Fastest Full-Time (Running) Workers in the World Headed to Johannesburg, South Africa

NEW YORK , February 08 /Businesswire/ - The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge® Championship, which has brought the fastest companies in the world to Manhattan for nearly three decades, is moving overseas on March 4.

The 27^th annual Championship will be held on Thursday, March 4, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 3.5-mile road race will feature the first-place men’s, women’s and mixed teams from all 12 cities in the 2009 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series.

A total of 144 runners -- representing companies from six countries on five continents – will compete at the historic Wanderers Club. The race will immediately precede the regularly-scheduled J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg.

The Championship features competition in men’s (four men), women’s (four women) and mixed (two men/two women) team divisions. The first-place team in each category can accurately refer to itself as “the healthiest company in the world.”

The trip to South Africa will mark the first time that the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship will be held outside of metropolitan New York. The event debuted at the New Jersey Meadowlands in 1983, moved to Wall Street in 1984, and had been held on Park Avenue each fall from 1985-2008.

Since 2001, the Corporate Challenge Series has expanded internationally with events added in Sydney, Australia; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Singapore. To reflect this global diversity, the championship will rotate annually to other Corporate Challenge cities.

“We are continually working to bring exciting innovations to the Championship,” noted Barbara Paddock, Senior Vice President for JPMorgan Chase & Co., the owner and operator of the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series. “This move to South Africa was enthusiastically received by the participating companies, with all 36 qualifying teams accepting our invitation to compete.

“This also signals,” Paddock continued, “that the Corporate Challenge Series is stronger than ever.”

The Championship participants qualified at seven U.S. cities that host Corporate Challenge events – Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, New York, Rochester, San Francisco, and Syracuse, and overseas locations Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Singapore and Sydney.

“The Championship-qualifying companies will love experiencing the Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg,” Paddock said. “The setting truly captures the global essence of our Series. And South Africa will take a great deal of pride in hosting the first Championship out of the United States.”

The 2009 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series featured more than 220,000 participants from over 7,700 companies around the world. Of this throng, the most elite 144 runners from 36 teams earned the trip to Johannesburg.

The complete list of qualifying companies (listed in order of men’s, women’s and mixed teams):

Sydney, Australia – Macquarie (men’s and women’s teams); KPMG

Johannesburg, South Africa – Transnet Rail Engineering (men’s and women’s); Bateman Engineering Projects

Singapore – Bikelabz; Singapore Armed Forces; Singapore American Schools

Chicago – General Electric; CNA; Sargent & Lundy

Rochester, NY – Corning; Greece Central School District; University of Rochester

Buffalo – Moog; Amherst Central School District; M&T Bank

New York – The Running Company; United Federation of Teachers/Department of Education; Memorial Sloan Kettering

Syracuse – General Electric; Lockheed Martin; Fayetteville-Manlius School District

Boston – Raytheon; Fidelity Investments; Saucony

Frankfurt, Germany – Ministry of Interior and Sport; Hessen Police; Roche Diagnostics

London – Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Deloitte (women’s and mixed teams)

San Francisco – General Electric, Google, Sports Basement.

MEDIA NOTE: A full menu of feature stories on the qualifying companies in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge is available by following this link. Interviews with any of the participants can be facilitated by contacting Alan Tieuli at (508) 529-6781 or tieuli@aatandsonspr.com