Posted: October 7, 2005

Athletics: The Greatest Race On Earth Is Back!

578 runners, double the number of runners from last year, will compete in The Greatest Race on Earth 2005/06 Series with its record prize pool of $1.57 million. The Greatest Race on Earth is the world's only relay of marathons, and spans across four countries in Asia and Africa.

Runners will battle altitude, heat and humidity to better last year's winning team time of four marathons in 09:11:32. The quickest debut marathoner ever, Joseph Osoro of Kenya, will be leading the charge, but with 32 professional teams in this year's event, Joseph's team PACE will have to be consistent as well as quick!

The new women's event will be hotly contested as former world record holder and marathon great Tegla Loroupe from Kenya and her team, looks to beat off a strong Chinese team and 11 other all-women teams from across the globe.

While the current dominance of East Africans in marathon running is reflected in the make up of many teams this year, the Nations Challenge boasts a line up of 30 teams representing countries from across the globe.

Each team comprise of four individuals, each running one marathon in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai or Hong Kong. The courses challenge runners to truly demonstrate their passion to achieve and determination to excel.

Mike DeNoma, Group Executive Director of Standard Chartered, said: "It takes great teamwork, courage, determination and commitment to participate in a race like this. It is an extremely competitive race that makes an individual sport into a team event, with the largest prize pool in athletics today."

"In the new season, there are more teams from more countries running faster times. We are also looking to attract stars of the future - The Greatest Race is a platform for up-and-coming runners to break into the international athletic arena."

The Greatest Race 2005/06 series -- bigger and better:

* The Main Team Challenge is open to any team of four runners - professional and amateur alike. Total prize pool of $1,125,000, including a new bonus pool of $175,000 for the top three all-women teams. This is to widen participation and encourage more female athletes to join the competition.

* The Nations Challenge - open to National Athletic Association teams only. Teams are divided into the following regions - Africa, Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia, Americas and Europe & Oceania. The regional prize pool is $175,000. The top three national association teams will also share a $145,000 overall prize. Nation teams are automatically entered into the Main Team Challenge and are eligible to win the associated prize money.

* The Individual Challenge - run all four marathons as an individual and compete for a prize pool of $130,000.

To find out more about the Greatest Race on Earth, visit the website at: www.thegreatestrace.com.

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

Standard Chartered is one of the world's most international banks, employing over 40,000 people, representing 80 nationalities, across its network. Standard Chartered operates in over 1,200 locations (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) in more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas.