Posted: January 23, 2006

Athletics: The Greatest Race On Earth Marathon Series Leads The Way

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race On Earth, in response to the announcement of the World Marathon Majors in London and Boston today, presents you with the following information, by way of comparison and to supplement your coverage:

Key facts

* The Greatest Race On Earth (GROE) is the world’s first marathon relay across nations, and is now well into its second series. It comprises four challenging marathons across Asia and Africa, in the exotic cities of Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong.
* GROE is fast becoming a World Cup of Marathons, with over 30 different nationalities from around the world being represented in each marathon leg. Reflecting the international spirit best is the Nations Challenge team competition, into which 27 National Athletics Associations have entered.
* Since its launch, GROE has been the richest event in the history of world athletics, with a total prize pool of US$1.575 million this series.
* Athletes run in some of the world's most difficult conditions – high altitude, heat, humidity and uphill courses – that they might not normally experience in other high profile marathons.
* GROE has revolutionised the traditionally individual sport of marathon running by shifting focus more towards teamwork, co-operation and collaboration. Teams taking part consist of four runners, one runner to run in each marathon leg and the fastest cumulative time winning.
* As well as featuring elite runners, GROE broadens participation by giving athletes from non-traditional marathon running nations the opportunity to compete on a more regular basis.
* GROE promotes “Seeing is Believing”, through which Standard Chartered has committed to raise US$6 million before the end of 2006. This money will help restore the sight of one million people in developing nations with visual impairment.

This series:

* The 2005/6 Series began in October 2005 and has completed its first three marathon legs, with the finale to take place in Hong Kong on 12 February.
* The Greatest Race is growing - over 500 participants are running in the 2005/6 Series, more than double the total from last year’s inaugural series. This includes Community teams, visually-impaired teams and Standard Chartered employee teams.
* Despite these adversities, the fast times achieved this series so far has demonstrated the quality of the field. The course record has been broken in two of the three marathons so far. The GROE winner in Mumbai last week, David Mandago Kipkorir, ran 2:12:18.
* In the current standings, the UK National Team is the first non-African team in an excellent sixth place. Toby Lambert ran 2:24:39 in the Mumbai leg last week (15 January).

Competition structure

The structure of GROE is as follows:

- Main Team Challenge - contested by all teams entered, with a prize pool covering the top ten. There is also a prize pool for the top three women’s teams.
- Nations Challenge - open only to teams endorsed by National Athletics Associations. There are prizes for the top three teams overall, as well as the top three in each region – Africa, South Asia, North East Asia, South East Asia and Europe & Oceania.
- Individual Challenge - strong, dedicated athletes run all four marathons (a total of 168km) as an individual.

Quotes from Brian Greenwood, PRISM (The Greatest Race On Earth Race Office)

“GROE’s own unique marathon relay concept is embracing more cultures from around the world, and has therefore broadened participation to levels previously unseen in the sport.

“We are complimented that the world’s major marathons have seen the success of GROE and are trying to take a similar route. However, what we are doing is quite different.

“GROE is unique in that, as well as featuring the world’s elite athletes, it also gives athletes from non-traditional marathon-running nations the opportunity to compete on a more regular basis. Also, in doing this, GROE is unearthing some hot talent who will go on to represent their countries at future Olympics and World Championships.”

Find out the current overall standings and more at www.thegreatestrace.com.

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth

The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) was created in 2004 – the first-ever virtual relay race across four marathons. There were over 260 participants, including 22 national teams and 19 individuals who entered the race. The quality of the runners was world-class, with 24 GROE runners placing in the top 10 of each of the four marathons.

Building on the success of the first year, Standard Chartered presents GROE for the second time, attracting double the number of participants from the first Series. The race covers marathons in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong, representing some of the most challenging environments in the world:

· The highest race at over 1,600 metres in Nairobi – 23 October 2005
· The island race around Singapore – 4 December 2005
· The historic race through Mumbai – 15 January 2006
· The harbour race across Hong Kong – 12 February 2006

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”.

3 overall categories

Main Team Challenge: Prize pool of USD 1,125,000; fastest combined time of four runners across all four marathons (one runner per team per race); top prize of USD 400,000; prizes to 10th place. Includes a bonus prize pool of USD 175,000 for top three women teams.
Nations Challenge: Prize pool of USD 320,000 – fastest National Athletics Association team time of four runners across all four marathons (one runner per team per race); top overall prize of USD 70,000. Teams are also divided into regions – Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia and Europe & Oceania with a prize pool for teams who finish in top three in each region.
Individual Challenge: Prize pool of USD 130,000; fastest aggregate time of one individual runner to run all four marathons; prizes for top three places.

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.

Standard Chartered PLC 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, securities 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 corporate responsibility as well as its commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates.

For further information on Standard Chartered Bank, please log into: www.standardchartered.com

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