Members of the Royal Bank of Scotland team get a pre-race pep talk prior to the 2010 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Singapore.

Royal Bank of Scotland uses consistency,
support for host-city Championship spot

SINGAPORE, April 8, 2011 — Last April, Megan Aubin, Paul Dodson, William Li and Sharyn Porter combined their running talents to win a surprising Mixed team title at the 2010 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge® in Singapore for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

But company captain Malcolm Elley was quick to also credit another group at RBS.

"Support from the senior management to encourage participation in the race is a pivotal factor in our success," he said. "In fact, many members of our senior management often alter their business travel plans to ensure that they are at the starting line. Last year, we had a huge team of runners — 220 in total — and that increased our chance of forming a winning team! The Bank values participation as much as winning."

Happily for the growing, and victorious, team from RBS, every team member will get a chance this year to experience first-hand not only the eighth annual J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge on April 21, but have a bonus opportunity to see their title-holding colleagues take on the best corporate runners in the world as Singapore hosts the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge® Championship.

It will mark the first time the Series Championship will be held in Asia, and Singapore also has two additional team champions who have qualified for the prestigious race. PricewaterhouseCoopers is the Men's team winner from Singapore , and Tanglin Trust School won the Women's title in 2010. Like RBS, they qualified to run in the Championship against the first-place teams from the other 11 cities in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series.

2011 Singapore Championship qualifiers
2010 Teams	Qualifiers
Male: PRICEWATER- HOUSECOOPERS	Mark Jansen, Philippe Moormann, Thomas Muller, Killian Pattwell
Female: TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL	Moraig Bain, Natasha Buckley, Pippa Gresham, Ali Hunt
Mixed: ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND	Megan Aubin, Paul Dodson, William Li, Sharyn Porter

The Championship race will begin a few minutes prior to the city's annual Corporate Challenge, with the Championship runners starting at 6 p.m. at the downtown Esplanade Bridge.

The spot among the best corporate running teams in the world is an honor that has been a long time coming for RBS.

"RBS has been competing in the J.P. Morgan run for several years now and has never come close to qualifying (for the Championship)," said Elley. "So it was a surprise to achieve such a good result. We are definitely very thrilled with the achievement and looking forward to put in our best at the Challenge!"

The victory in 2010 came with an impressive showing of consistency from Aubin, Dodson, Li and Porter for RBS. The team did not have a runner break into the top 10 individually, but Dodson and Li placed 15th and 16th among the men, and Porter and Aubin were 15th and 18th among the women. The result was a combined time for RBS of 1:34:38, almost two minutes ahead of Mixed team runner-up Singapore American School.

"Our Challenge (Championship) runners come from the from the Global Banking and Markets and Global Transaction Services businesses," said Elley. "Three of the runners are triathletes, which shows the benefits of cross training. One of our runners recently travelled to Tokyo to compete in the Tokyo marathon.

"The success has encouraged more staff to participate in the run this year, regardless of whether they are regular runners or starting a new exercise regime," added Elley.

That, he said, fits in very well with the philosophy and goals RBS has for its employees, and is a reason the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Singapore receives such strong support from the RBS executive staff.

The Royal Bank of Scotland had a big team, with big results, in Singapore in 2010.

"The Corporate Challenge promotes team building; as well as health and fitness," Elley said. "These are two core values that the Bank believes in. In the workplace, a healthier workforce tends to translate into a more productive and motivated workforce. Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between exercise and improved health. Regular exercise also leads to a reduction of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. The health benefits of exercise are known and proven."

Plus, this year, RBS has the added attraction of seeing its J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Championship team compete on the same course as they will run. And, said Elley, being from the host city has it benefits.

"It would have been nice to be able to compete in New York or Boston , but the bank will have plenty of supporters here in Singapore where we have a staff strength of almost 2000, and a deeply entrenched history," said Elley. "We know there is some tough competition coming from all over the globe, but we have an advantage in being more acclimatised to the heat and conditions. Like true athletes, we will be competitive; we will push our limits; and we will put our best foot forward — literally — for Singapore and RBS!"