ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST – JP MORGAN CHASE CORPORATE CHALLENGE OUT IN 2006
“Dear Company Captain,” the message began. This very benign greeting held no hint of the bad news it was relaying. After seventeen years, the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge race in Morristown would take place no more.
The Corporate Challenge series is being whittled down to just 13 races and Morristown, the smallest and toughest of the lot, was one of several that are being dropped.
For seventeen years the three and a half mile race that began and ended at the Headquarters Plaza in Morristown had taken over the city for one night each July. In the first years, when a thousand runners descended on the little city, and roads were closed and drivers had to take alternate routes to get from one side of town to the other, it could be said that not all were happy to have this great event come to town.
The cause was, and is noble. The Corporate Challenge was created to help companies encourage their employees to get out of their chairs and go out to run and get healthy. While the majority of the challenge racers never became runners in the truest sense of the word, some did, and all could see the benefit of regular exercise.
In those early days, the locals were far from enthusiastic about the event in which a stream of runners invaded their streets. But a funny thing happened along the way. Disinterest soon turned to enthusiastic support. Soon residents were looking forward to race day. Many set up sprinklers on their curbs so runners could enjoy a cold spray as they chugged on by.
Nowhere along the route were the streets ever empty of spectators. In Morristown, that one night in July, it was a running festival.
As the years passed the initial attendance numbers went from one thousand to two thousand and to close to three thousand, and along with the runners came their family and friends who were there just to cheer them on and be part of the fun.
Yes fun. For although the Morristown course was the toughest, hilliest course in the series, and at three and a half miles, longer than the popular 5K’s that are only 3.1 miles, the sense of belonging and of being part of a fit group was clearly fun.
But fun is seldom a bottom line in business. The message to the captains went on to explain that the Corporate Challenge has become much more global with six countries on five continents. “Because of this, it is simply no longer cost-effective for us to conduct multiple events in the New York metropolitan area.”
“Essentially it was just that we needed to consolidate within the region,” said Michael Dorfsman, vice president of media relations at JP Morgan Chase. “We had to make the regrettable decision to not do Morristown. We are also not going to do one on Long Island.”
He went on to say that a race in Stamford Connecticut had been dropped previously as had races in two other New Jersey locations, Newark and Paramus. Fifteen percent of the Morristown runners have participated in other Challenge events, according to Dorfsman, although he did not venture to guess if that number would increase with the loss of the Morristown race.
“It was really a terrific event and we regret having to make that decision,” said Dorfsman. “We hope that as many Morristown runners that can come into New York will do so.”
BIG RACES LEAVING RUNNERS GASPING
There is no question that area runners are reeling from the loss of two of the biggest races in the state. First to come off the 2006 race calendar was the Midland Run in May and now the truly successful corporate race in July. Last September the Pfizer United Way 5K in Morris Plains was suspended due to construction on Route 53. Runners can only pray that it will return in 2006.
The Pfizer race and the Corporate Challenge, obviously, were two very big draws for corporate teams. Typically companies will fund a fixed number of team races. Right now, the only two area races with team competition s are the Wyeth Run with Pride 5K in Madison in May and the Merry Heart 5K in Roxbury in June. Another race, the CPA 5K in Roseland in June, with a huge team following was dropped in 2005.
Listen closely. Opportunity is knocking for some entrepreneur to come in and fill the void.
Published in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, January 15, 2006
Copyright, MADELINE BOST, 2006
