Last Thursday evening, the 14th edition of the 5.6km J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge took place, with more than 14,300 participants from 301 companies swapping their business shoes for running trainers, for an evening of fun, fitness and camaraderie.
The first to break the tape in the Men’s race was Fraser Thompson, 39, a Consultant from AlphaBeta (SG) Pte Ltd with a time of 17 minutes and 50 seconds, who was surprised by his win.
Fraser Thompson wins the Men’s race.
[Photo credit to J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.]
Said Fraser, “I have a four month old son, so I haven’t been sleeping much, and so I didn’t know what to expect. The support, atmosphere and weather were great and I am really happy with my run; it turned out a lot better than I had hoped.”
He added, “My company is always very supportive of sports and so they put plenty of money into events like this. It’s also lovely to run with so many like-minded colleagues and the camaraderie here is great.”
Jasmine Teo wins the Women’s race. [Photo credit to J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.]
Winning the Women’s race was Jasmine Teo, 24, who works in Sales at Bloomberg. She had completed the 5.6km race in a solid 21 minutes and 53 seconds. Said Jasmine, “The win is really unexpected. This is the first race I have ever won. I’ve been really busy with work and planning my wedding, so this small achievement means a lot to me.”
She added “The atmosphere was really good and everyone bonded at the start line. The rain also hyped us up and provided a form of adrenaline for the run.”
What were the winners’ strategies?
Successful Race Strategies
What were the winners’ successful strategies at the race?
For Fraser, it had been to listen to his body. He said “Today I decided to go out and see how my body felt. I got the lead after a kilometre of running and I was running alongside a Singaporean runner from PWC. Then I decided to make a break when we did the u-turn on the home stretch and it all came together for me, so I was lucky.”
Jasmine, on the other hand, said that hers had been to run a constant pace. She said “I told myself that I was going to run a constant pace and enjoy myself and have fun. That was basically my strategy. I think that it has also been the small effort that I have been putting into my running day to day, that counted. I’ve also been lucky to have had the support from friends and family, so that helped me to have the motivation to win this.”
The winners on stage.
Continued Jasmine, “In fact I had only realised that I could win at the last 1km when I had a couple of runners who had already completed their run, pass me on the way out, and they told me that I am the first woman. So I thought, this is my chance, I just got to sprint now and give it my all. I was very humbled by this win, because I have a lot of friends who run faster than me.”
Advice from the two champions
And what can the winners share with other runners out there?
In fact both Fraser and Jasmine strongly believe that regular training had helped them to clinch their win.
What advice can the winners give to all the runners out there?
Said Fraser, “I think that regular training helps. You never know how well you will do on the day, so always give it your best shot. I train daily, but the weekly mileage varies anywhere from 70km to 100km depending on whether I am travelling.”
Added Jasmine, “To be honest, I think that it is my steady, constant training on a day to day basis, that gave me the energy and strength to push and win this today.”
Race Review: J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2017
Fraser Thompson: A business consultant, family man and runner
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