Posted: October 20, 2004

Athletics: 31 Kenyans start 'home' marathon as The Greatest Race on Earth kicks off in Nairobi

LONDON 20 OCTOBER 2004 - There are 31 Kenyan athletes taking part in their 'home' marathon as part of The Greatest Race on Earth and they will have the backing of thousands of locals who are expected to turn out and watch the race. However, the fastest starter is Ethiopian runner Moges Taye with a personal best time of 2:09:11 and who is running for the Demadonna Team Ethiopia.

The first race of the inaugural Greatest Race challenge will take place on Sunday 24 October 2004. This is the first leg in the virtual marathon relay race which also includes three other Standard Chartered Bank sponsored marathons in Mumbai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The unique format of the Greatest Race team competition has attracted a total of 17 professional, 24 National Athletic Associations, 19 Standard Chartered employee & other representative teams and one professional female team. They will be joined by over 1,000 runners who will be taking part in the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon.

With a total prize pool in excess of USD $1 million on offer, there are a number of quality teams in the field. There is also USD $100,000 available to the individual who completes each of the four marathons in the lowest aggregate time.

Each team consists of four runners with a team member running in one marathon each. Teams must nominate who will run in each full marathon before the start of the series, and the winning team will be the one whose athletes record the lowest aggregate time across the four marathons.

All competitors taking part in the Greatest Race will have to contend with gruelling race conditions, with altitude of more than 1,676m above sea level. There are athletes from 30 nations taking part in Nairobi as part of the Greatest Race and it will be interesting to see who copes best with the energy sapping environment.

The fastest Kenyan runner in the field, representing the PACE Sports team is Stephen Ndungu who has a personal best of 2:09:54. With 20 other male athletes taking part who have achieved times of under 2:20:00, the first leg of the Greatest Race is certain to be fiercely contested.

Aside from the professional teams, there has been significant interest from National Athletic Associations around the world. A total of 24 teams have registered, with the favourites being the Kenyan team who will be looking to gain a fast start in Nairobi from home town boy Dominic Lagat who has a personal best time of 2:11:45. With a total prize fund of USD $145,000 up for grabs in the National competition, Kenya will face stiff competition.

With a personal best time of 2:48:00, Michee Bhageea from Mauritius is not only a talented distance runner, but also a full-time singer and musician!

Another interesting runner is Anton Steven who is representing Indonesia and is also running as an individual in all four marathons! Anton has never had any complaints about slow delivery in his day job as a postman!

Running the first leg for the all female elite team - sponsored by Standard Chartered is Delilah Asiago, who will be looking to go one better after her second place finish in Nairobi in 2003.

In addition to the Full Marathon, there are five other events taking place over the weekend: Half Marathon, 10K Road Race, Wheelchair Race, Corporate Team Challenge and the family fun run. These races have clearly caught the attention of the public, with over 5,000 runners expected to participate in the various categories over the weekend.

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth Marathons

Last year, about 70,000 people ran in Standard Chartered sponsored marathons in four major cities. In 2005, Standard Chartered Bank is proud to be title sponsor of marathons in six major cities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The marathons characterise the values and attitude that Standard Chartered believes in, and lives by everyday - a "can-do" attitude, a priority on strength of trust, willpower, stamina, and the determination to "go the distance".

This year, Standard Chartered presents The Greatest Race on Earth, a challenging virtual relay race across the Bank's four established marathons.

· In Nairobi on 24 October 2004
· In Singapore on 5 December 2004
· In Mumbai on 16 January 2005
· In Hong Kong on 27 February 2005

3 competition categories

Main (open to all): Prize pool of USD 1 million prize pool - fastest combined time of four runners across all four events (one runner per team per race); top prize of USD 400,000; prizes to 15th place

Individual: USD 100,000 Winner Takes all prize for fastest individual time across all four events

Nations: Prize pool of USD 145,000 - fastest National Athletics Association-fielded team time of four runners in all four events (one runner per team per race); top prize of USD 70,000; prizes for the top three

Charity ties - including the Bank's own global initiative, 'Seeing is Believing' - means that every step raises money to help make a difference in people's lives. Henry Wanyoike, a blind distance runner and world record holder in the 10km for the visually impaired, will run in all four of the races. Standard Chartered will match public donations, up to USD 1,000 for every kilometre he runs to Seeing is Believing.

Standard Chartered - leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Standard Chartered employs 30,000 people in over 500 locations in more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas. It is one of the world's most international banks, with a management team comprising 70 nationalities.

Standard Chartered is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is in the top 25 FTSE-100 companies, by market capitalisation.

It serves both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers. Consumer Banking provides credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, deposit taking and wealth management services to individuals and small to medium sized enterprises. Wholesale Banking provides corporate and institutional clients with services in trade finance, cash management, lending, security services, foreign exchange, debt capital markets and corporate finance.

Standard Chartered is well-established in growth markets and aims to be the right partner for its customers. The Bank combines deep local knowledge with global capability.

The Bank is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and its commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates.