With the largest team at Shanghai in 2011, SMIC takes a group photo on the Corporate Challenge stage last year.

J.P. Morgan welcomes runners to
2nd Corporate Challenge in Shanghai

The 5.6-km road race will return
on 18 October in Xuhui Riverside

Participants on the scenic Xuhui Riverside course in 2011.

SHANGHAI, July 2, 2012 — Registration for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Shanghai is now open and companies are urged to begin registration as soon as possible before capacity is reached.

The 2nd annual Corporate Challenge — a 5.6km road race in a camaraderie-filled atmosphere that includes company post-race hospitality — will be held on 18 October 2012 with a 4:30 p.m. race start. The Xuhui Riverside race course and staging area can hold 6,500 participants and race organizers anticipate hitting that figure quickly.

“I’m very excited that Corporate Challenge is returning to Shanghai, it is a true honor that Shanghai is now a vital part of this 13-city, seven-country, five-continent celebration of corporate fitness and camaraderie,” said Zili Shao, chairman and chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan China. “Being able to bring the message of a healthy lifestyle and healthy competition, as well as philanthropic benefits to Shanghai was an honor for J.P. Morgan, it’s a demonstration of our continued commitment to Shanghai and China.”

The landmark event made its debut in Shanghai in October 2011 and attracted an outstanding crowd of 3,807 participants from 178 companies, making it one of the most successful debut events in the 35-year history of the worldwide Series.

Registration for this year’s race will close as soon as the 6,500 entry figure is hit.

The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge also has a philanthropic element with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation making a donation in 2011 to Right to Play (RTP), a leading international non-profit organization.

For the 2012 Corporate Challenge in Shanghai, the beneficiary will be Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC), a non-profit organization that benefits China’s urban migrant children, primarily through offering community-based social and educational programs. The donation will be dedicated to supporting After School Programs carried out in the Xinan Community Center in Shanghai, which CMC operates through the Vibrant Community Service Center (a Shanghai registered NGO).

SMIC was the largest participating company at the 2011 Shanghai J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge with 293 entrants, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers with 198 and Eaton Corporation with 152. The Shanghai business community quickly learned of the Corporate Challenge’s appeal.

Runners start the 2011 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Shanghai in what was one of the most successful debut events in the 35-year history of the worldwide Series.

“The Corporate Challenge offers a unique environment to show the pride you have in your company,” said Curt Hutchins, President for Eaton Pacific. “We have a very active health and wellness initiative at Eaton so there was no better way to bring together our group in an enthusiastic way that matches our culture.”

In addition to the charitable and team-building elements of the event, there is also a strong competitive element. First-place teams in the men’s, women’s and mixed divisions will earn an invitation to the 2013 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Championship, at a site to be determined. On May 24, EF (men’s and women’s teams) and Morgan Stanley (mixed) represented Shanghai at the 2012 Championship in Chicago, competing against the best corporate runners from 12 other cities and six other countries.

Video highlights from the inaugural J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Shanghai are available here.

As the world’s most renowned corporate sporting event, the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenges Series attracted an all-time record of 248,168 entrants from 8,173 companies worldwide in 2011. The 5.6km team road race, together with the festive after-party, creates an ideal team-building, corporate fitness and networking opportunity for participants. With the level of enthusiasm of the participating companies from Shanghai, the expected entrants for the 2012 race will well exceed that of the debut event last year.