For race information in German, please go to www.jpmccc.de


The record field begins its run in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt's 'friendly competition'
is largest race in Series history
Ex-Olympian Petra Wassiluk defends title
Official results are posted | Photo Gallery

Petra Wassiluk runs sub-19 again.

FRANKFURT, Germany, June 16, 2004 - There is a new record for participation in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge® Series. A total of 51,140 participants from 1,831 companies took part in the 12th annual German spectacular, making it the largest road race in Europe.

And the men's and women's individual winners took advantage of this enormous stage to get an edge with their business, in true Corporate Challenge spirit.

"I haven't taken part in a world class race since the European cross country championships this winter," said Oliver Mintzlaff, director of sports marketing in Germany for shoe and apparel manufacturer Puma. "But running in an event like this allows me to show people how Puma is a sports performance brand."

Mintzlaff proved that unequivocally by covering Frankfurt 's urban 3.5-mile course in 16:09, the fastest time yet in the 2004 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series. He needed to be that fast. In second place was Christian Knoblich, representing DiBa. He's on a training mission to achieve an Olympic qualifying time in the steeplechase. It is Mintzlaff's second consecutive title here.

Training of a different level - converting sedentary people into fitness enthusiasts - is what Petra Wassiluk is all about. Wassiluk, a two-time Olympic 5,000-meter competitor who now coordinates large road races and other festivities for Motion Event, spent eight weekends training clients for the Corporate Challenge. There were beginners, and Wassiluk loved it.

"Teaching them technique and the joy of running, there is nothing like it," Wassiluk beamed.

And talk about the teacher setting a good example. Wassiluk won her second consecutive JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge title in Frankfurt, racing home in a 2004 Series-best 18:58, besting Victoria Willcox-Heidner by 16 seconds.

New starting line, cool conditions make for good racing

Minztlaff and Wassiluk got off to a good start with no problems, thanks to a new starting line necessitated by construction in the area surrounding Frankfurt 's opulent Old Opera House. And the running conditions - cool and dry with temperatures in the low 60s - made it a perfectly comfortable course for runners and walkers alike.

"This is the third time I've participated in the Corporate Challenge and it clearly was the best yet," said Christian Golz, an engineer for Deutsche Bahn Railway. "The new start worked perfectly for the fast runners and the energy of the crowd was remarkable."

Frankfurt Police estimated that more than 50,000 spectators lined the urban course, meaning more than 100,000 people total touched this event in some way. Among the spectators were several bands, an array of costumed supporters, and the cheerleaders from the German basketball champion Opel Skyliners.

They refer to the Corporate Challenge as "The Friendly Competition" in Frankfurt and it was never more evident than on this night.

Runners move through sunlight and shadows in a colorful mosiac on the streets of downtown Frankfurt.

"The motto describes the character extremely well," said John Jetter, Country Manager for JPMorgan in Germany. "It is a fair competition amongst colleagues during which fun and team spirit are most important. For the runners, this is a time for fun as well as teamwork."

That was obvious at the Accenture team gathering area post-race, where Heike Eschbaumer, from the company's human resources department, was presiding over a party that seemed to reach the same decibel level as the cheering for the German national soccer team in the on-going European Championships.

"It's such a great night, a celebration of working in Frankfurt, a great place to network, a great place to spend time with your colleagues," smiled Eschbaumer. "And, maybe even a good place to meet some people who want to work at Accenture."

Genzyme flew employees in from Berlin and coordinated a conference with all its German employees, culminating in Corporate Challenge participation. "It's my sixth year doing this at Genzyme," said company captain Heike Dauber, "and I started doing this back in the 90s in New York. It keeps getting better each time.".

The Mayor of Frankfurt City, Achim Vandreike, served as the official starter of the race along with JPMorgan's Jetter. Mayor Vandreike's city now holds the top four spots when listing the largest Corporate Challenge crowds of all time. New York is the only other locale in Corporate Challenge history to have a crowd of 20,000 participants or more in a single race.

Städel Art Institute's "Art Connects Cultures" program benefits

The record-breaking participation allowed JPMorgan to make a donation of €51,000 to the Städel Art Institute's "Art Connects Cultures" program, which offers creative workshops free of charge to integrate children and young adults from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

"This program allows the children and young adults to reflect on their backgrounds and strengthen their own personality while learning to express themselves creatively," said Professor Herbert Beck, director of the Städel Art Institute. "The opportunity for communication is based on understanding cultural similarities and differences."

"I appreciate the charitable component with the donation to the Städel," said Lothar Proll of Deutsche Telekom. "It's a nice touch for the community and adds to an event that has amazing hype and activity."

With 10 events held thus far in the 2004 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series, this is turning into a banner year for the Series. Eight events that had been held in past years have all increased participation from 2003, and two debut races - Johannesburg and Singapore - exceeded expectations with crowds of more than 6,000 at both.

"I believe," said JPMorgan's Jetter, "that is a great example of how this concept works not only in Frankfurt but globally, even after all these years."