Well Run: 15 Bertelsmann Employees Participated In ‘JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge’ In Frankfurt

“Somewhere in the midfield, it doesn’t really matter – the important thing is that we were there,” concludes Arvato Systems’ Hans Schremmer, who took this year’s “JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge” through downtown Frankfurt with 14 other Bertelsmann folks a few days ago. The four Bertelswomen and eleven Bertelsmen joined more than 58,000 runners from 2,018 companies throughout Germany, who had all come to the metropolis to run the 5.6 kilometer course around the Alte Oper part of town. The race was won by others– but that wasn’t the point for Bertelsmann’s athletes anyway.

“Being part of this for the fifth time, having fun together and enjoying the flair of running right through the middle of the banking district – which was blocked for traffic for the day – and flanked by tens of thousands of spectators: That’s the unique thing about the Chase Corporate Challenge,” says Schremmer. He and Reinhard Dobschall, the Director of the Sports and Health Plan, had jointly appealed to employees at Bertelsmann’s Gütersloh-based companies to represent our company in Frankfurt. Members of a running group at Arvato Systems spontaneously joined up. On the big day, the bus left at noon, ensuring that our runners were warmed up and ready in Frankfurt in time for the starting signal at 7.30 p.m., all dressed up in the “Bertelsmann” look– blue-and-orange shirts and shorts.

“We were a motley crew – everything from beginners to marathon veterans,” reports Schremmer. “Team Bertelsmann” ran the course in three groups. Their individual times were added for each group for the total time. On Oct 1, the fastest teams – which this time included Deutsche Telekom’s men’s team and the Hessian police’s women’s team – will compete against the winners from 14 other cities in the “JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge” in New York.

Bertelsmann’s runners harbored no illusions about their prospects of extending the one-day trip to Hessia into a flight to America. But they’re positive that they want to participate in the company run in Frankfurt again. “Perhaps even more Bertelsmann colleagues will join us next year,” hopes Hans Schremmer.