The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2020

The 44th annual J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge (JPMCC) went virtual this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

So instead of gathering together at the National Gallery and running through the heart of the beautiful Marina Bay like we would usually do, JPMCC runners this year were tasked with downloading the official race app, JPMCC Virtual, to time and clock their own 5.6km runs, at a time and venue of their choosing.

Runners were given from 10th – 22nd October to complete their run.

Close to 9,000 participants signed up for the Singapore race.

Upon download, you need to sign into the app using your registration ID and date of birth. This was simple enough to follow.

After logging in, the app presents you with a home screen where you click on a simple button to begin your run.

This was pretty easy too.

There is a 3-second countdown on the app, and then you are off. The app, with the voice of Kevin Hart, an award-winning stand-up comedian, actor and producer, will cheer you on with words of encouragement at the beginning.

However, the main drawback apparently is that you need to keep the app running continuously and don’t let your phone go to sleep throughout the duration of the run.

Throughout the run, the app also cheers you at each kilometre mark, telling you how far you have run and/or how far you still have left to go, along with words of encouragement about how strong you are and how well you are running.

I thought it was motivating and definitely helped to keep me going.

My route had not been the most scenic though. It was a simple out-and-back run through the Haig Walk park connector, from Katong Shopping Centre to the Haig Road Market and KINEX. A far cry from the picturesque scenery of Marina Bay, I know.

soon, I had realised that the route which I had picked was slightly short, so I made up for the shortfall by running a loop around my block. I guess that seeing my house up ahead was also a good motivation to go a bit faster.

And at the 5km mark, the app egged me on to “give it all I’ve got” as I was now on the home stretch. I think I really did unconsciously speed up quite a bit, at this point!

The app offers a congratulatory message when you are done with the run and this brought a smile to my face.

Overall I would say I am happy with my official timing of 31 minutes 46 seconds for the official 5.63km run.

In terms of the accuracy of the app though, the measurement is about 200 – 300 metres off compared to my Garmin. When the app said I was finished with my 5.6km run, my Garmin had said that I had run a distance of 5.3km.

The finisher t-shirt arrived at my doorstep about one week after I had completed the run. It is a blue-grey colour shirt and though I can wear it, I have to say that the shirt is a bit on the baggy side for my liking.

Overall though, despite a few shortcomings, J.P. Morgan have done a decent job with putting together their virtual run. Nothing beats the real thing, though, and I hope to gather together with like-minded people once again to run the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge on the actual race route in the heart of the city.

Snapshots from Team J.P. Morgan and running routes

Since we were allowed to choose our own routes, I checked in with a couple of other participants from Team J.P. Morgan on their routes and got their thoughts about this race. It’s great to know that they were in equally high spirits about the virtual run!

“This year’s inaugural JPMCC Virtual race gave everyone the flexibility of selecting their own scenic routes, adding an element of excitement for me as I chose to run past key landmarks from Singapore’s cityscape, including the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands.”

Calvin Yeo, Head of Sales for Wholesale Payments in Singapore and Indonesia, at the iconic Merlion where he completed his race.

Deborah Jensen

“I thought the lack of race day excitement might dampen my spirits and affect my race results, but I was pleasantly surprised at coming in faster than last year! I found it a great experience, in particular being able to select my own run route and time of day to run.”

Deborah Jensen, Executive Director in the APAC business transformation team for the Wholesale Payments business and J.P. Morgan Singapore team captain for JPMCC, opted for a morning run around Marina Barrage.

“This view, together with the cooler weather, made the run this year really enjoyable. Looking forward to next year’s event, and hoping the physical event returns!”

Elliot Wong

Elliot Wong, Associate in the Employer Branding and Marketing team and the other J.P. Morgan Singapore team captain for JPMCC, followed the usual JPMCC race route for his run in the evening.