JP MORGAN CHASE CORPORATE CHALLENGE FRANKFURT 2018

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The JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge is global running series that takes place in 13 different cities with Frankfurt being the biggest stop on the tour. On June 7th almost 70.000 runners took on the 5.6 kilometre-long course, leading through the city and past its skyline.

I joined Lincoln International in February, so this was was the first time that I was able to take part in this event representing my new company. The field of runners is divided in two groups: fast runners and normal runners. I found myself in the fast group, which simply meant that I was allowed to start at the front of the pack. While I normally run far and with a slower pace, I was intrigued to find out how well I could perform over a short distance with a fast pace.

At 19:00 the race began. The crowd started moving. The initial meters required concentration, as I was trying to pave my way through the mass. Eventually the road ahead of me cleared and I was sprinting towards the finish line. While I normally run around 8 km/h up and down the hills, this time I was doubling the speed to around 16 km/h over flat tarmac.

Four kilometres into, I started to realise that I am not a sprinter, as I felt my body getting more tired. I stopped looking at my watch and focussed on the finish line ahead of me. In the end, I crossed the line after 21:43 minutes, which translated into a pace of 3:53 minutes per kilometre, and placed me 172nd in the men’s category and 187th overall.

Not only was I pretty happy with my result, but I was equally amazed by the whole event, which had turned the city into one big party. Thousands of people were standing on the sides cheering on their fellow co-workers. The streets were filled with stands and companies were hosting after-parties for their runners. In my case, Lincoln had organised a great barbeque (incl. special vegan dishes) and open bar for all of us to celebrate this great event.