Empresa, deporte y solidaridad: el caso de Oxfam Intermón Trailwalker

We have witnessed a boom in popular running events in recent years. The aim of some of them is to develop aspects like solidarity, cooperation and teamwork. Certain firms use such events as a means to convey their social action messages, taking advantage of the values of sport to express a new business concept. This article focuses on the analysis of the 2013 edition of Oxfam Intermón Trailwalker as an example of the potential of charity sports events for developing corporate social responsibility through the participation of company teams and as a fundraising strategy for non-governmental organisations. The research method is mainly qualitative and ethnographic, based on participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups and a closed questionnaire. There are three main findings: first, the participation of company teams in the event enables Oxfam Intermón - the NGO responsible for organising it - to raise its fundraising capacity and expand its range of donators; second, it leads to higher levels of socialisation and camaraderie among participants and to increased engagement of other employees within firms; and, third, participating firms become actively involved, thus enabling them to strengthen their social actions and corporate social responsibility programmes.