It was indeed a wonderful sunny day at Delaware Park as the 29th Annual Chase Corporate Challenge got underway at 6:45PM sharp on Amherst Street just west of Colvin Ave. Some 10,000 entries (and who knows how many posers) from nearly 400 Buffalo and Western New York companies navigated the 3 1/2 mile course through North Buffalo (race ends on Ring Road in Delaware Park not far from Nichols School, and where the bison reside at the Buffalo Zoo).
It's about healthy competition, camaraderie, teambuilding and community. 99 new companies participated this year, with almost 400 companies overall. The largest participation was from Kaleida Health (around 650 entries); Ingram Micro, Catholic Health and Moog all over 200 each; HSBC, ECMC Healthcare Network, the University at Buffalo, Wegmans, and Univera Healthcare all over 150 each.
Any interesting stories from the Corporate Challenge? Please let us know!
The Buffalo Chase is one of 12 cities (including London and Sydney) participating on five continents. A friend of mine in town from Manhattan mentioned that the Chase was running simultaneously in Central Park, New York City.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Eric County Executive Chris Collins, the official starters, are preparing the finish line here just moments before the first finisher
The J P Morgan Chase Foundation made a donation for each entry to the Buffalo Office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation(LISC) and the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. The LISC donation will be earmarked for the Groundwork Buffalo project, which will work toward revitalizing underutilized, vacant or Brownfield properties.
Chris Muldoon, Crowley Webb and Associates, finishes first in 17:24
More winners! The Cliffstar, Hebeler and Tetra Tech companies won the best t-Shirt competition. And speaking of t-shirts, as a volunteer I had the pleasure of helping distribute ladies' medium t-shirts again this year. We ran out of ladies' small, and there was a run on men's XL... same as last year.
Jennifer Acker, Amherst Central Schools, is the first Ladies finisher at 20:18
At the finish line, two of the first four ladies finishers were posers! For shame ladies. I find it amazing that the officials were able to police such shenanigans! Shades of Rosie Ruiz. Wonder where they jumped into the race... on Nottingham Terrace perhaps?
Family cheering papa at the finish line
Did you know that The Challenge promotes eco-friendly practices? Shuttles run back and forth from Buffalo State College. Event organizers claim that with using said shuttles, along with online registrations and thorough recycling, the Corporate Challenge will be able to save approximately 48 million BTUs, approximately enough energy to light Ralph Wilson Stadium for five Buffalo Bills' home games.
Thanks to the map (new this year) I was able to find and visit friends in ten tents! Great job Chase!
Do you wonder if Cellino is faster than Barnes? The Internet changes our world yet again, as for the first time some companies are posting their runners' times on the official website.
The Corporate Challenge is nice to read about, but actually attending allows you to network and socialize. And that one of the things that Buffalo is all about.
I enjoyed the Corporate Challenge in previous years, but now my company is too broke to do it. GO ECONOMY!