Rochester
31st running in Downtown Rochester set for Thursday, May 25 at Innovative Field
The promise of spring, daylight long after the business day ends, and healthy, fun activities outside are enough to help get you through a difficult winter in Upstate New York.
And of the annual warmer-weather events held each year in Rochester, the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge may be among the most coveted. The 2023 edition – the 31st running dating back to 1991 – is scheduled for Thursday, May 25 with a 7 p.m. start in the heart of Downtown Rochester.
Registration for the 3.5-mile run/walk is now open and companies may participate with their entire work force, with entries set to close on April 28. The fee is $38 per person, and each entrant must join a company team, with a minimum of four employees per company.
It is an all-inclusive event open to all ages, job titles, and skill levels, including the best runners in the region alongside joggers and walkers. The leaderboard will also feature official results in specific categories for athletes with disabilities and non-binary entrants.
After individuals cross the finish line on Morrie Silver Way, it is a short walk inside to beautiful Innovative Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings, where companies can choose from a wide-range of hospitality options. Reservations for this feature are also open now and will remain so through April 28. Don’t hesitate to contact the event team at Rochester@corpchallenge.jpmorgan.com or (585) 295-8851 to determine what is right for your company.
The Corporate Challenge is an annual commitment of partnership to the business community from event owner and operator JPMorgan Chase.
“We’re proud to do business and support the community in Rochester, and one of the most visible ways we show it is through the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge,” said Casey Fitzgerald, Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking. “Providing the only weeknight road race held Downtown, and a truly unique race course and a beautiful post-race venue, is our way of saying thanks to our clients, competitors, colleagues and all workers from throughout Western New York.”
The 30th running of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Rochester was held Downtown on Tuesday, June 14 2022 with attendance of 2,976 entrants from 159 companies. This was, more or less, a soft re-entry for the event which had taken two sensible years off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous Corporate Challenge, held on June 4, 2019, drew 7,781 entrants from 319 local businesses.
Among those companies, of which we will be looking to build on their attendance this year, the 10 largest in terms of entries in 2022 were : Wegmans (204 entrants), Paychex (119), L3Harris (90), City of Rochester (73), LaBella Associates (67), ESL Federal Credit Union (63), SUNY Brockport (60), Popli Design Group (56), MKS Instruments (56), and Bausch & Lomb (54).
The Corporate Challenge has carved out a positive reputation in Rochester through three distinctly different eras. It was founded and conducted at Highland Park from 1991-2003, then moved to Henrietta for 13 consecutive years, 2004-16. The move Downtown and accompanying hospitality within the home of the Red Wings, was completed in 2017.
The Downtown race course – which also includes a unique stretch on the Inner Loop – is popular with the top runners and conducive to fast times. The best of the bunch in terms of teams last year were IDEX – Health & Science/Pulsafeeder, which earned the men’s team crown, and the University of Rochester, which took home the women’s and mixed titles. Individual champions were Scott Loforte of Popli Design Group and Trisha Byler from International Flavors and Fragrances.
All entrants in the 2023 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge will also have their efforts commemorated by a charitable donation by event owner and operator J.P. Morgan. The recipient of the donation will be announced in the coming weeks. Last year’s event benefitted Flower City Habitat for Humanity.
Rochester will be stop #4 on the 2023 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series, following Johannesburg, South Africa (March 30), Singapore (April 27) and Chicago (May 18). Ultimately, the Series will visit 15 cities in eight countries on six continents. This will be the 47th consecutive year of operation for the Series dating back to 1977, with 45 years of in-person racing and two years of Virtual participation during COVID.
