Three years in and Philadelphia has already doubled the size of its J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.

The 3.5-mile team road race – starting and finishing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art near Eakins Oval – registered over 2,000 entries from 83 companies. That represented a 26% increase in entries from 2023 (1,585) and nearly a full doubling of the 1,018 runners and walkers from 50 companies who took part in 2022.

And as the Corporate Challenge matures, the more passionate the participants become when entering and competing.

“Our team this year is comprised of five women; all moms with multiple young kids and all working in healthcare,” said Kristina Novick, team captain for Penn Medicine. “We represent Penn Medicine at its finest, striving to do more.”

Novick then explained the motivation she and her teammates had when they put on their runner numbers and proceeded down the 3.5-mile Kelly Drive race course.

“We run for our patients. We run for our families. We run for our colleagues. We run for ourselves,” said Novick. “During the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, we will run for each other, showing that at any stage of life and career development, we can be our best by doing our best, together, as a team.”

Joining Penn Medicine at this burgeoning event on a cool, comfortable night for running and walking were the 10 companies with the largest number of entrants – event owner and operator JPMorgan Chase (887 entrants), JM Search (74), Deloitte (40), RSM US (37), Siegfried Group (37), Ballard Spahr (28), Forvis Mazars (28), Brown Brothers Harriman (28), PwC (27), and Nasdaq (27).

“Deloitte looks forward to the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, as our team grows larger every year,” said Nick Savarese, consultant, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and team captain. “This event has been a wonderful opportunity to come together as colleagues to share our interest in fitness and overall well-being. I’m proud to be a part of this growing event.”

Law firm Klehr Harrison was new to the Corporate Challenge and gave the event a good judgment.

“It is a great team building event for our Corporate and Securities Department, and next year we hope to send an even larger team,” said Adam Haft, team captain for Klehr Harrison. “As a Philadelphia-based firm, we love being able to support and participate in Philadelphia-focused events. When our good friends at J.P. Morgan asked us to take part in this year's event, we jumped at the opportunity.”

The Corporate Challenge is also fast becoming an attractive venue for the top runners in Philadelphia. The winners on this night were James Snyder, representing PHL Run Coach, in the male division with a finishing time of 19:49 and Gypsy Cooper of Comcast in the female division in 20:31. It was the first Corporate Challenge victory for both Snyder and Cooper.

For the third consecutive year the beneficiary for the 2024 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge at Eakins Oval is Fairmount Park Conservancy, the not-for-profit organization that brings Philadelphia’s parks to life. Fairmount Park Conservancy works with the City of Philadelphia and its communities to steward the city’s parks and nurture Philadelphia’s shared environment, cultural resources, and public health. J.P. Morgan donated to the Conservancy in celebration of all Corporate Challenge entrants.

The philanthropic component was just one of several things that attracted Big Four accounting firm KPMG to the Corporate Challenge.

“The KPMG Pennsylvania Hub is thrilled to join J.P. Morgan and other local companies in an event that truly embodies our core value of ‘Together, For Better’," said Ryan Kelly, team captain for KPMG. “We are proud to have one of the largest teams participating in this year's Corporate Challenge. This event is a fantastic opportunity for our partners and professionals to come together for a fun and meaningful evening in support of a great cause.”

Anthony Philips, team captain for Macquarie, a multinational financial services firm that enters Corporate Challenge events on three continents, concurred with Kelly.

“The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge is a phenomenal event to give back to the community and spend time with peers outside the office,” Philips said. “The race creates lasting bonds and healthy competition. It is truly one of the highlights of the year.”

With the United States locations in the 2024 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series now all covered, the focus turns to South America and Asia. Next up is Sydney (October 23), followed by Buenos Aires (November 7), Shanghai (November 14), and Hong Kong (November 21). These final four events will add to a spectacular Corporate Challenge year which has already featured 220,952 entrants, exceeding the 193,612 that registered in 2023.