Once again, it looks like London is going to be true royalty in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series.

Royalty in this case is defined as excellence on the 3.5-mile (5.6km) race course. Over two nights of racing in this year’s Corporate Challenge at leafy Battersea Park – the 37^th edition, dating back to 1986 – the 27,915 participants from 680 companies had an average finish time of 32 minutes and 14 seconds (32:14). Through 10 events in the 2025 Corporate Challenge Series, that is the fastest average time of any location.

But, then again, this is not a surprise. In fact, you can also describe London as a running dynasty as it had the fastest average finish time the previous three years also – 32:13 in 2024, 32:27 in 2023, and 32:25 in 2022.

Helping London get to the top of the Series charts were the fastest individuals in the male, female, and non-binary categories. Andrew Penney from Deutsche Bank was the top male, with a stunning time of 16:39. Yvie Lock was an amazing female individual champion, breaking the tape in 19:09. And Jac Reid, representing Balyasny Asset Management, earned the non-binary crown in 23:49.

There was exceptional depth in the field as 12 males finished with times of 17:30 (5:00 mile pace) or faster, and 16 females completed the cross-country style course in 21:30 (6:00 pace) or better.

But it wasn’t all about fast runners. The spirit of the Corporate Challenge also showed post-race with hundreds of the entered companies celebrating with food, beverage and camaraderie in reserved hospitality space.

The 10 largest companies in terms of entrants for the 2025 Corporate Challenge London were Deutsche Bank (599 participants), Goldman Sachs (502), HSBC (500), UBS (500), Morgan Stanley (475), BNP Paribas (470), Macquarie Group (350), Barclays (321), NatWest (300), and Schroders Investment Management (300).

"Every year we love to participate in the Corporate Challenge,” said Juliet Sidaway, team captain for Barclays. “Last year we were the winning mixed team and now are delighted to bringing one of the largest groups we have had in many years. What makes it special is that it encourages many new runners and provides a great opportunity for everyone to connect beyond the office and focus on wellbeing alongside supporting such a great cause in Family Action."

Indeed, event owner and operator J.P. Morgan donated in honour of the nearly 28,000 participants to Family Action, which for over 150 years has provided a lifeline for families in communities across London and nationwide. The donation will help the thousands of families in need through Family Action’s FOOD clubs in London, crisis grants, and the FamilyLine free helpline and counselling service for those in need.

J.P. Morgan has been supporting Family Action for several years – supporting the not-for-profit’s annual Toy Appeal, provision of education grants for single parents and most recently through the Small Change initiative.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of the thousands of people who took part in this year’s JP Morgan Corporate Challenge,” said Sir David Holmes, CEO of Family Action. “This fantastic support for Family Action’s work will help so many families in crisis and will make a huge difference in London and beyond.”

As noted earlier, London is the 10^th event of the 2025 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series, which will visit 16 locations in eight countries on all six permanently inhabited continents. The roster includes with eight markets in the United States, two in China, and one each in Argentina, Australia, England, Germany, Singapore, and South Africa. Through 10 events in 2025, the Corporate Challenge Series has drawn 196,584 participants (19,658 average per event), an increase of 2% over 192,517 attracted through the same 10 events in 2024.

And with six locations remaining in the 2025 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series, could London be topped in terms of fastest participants? We’ll start to find out on September 3 when the 49^th year of the Series resumes in San Francisco.