Last Friday morning, Singapore played host to the ninth pit stop of the Standard Chartered Belt & Road Relay, the first ever global running event spanning the Belt and Road initiative. 

Click here to view the Standard Chartered Belt and Road Relay 2019 photos.

The global initiative highlights the Bank’s continued commitment to Belt and Road and the positive impact of communities to businesses globally.

The Belt and Road initiative is core to Standard Chartered. In 2017, the Bank committed additional financing to Belt and Road projects of at least USD 20 billion by 2020 and was invited in more than 50 Belt and Road deals worth more than USD 10 billion across a range of products and services.

Event symbolises the values of the Bank

Said Patrick Lee, 47, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, “Standard Chartered has been in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe for over 150 years and our footprint covers two thirds of the Belt and Road markets. Our unique global network, coupled with our rich heritage and deep local knowledge, positions us ideally as the right partner for clients and partners who wish to leverage on this global collaboration.”

Continued Lee, “A unique global running event like the Standard Chartered Belt & Road Relay showcases the nature of global trade flows and also stands for so many values that are part of our Bank’s culture, that is, going the distance, international and collaboration, not to mention the experience that we have in sponsoring signature Marathon running events across different markets.”

Relay began in Hong Kong with eight staff athletes 

The Relay, which had kicked off at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on 17 February, was being led by eight core staff athletes from Standard Chartered, selected from the Bank’s diverse footprint in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

Said Lee on the selection process, “We looked at people who symbolised the the general representative of all our markets – that is, those with the right spirit and attitude that represents our Bank values as well as the diversity of the bank.”

He continued, “The eight athletes we have picked are our colleagues from the global Standard Chartered network – there are two from each of our four regions – Greater China and North Asia, ASEAN and South East Asia, Africa and Middle East and Europe and the Americas. They were selected from a rigorous global competition where they were given free play to submit content featuring their athletic ability and passion to promote the Belt and Road Relay. And over 550 colleagues put their hands up for the 90 Day race – this is a fantastic showcase of our colleagues’ creativity and enthusiasm.”

The eight core staff athletes will be running in 44 of the Belt & Road markets within a 90 Day period and they will end their run in China on 11 May after the Belt and Road Forum.

Singapore’s Therese Neo is one of the core athletes  

One of the staff athletes is Singaporean Therese Neo, a Relationship Manager with the Bank’s Global Subsidiaries Team. She joined the Bank as a graduate and spent one and a half years of her career working in Vietnam.

Her selection had come as a pleasant surprise to Neo, 28. She said, “I was very happy and I also could not believe that I had the opportunity to take part in this. It came as a complete shock.”

As she had already been training for the Half Marathon event at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in the months leading to her application for the Belt & Road Relay last September, Neo already had a strong running base to begin with. 

But after the Half Marathon had been concluded last December, Neo then shifted her training towards shorter, high intensity workouts such as intervals and circuit training, in order to better equip her body for the demands and rigours of the Belt & Road Relay.

She said “I had been putting in quite a lot of distance, but this race isn’t about the distance. Each run is quite short at 10km maximum, but then again, you are running every other day.”

Neo, in fact, had been so committed to the Belt and Road Relay that she had even postponed her wedding celebration for the event. Said Neo, “I have an amazing hubby who had agreed to postpone our wedding celebrations so that I could participate in the Relay. He recognises that this is an incredible opportunity for me and I am truly grateful.”

Relishing the experience 

And once she had embarked on the actual adventure, Neo has relished the experience of being an integral part of the Belt and Road Relay.

She said, “So far, the running has been the easiest part because you are running every other day. Back home, I was already training four times per week. It’s roughly a maximum of 10km per session but some markets are less, according to the route. The hardest part is the traveling because if we are not running, we are attending events or checking in and out of airports, and that can be quite tiring.”

Continued Neo, “So far the race has only brought us through the Asian markets so there’s been no time difference yet for me and I am used to the food. But when we move to the Middle East and Africa for the later part of the Relay, things will definitely get harder for me in terms of how my body will cope with food and climates that I am not accustomed to. It’s hard to imagine now, though. But I am still very excited.”

Singapore Leg was an easy 3.2km run

The Singapore leg of the Belt and Road Relay had been a leisurely 3.2km run around the Marina Promenade, passing by iconic sights and sounds of Singapore such as the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Merlion and the Fullerton Bay Hotel.

The run, which had began at 7.30am in the morning, saw 160 staff members from Standard Chartered Bank taking part, together with the eight staff athletes as well as members of the media. 

I had participated in the run, too, and it was a cool and breezy morning for a short fun run, by Singapore standards at least. I had enjoyed the run, soaking up the sights and sounds of the Singapore cityscape. As such, the running part was over all too soon.

My only gripe about the short run, though, was that the staircase near the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall had been part of the route and as a result, climbing up and down this, had disrupted my running pace.

Emcee Ross Sarpani had been there to commentate throughout the event, too, and he greeted me when I had crossed the finish line, about 19 minutes later.

Hearty breakfast awaited the finishers 

And following the run, a hearty breakfast had been provided for participants and this had comprised of a choice of chicken sausage hot dogs, ham panini or a vegetarian sandwich option. 

As well, there was also water, orange juice and fruits given out as condiments, too.

A great initiative showcasing the Bank’s strengths 

And Lee was also pleased with how the Singapore event had panned out, with the baton now being passed to Manila in the Philippines for the next leg of the Belt and Road Relay.

Said Lee, “It is a great initiative to showcase the strengths of the bank, bringing communities together and tying all our markets together. This shows the strength of the Standard Chartered Bank and our ability to operate and work across many global markets.”

He continued, “The buzz at the event was great, too. I run the Ekiden every year at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and  I can really feel the adrenaline and atmosphere of 50,000 runners coming together every December to take part in that. Today it was the same buzz on a much smaller scale, but it was still nice, with employees from all backgrounds and walks of life feeling good about exercising as a community and having a nice breakfast after the run, simply enjoying being together. This emphasises what we are as a bank – working harmoniously across borders with a diverse team.”

As well, for Neo, too, being a core part of the Belt and Road Relay has also been a great and thrilling experience, so far, for her.

She said, “For someone who is experiencing it, this is crazy and ambitious but it is also amazing to me, that the bank has given their own employees the chance to travel to every one of their global markets. I think that this is such an innovative way to showcase our commitment to the Belt and Road initiative.”