Wall family-owned company creates virtual challenges for runners

The Spring Lake 5 was lost this weekend, all spring and summer races have been postponed or canceled, but one small business in Wall is still giving runners a chance to compete.

News 12 Staff

May 22, 2020, 9:41 AM

Updated 1,616 days ago

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The Spring Lake 5 was lost this weekend, all spring and summer races have been postponed or canceled, but one small business in Wall is still giving runners a chance to compete.
When it comes to running, pace is everything, but for Staci Lymperopoulos, it's been extremely slow. In a normal year, her family-owned company, CompuScore, would time up to 250 events, but with no in-person races going on, she decided to go virtual.
“Virtual challenges have been out there for a while and I wanted to have something that was more than just a one-time run, a 5K, one and done, so I wanted something that would get people out there every day,” says Lymperopoulos.
Lymperopoulos came up with five different challenges that were specific to New Jersey, and the distances were inspired by two of the state’s most famous roads.
“We started with all the exit numbers and how you define yourself by what exit you live at and that's how we came up with the whole concept of the turnpike and the parkway,” says Lymperopoulos.
There's also the Boardwalk Challenge, where you can run the length of New Jersey's iconic boardwalks. Runners have until July 15 to complete whichever challenge they choose.
Lymperopoulos says the response has been tremendous, with more than 4,000 registered.
“You can do it from anywhere, you can do it from outside, you can do it from inside you can do it on your rooftop, anywhere you can find a place to run and then we give everyone a shirt and at least one medal,” says Lymperopoulos.
The challenge isn't just for runners, it's also for charity. A portion of the proceeds, as well as all sponsorship money and donations, are going to the Community Food Bank NJ and CASA of Mercer and Burlington counties. Lymperopoulos says she's raised more than $60,000 so far.
“We're very happy that we can raise as much money as we are for the charities as well as provide something for these runners.,” says Lymperopoulos.
Runners or walkers have 62 days to complete their challenge. CompuScore is starting another wave of virtual races on June 1.