Series' charitable contributions in 2003 touch many

Those dollars will touch lives in many ways. Central Park, host of the first Corporate Challenge event in 1977 and the host of three annual New York City races, received funding through its Conservancy in 2003 to continue its important work in maintaining one of the world's great metropolitan parks. Children in Sydney, Australia may have better odds of beating cancer. A beloved museum in Frankfurt will enjoy much-needed restoration work.

The donations reflect a long-standing tradition at JPMorgan Chase to support charities and institutions that contribute to an overall quality of life in the communities the bank serves.

2003 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge fastest times
Top 10 lists follow, or click below to access a category

Male overall | Male U.S. | Male international | Female overall | Female U.S. | Female international
Male teams | Female teams | Mixed teams

Want to have the fastest team in this year's JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge®? Easy. Just have your four runners turn in times of 16:13, 17:24, 17:37, and 18:16. That's what the year's fastest male team - Royal Mail Letters - did in its 3.5-mile race at London's Battersea Park on July 9. It adds up to a blistering overall team time of 1:09:30.

Sound a bit tough? The top female team time for 2003 is no easy target either.

Try times of 19:31, 19:54, 20:16, and 21:52. Same team - Royal Mail Letters of London. The five-time defending Series champions were anchored by perennial powerhouse Bev Jenkins and swept away their nearest competition in London by a stunning margin of more than 19 minutes. In fact, so formidable was the performance of the Royal Mail Letters' female team at London this year that if the four English ladies had somehow qualified to run as a mixed team, they would have had the sixth best time in that category.

If you get the idea there are some gifted athletes competing among the corporate elite in this year's Series, you're pretty much on target. With one regular season race still to come - the usually quick Corporate Challenge in San Francisco on September 17 - this year's Series has produced some head-turning times. Consider:

• Chris Davies ran the fastest time in the Series in 2003. The Royal Mail Letters runner streaked through two miles in 9 minutes flat en route to a 16:13.
  
  
• To crack the overall Series top ten male times, it took a sub-17 minute effort for the 3.5-mile Corporate Challenge distance. Matthias Koerner of Frankfurt's Roche Diagnostics was the 10th fastest in 2003 at 16:45.
  
  
• The top time in America by a male runner was 17:15, to which George Milic of Super Runners Shop was pushed in his winning effort over Mike Nehr of Western Suffolk BOCES in Long Island. Nehr recorded the fourth-fastest U.S. time, 17:25.
  
  
• Among the women, it took almost a sub-20-minute time to make the top 10 for the year. Andrea Gillespie of Boston and Carolyn Schuwalow of Sydney were tied for ninth with their times of 20:02 just outside the 20-minute barrier.
  
  
• Sydney's Suzy Walsham, the fastest runner of 2002, ran quickly again in 2003 - and still didn't have the year's best time. Petra Wassiluk of Motion Event in Frankfurt ran 18:30 to take that honor. Walsham clocked an 18:48 in a Sydney event that showed significant growth.
  
  
• Among U.S. women, Boston clearly was the fastest race as Caroline Dobbyn won in 19:52 in a great duel with runner-up Gillespie (20:02). Interestingly, two women made the U.S. top ten list twice in 2003. American Airlines flight attendant Anette Ronnerman won in Dallas and Chicago, posting a season best of 20:33. Meanwhile, former California middle-distance phenom Julia Stamps cruised to a pair of victories in Central Park, running a season-best of 20:20, the third-fastest American time so far this year.
  
  
• Two-time defending Series champion Roche Diagnostics of Frankfurt again won its team title in Frankfurt. Roche Diagnostic ran 1:15:33, more than three minutes ahead of category runner-up Saucony, Inc. of Boston.

The fast times of 2003 promise a most interesting Series Championship on New York's Park Avenue when the best of the circuit get together on Saturday, October 4.