Johannesburg sets 1st year standards
for participation, entertainment, fun
Official results are posted| Johannesburg in photos

Record 6,144 participate in first-year event

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 4, 2004 - It was a record-breaking road race, a massive corporate party featuring more than 75 hospitality tents, and a much anticipated concert featuring a Platinum-award winning recording artist.

Safe to say the first JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg, South Africa raised the bar for other cities in the Corporate Challenge Series.

When JPMorgan Chase announced last October that the Corporate Challenge would be making its African debut in this lovely South African city, Series officials privately hoped for 2,000 participants. When final registration closed, there were 6,144 participants from 211 companies in check. Those numbers obliterated the previous JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge record for a first-year event - 2,474 in Dallas during the 2001 Series season.

A large reason for the success was the rabid sporting culture in South Africa. Another was the popularity of Mandoza, a multi-Platinum and award-winning artist who has won over the country with his Kwaito style of music.

"We thought that this was an event that was designed for everyone in the corporate community - from the mailroom on up," said John Coulter, CEO of JPMorgan in South Africa. "So we decided to invite a person who can entertain a vast multitude of people rather than a few VIPs. Mandoza is so popular, he has so much life in him, I love his music, and he's been a great hit."

Mandoza had them dancing at post-event party

That was apparent by the thousands who assembled on a cricket pitch at the fabled Wanderers Club to hear Mandoza play a 45-minute set following the awards ceremony. A massive stage flanked by two giant video screens turned the Corporate Challenge staging area for this night into the most coveted concert facility in the country.

John Coulter (right), CEO of JPMorgan in Johannesburg, presents Tiffany award for Largest Team Participation to Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree.

The dancing on the Wanderers' pitch proved to be an interesting form of cross-training after the participants had conquered a challenging, 5.6-kilometer (3.5 mile) course through the streets of Johannesburg 's Rosebank neighborhood.

"This," said Bruce Fordyce, South Africa 's foremost ultra-marathoner and the official "trainer" for the event, "is the perfect marriage of sport and entertainment. It's no surprise South Africa has taken so well to this event. Watch out in the future.you're going to have double the crowds."

Understanding the value of this maiden event, South Africa 's Minister of Sport Ngconde Balfour was on hand to fire the starting horn and approximately 17 minutes later a quintet of runners from Transwerk led the way across the finish line.

Transwerk is a mining company approximately four hours from Johannesburg. Word of the event reached that distant suburb and Hermans Pedi, a process worker for Transwerk, had one thought: "We're going to win a trip to New York."

Pedi and seven other colleagues trained daily for three months leading into the race, and the effort paid off. Pedi was the overall winner in 16:27, and his teammates took spots two-through-five, ranging in times from 16:39 through 17:11. After accepting his Tiffany gift as the men's champ, Pedi said to the gathered media, "Now we want to show the world we are the best corporate runners."

OK, the gauntlet has been thrown down for the October 2 JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship in New York.

Female champion ran to an unexpected victory

Conversely, the female individual champion, Barene Beard of Standard Bank, wasn't even aware that the Corporate Challenge offered a trip for the winning team to JPMorgan Chase's New York headquarters. She thought so little of her chances in this race, in fact, that she did a 10K training run in the morning.

Hermans Pedi wins male title.

"I never thought I would win this race, it's a complete shock," Beard said after crossing the line in 22:46, seven seconds ahead of Heleen Joubert of Momentum, a Pretoria-based company. "After my run this morning my legs were a bit heavy, but after a while I got into the spirit of the event and it felt like a holiday out on the course."

Beard - a marketing specialist for Standard Bank - watched her teammate Lesley Sopper finish third overall among women, and the Bank stands a good shot of earning a trip to New York itself in either the women's or mixed categories. Check back to www.jpmorganchasecc.com in the coming days for complete team results.

As it was, Standard Bank walked away with more hardware, earning the Largest Participation Award with 808 total participants. Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree was on hand to accept the award, further reinforcing the impact this event had on the corporate community.

Speaking of corner office types, Jean-Patrick Leger of Vesco Plastics Sales ( 20:28 ) and Wendy Weir of Wisdom Management Search (27:13) were the respective male and female Most Senior Executive winners.

"I think one should exercise every day," said Leger. "I start at about half-past five every morning, and find it keeps me sharp. It's important to blend fitness with business, and that's a big reason why you have a winning formula here."

Event benefited the African Self Help Association

The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Johannesburg benefited the African Self Help Association (ASHA Funds). The Corporate Challenge made a donation of 125,000 Rand to ASHA Funds, and JPMorgan matched it locally. ASHA centres are safe havens protecting children from abuse and provide exciting learning opportunities to preserve vulnerable families.

"We have 4,000 children in the program and this donation means the number will grow," said Craig Papo, Operations Manager for ASHA Funds. "There is nothing as upsetting as turning away children because there is no room for them. This will help us a great deal in not turning around any children."

This event in Johannesburg marked the fourth different continent the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge has visited. It'll be five in April when the Corporate Challenge takes off in Singapore. The Series will ultimately host 2004 events in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

"What we achieved this evening is making very clear that this is a Johannesburg heat of a global series," said JPMorgan's Coulter. "We brought Johannesburg into the global event, and quite successfully at that."