A record total of 13,796 racers, joggers and walkers from 237 South African companies joined on the starting line at the Wanderers Club for the start of the 13th annual J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg. This topped the 13,598 entrants registered in 2015.

Held in March each year since its 2004 debut in Johannesburg, the event didn't slow a beat moving into April and set an excellent tone for the remainder of the 2016 Corporate Challenge schedule. The Series began in 1977, and has been conducted every year since, growing into a 13-city, seven-country, five-continent global celebration of workplace fitness and camaraderie.

Standard Bank had the largest team of entrants, with 700. KPMG (500 total entrants), Investec (499), Liberty (460), Deloitte (400), PwC (400), Rand Water (400), Transaction Capital Limited (330), Rand Merchant Bank (300) and Dimension Data (299) completed the Top 10.

There was not only quantity on the 3.5-mile (5.6-km) race course, but also quality. Olebogeng Masire of Sibanyegold earned the men's individual time with a time of 19:19. The women's crown was captured by Tebogo Masehla of Passenger Rail Agency of SA, with the tape-break at 22:27.

Individual results (with a search feature) are available at this link and full men's, women's and teams results will be published before the end of the month after eligibility verification of the top runners.

More than 100 companies enjoyed a post-race celebration in their own dedicated hospitality space within the two cricket ovals at the Wanderers Club.

The impact of the Corporate Challenge will have a lasting impact as J.P. Morgan made a donation on behalf of all entrants to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation's Youth Empowerment through Sport (YES) programme. YES provides youth leaders between 18-24 with accredited and non-accredited training that gives them potential access to further employment and education.

“Youth empowerment is becoming an essential part of South Africa's future growth,” said Morné du Plessis, Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa. “The Laureus Youth Empowerment through Sport (YES) programme, aims to train, empower and ultimately provide opportunities for inspiring young community leaders from around the country.”

The next stop on this milestone year for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge is Singapore, with a 5:30 p.m. race start on the island city-state's Esplanade Bridge.