's really good for us. Yeah.
Yeah. It's what we it's what we set out to do. We want to help the runners. We want to help them develop. We want to make them into commercially viable, uh, people.[00:19:00]
Yeah.
[00:19:00] Jens Heitland Podcast: Where do you think running is right now compared to other sports? And as well, where is it going and what does it make to society and to us as individuals?
[00:19:09] Alistair: So I think that running is at the beginning of a new era.
Um, maybe I'm wrong, but maybe I'm right. Um, what I am seeing right now is that every city, every city in the world is trying to create, improve, or grow, uh, their, running activities. It usually goes through some kind of endurance, you know, more than 20 k and maybe marathon, maybe, uh, even, uh, longer. And And I think that's very promising for running, in the future. If this social running can actually grow, um, then I think it's something that will, you know, be very good for running, uh, in general.
So what will happen is that sponsors, uh, will get more interested in running, uh, over time because it's just growing. [00:20:00] And I think that you will start to see that the recognition, uh, of an athlete, uh, is going to, improve and the overall condition of an athlete's running and training, uh, conditions will improve, especially in Africa where you have the best endurance runners in the world.
[00:20:19] Jens Heitland Podcast: Speaking about sponsors, what kind of sponsors are you still looking for? What are the companies that you would be interested in to work with or industries you would like to work with? Yeah.
[00:20:27] Alistair: I want to be different, and I want to do something that others haven't done so much. Yeah. So on top of working with equipment suppliers in the sports industry, I'd like to try to The obvious. Yeah.
That's the obvious 1. But I'd like to try to work with corporates, um, who are presently not in the running business, who could promote their products through running. And in that sense, then I think anybody to do with the, uh, the health business is good. Anybody who is wanting to promote the benefits of Africa is good. [00:21:00] Anybody who wants to try to just create a story around people and improving their lives.
So, you know, sometimes, uh, you know, because I live in Europe and there are a lot of discussions around, uh, immigration, And there are still a lot of people in Africa who think that, you know, the best thing is to go and, uh, live in Europe. What I would like to promote is that we actually create some really good jobs and opportunities in Africa. Yeah. And, um, we try to communicate to our African friends that, your home is here, and this is where you actually feel at home. This is where your culture is the same.
And so you know, build your future in Africa Yeah. And make Africa proud of you. Yeah.
[00:21:44] Jens Heitland Podcast: Looking ahead, where do you think Braveheart will be in 5 to 10 years?
[00:21:48] Alistair: So I think, um, in 5 years, the aim is to be recognized as a professional running group, [00:22:00] but it's to be recognized as a professional running group that has a heart and does things differently.
I want to build a reputation of somebody who has taken care of the athletes in a good way that we focused on changing lives, um, that, um, we brought more than just winning and running races to the athletes that we're actually working with.
[00:22:25] Jens Heitland Podcast: Anything we have forgotten which you still would like to mention?
[00:22:29] Alistair: Why is it that, a soccer player makes so much money? Why is it that a an ice hockey player or a formula 1 driver or a basketball player, is so well taken care of and so forth? And yet today in the running world, when I go into Africa, some of these runners don't have, enough money to provide for proper food.
Um, they don't have proper training conditions. Yeah. Their hydration, uh, is awful. Um, they're sleeping in really precarious [00:23:00] places. So what I'm saying is let let let's give running a chance.
And the way to actually try to get a fitting for what's going to happen in the future is I challenge, everyone to switch on the television once when 1 of these big marathons is taking place. And just get a feeling for how exciting it is to watch a marathon get take place at the same time. You have um, the male elite running team running together. You've got the females running together. You've got, uh, national heroes running together, and you've got all of these thousands of people, um, out in the streets together and just try to catch the vibe.
I'm just hoping that running will take off, uh, one day yeah.
[00:23:40] Jens Heitland Podcast: I mean, running is a sport that brings people together an opportunity to um, enable people to experience things together. And like you said, it's a commercial opportunity for business.
[00:23:51] Alistair: Yeah. Well, I mean, tell me, uh, you know, of another sport that you can do, uh, from anywhere, um, with, uh, basically nothing. [00:24:00] Just a pair of shoes.
Exactly. And, um, that you can do it from the age of, uh, 3 all the way up to the age of, uh, 90 if your body's still willing to, uh, to do it. Um, and you can do it competitively like the elites, but you can do it, uh, just for your well-being, um, mind, and health. So it it it's, um, it's a fantastic opportunity. I think I think there's more to come.
And I think the other thing to watch in running is that we're looking at a variety of different, uh, races. So, you know, these 1 mile races are starting to take off in certain places. 5 long tour races are just starting to become really trendy, uh, but there's a race in Switzerland where I live that does 360 kilometers in 1 shot with, uh, more than 10000 meters in climbing. So there's everything uh in between that you can um do in there there's there's something for everyone basically in the way that you do it you can do it with your family. You can do it with your kids.
Um, uh, you can do it alone. [00:25:00] You can do it competitively. You can do it, uh, uh, just for the sake of doing it. So, um, um, everything goes.
[00:25:06] Jens Heitland Podcast: Alistair, thank you very much for coming to the Netherlands for this interview. It was a pleasure meeting you
again. Thank you it's a pleasure meeting you and I'd just like to end with, our slogan for 20 24, come, join us, the best is still to come.
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