San Francisco's 12 representatives - from 2009 champions Google, Sports Basement, and General Electric - pose for a group photo at pre-race festivities in Johannesburg, South Africa prior to the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship. An opportunity for a trip to Singapore awaits at this year's San Francisco JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge on Aug. 4. Registration is open.

The road to Singapore
leads through San Francisco

3 Bay Area companies will earn
spring trip to Asia for Championship

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2010 – The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge has  something for everyone. It’s a short-distance race (3.5 miles) that is a reasonable goal for someone just beginning a fitness regimen. It is unique in that you have to enter as part of a corporate team, which makes for morale - and camaraderie - building within companies of all sizes. And there are positive impacts to the community through a donation for each entry to a not-for-profit organization and the Corporate Challenge’s environmentally-friendly Teaming Up For A Greener Tomorrow initiative.

For all of those reasons, the 26th running of the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge on Wednesday, August 4, should be on the radar screen of your company.  It’s at a great new site (Piers 30 & 32 on the San Francisco Embarcadero) on a convenient summer date, with plenty of public transportation options.

And, if you have some exceptional runners in your hallways, there is also the opportunity to gain some significant exposure for your company on an international level.

The first-place men’s, women’s and mixed teams at the San Francisco event will qualify for the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship, to be held next spring (late April/early May, exact date TBD) in Singapore.  It is the trip of a lifetime for a corporate runner, and it promises plenty of media coverage and networking opportunities for the advancing companies.

Google (men’s team), Sports Basement (women’s team) and General Electric (mixed team) represented San Francisco this past March 4 at the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship in Johannesburg. All companies agreed that the trip was important and memorable on many levels.

“The entire event was absolutely first-class. JPMorgan Chase went above and beyond in catering to our company.  From the moment we arrived, everything was very VIP,” said Tiffany Hall of the Sports Basement. 

“As we waited at the start line, it was a rush hearing all the runners chanting to themselves in different languages,” said Google’s Eddie Higgins. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It really gets you excited!”

The companies that participated in the Championship were brought into South Africa in advance of the event to adjust to the climate and altitude. Just as important, they had social engagements together so the participants could show their company and city pride.

“Unlike most national or international races, runners who participated in the Johannesburg Championship got the opportunity to experience the culture and flavor of South Africa first-hand and not rushed,” Hall said. “Most races I have been part of in the past didn’t give us enough time to really get to know the place we were visiting. It was nice to be able to arrive in South Africa a few days before the race and really get to know the city and surrounding areas.”

Higgins was attracted to the historic nature of participating in South Africa.

“The Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto was an eye-opening piece of South African culture and history,” he said. “Everyone knows what apartheid was generally, but this museum really brought it to life and reminded us how lucky we all are to enjoy the freedoms we do. The race site became a great platform for reminding runners from all over the world a piece of history that should not be forgotten.”

Travelling to South Africa dispelled some notions, according to Hall.

“South Africa has had a bad reputation from the media over the past few years,” she said. “I found a lot of what I heard to be untrue. The people were incredibly friendly and there was a strong sense of life, culture and history in their local community.  After the race, we went to Cape Town, it was probably the most beautiful city I have every seen.” 

To get a full flavor for the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship, please see this highlights video from Johannesburg.  Note that the Championship qualification rules for this year have changed in order to insure that all the winning teams are from Bay Area-located companies.

Registration for the August 4th JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge in San Francisco is now open.  Sign up today and perhaps your company will find itself in Singapore for the next JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship.