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The 2004 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship will be the most global and competitive in history. The best corporate runners from six countries on five continents will compete on Saturday, October 2 on New York's famous Park Avenue. This is one of a series of features about teams training for the Championship. You'll want to visit all the stops on the Road to the Championship to read about the participants who have found the perfect blend of workplace productivity and race course swiftness. |
9th STOP: DALLAS
Dana Bullard won the Dallas Female title, while husband Coby finished third in the Male Division.
Husband-wife team puts BNSF
on track for Championship
Start of Dallas race with JPMorgan Chase building in background. |
Dallas (September 15, 2004) – Ten years ago, a romance began at, of all places, an outdoor track workout in Arlington, Texas. A decade later, Dana and Coby Bullard are about to become one of the fastest married couples ever to run in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship.
They also are the anchors of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe team that improved from a second-place finish in 2003 to win the Mixed title at Dallas by more than eight minutes this season.
“We had heard of the Corporate Challenge, but BNSF hadn't participated (before 2003),” said Dana. “ We weren't prepared for how many people participated and how competitive it was. After placing second last year, we were disappointed and really wanted to win as a team. American Airlines had a very good team and we knew that we would have to run faster if we wanted to beat them. We trained harder and focused more on this race and improved our team time by over a minute.”
Along the way, Dana lowered her time from 22:07 to 20:52, easily winning the individual female title at Dallas. Coby placed third in Dallas' male field with a solid 18:48. Stan Ujka ( 20:25 ) and Mary Katherine Carson (27:13) completed the Mixed team, which won in a field that increased to a record 5,057 runners in its fourth year.
“Because of the caliber of the athletes that have qualified (for the Championship) and the globalization of the event, we don't really know what to expect at New York,” said Dana. “Our team goal is to run faster individual times than we did in Dallas, which will translate to a faster overall team time. Based on the results we have seen, it would be very difficult to win the team title but we think we can be competitive and place well.”
The BNSF team gathers for a photo. The Bullards are in the center of the photo. Fellow Mixed team members are Mary Katherine Carson (left of Dana Bullard) and Stan Ujka (far right).
The heart of that effort is, literally and figuratively, the Bullards. But the soul may be rooted in a culture at BNSF that promotes health and fitness among its employees.
“Our team victory in Dallas received a very positive reaction,” said Dana. “Our company overall is very health conscience and they really seemed to appreciate our accomplishment. The results were published in a company newsletter and mentioned at our monthly Marketing Forum. We received an outpouring of support and congratulations from many people, including our CEO, Matt Rose. It has really made us realize that we represent all Team BNSF members and that they are behind us.”
BNSF goes out of its way to encourage physical fitness
Indeed, BNSF seems to have a culture made for the Corporate Challenge. The company's main campus has a gravel jogging track, a fitness center with weights, numerous cardiovascular machines and basketball courts. Before work, during lunch and after work, said Dana, the fitness center is filled with people trying to stay in shape and improve their fitness level.
“Having a company that promotes fitness, including running, and getting as many people involved as possible is very important,” said Dana.
In terms of winning a Corporate Challenge team title at Dallas, so, too, is having runners like the Bullards.
Like many of the participants in the upcoming Championships, they have a schedule that would seem to leave little time for serious training. Dana, 26, is a manager in finance, planning and control, helping put together revenue plans and forecasts for BNSF. Coby, 28, is a marketing manager, directing a $140 million wood and paper market. They also have returned to school to get MBAs.
The time pressures have, for now, forced Dana to shift her training from marathons to shorter distances.
“It's difficult to balance a full-time job, graduate school and marathon training,” said Dana, who has won marathons in Dallas and Fort Worth and ran a 17:40 5K while on the University of Texas track team. “So, in the short-term, I'm trying to focus on improving my speed in shorter races. That will hopefully help me when I do start up marathon training again. My long-term goal is to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the Marathon. We will finish our MBA in 2006 and I am hoping to run a fast marathon in 2007.”
One big edge they have, however, is being married to each other.
“Being married to a competitive runner definitely gives us an advantage in training,” Dana said. “We can push one another into running faster and working harder because we both understand what it takes to be a competitive runner.”
Since their victory at Dallas in April, both have seen the results of harder training in faster times, said Dana.
Training has gone well for Bullards following Dallas win
Adds Coby: “After I finished running track and cross country for the University of Texas (where he ran a 4:08 mile), I mainly ran to keep in shape, not really focusing on running competitively. Recently, I have started to focus on running and becoming competitive again.”
Now, they will be going up against the best corporate runners in the world.
“It is exciting to see people from all around the world come together for an event like this,” said Dana.
It's also kind of neat to see a talented couple find a balance in life and work that makes them the heart of a Championship-qualifying team.
Also qualifying from Dallas were Female team winner Run On! with Monique Ecker (23:11), Michelle Allen (24:40), Kim Sanders (25:06), and Sarah Hebler (27:10). The Male team champion is Luke's Locker with (Duncan Cragg), Ed Swiatocha (20:30), Nilson Ayala (20:55), and Cody Brewer (21:20).
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