Posted: February 7, 2006

Athletics: Strong line-up announced for The Greatest Race finale in Hong Kong

Teams looking for inspirational performances from star runners in the final leg of the Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth

7 February 2006, London – The finish line is in sight for competitors in Standard Chartered’s The Greatest Race on Earth, a four-marathon relay race in locations around the world. Teams and individuals have run 126 kilometres and flown thousands of miles so far to compete in three of the world’s most exotic cities. Now they are getting ready for one last battle as they bid to win what has been dubbed the World Cup of Marathons.

A strong line-up has been announced for the fourth and final leg of the 2005/6 Series in Hong Kong on 12 February. With several teams and individuals separated by only the tightest of margins after the first three legs of the race, the Hong Kong Marathon will finally settle how the largest prize pool in world athletics, US$1.575 million, will be shared out.

Among the favourites in the Main Team Challenge will be the Kenyan Moses Masai, running for the current leading team, Run For Peace Fun. The in-form Masai won the 2005 Karstadt Ruhrmarathon in Germany in a personal best time 02:10:12. He looks set to do battle with compatriot Noah Bor, running for the Kapsabet-Gianni team. Bor, 28, has an impressive track record and recorded his personal best of 02:08:48 in Rome in 2003. Also near the front of the field should be Moges Taye of the Akaki–Gianni team, who represented Ethiopia in the 2000 Olympics and has a personal best of 2:09:19.

In the Women’s Challenge, current leaders Global Mbio – Women will be represented by Birra Tadelech, who with a PB of 2:31 will be confident of defending their 15 minute advantage over second placed Pema P Services. Tadelech should be wary though of Team China, currently in fifth place, whose athlete Dai Yanyan won in Hong Kong last year and beat her nearest challenger by an incredible ten minutes. With a personal best of 2:24, she will certainly be hard to beat in Hong Kong. Also one to watch will be the emerging talent of 20 year-old Ethiopian Dire Tune of the Haji Adilo Team, who are currently fourth. Last year, Tune competed in the IAAF World Championships marathon in Helsinki and recorded her PB of 2:30:48 in Los Angeles.

As well as attracting some of the world’s best marathon runners, The Greatest Race on Earth is also helping to uncover young running talents who are competing on the international stage for the very first time. Many are expected to go on to challenge for World and Olympic honours in years to come.

These young talents feature in the Nations Challenge, which includes 26 teams submitted by National Athletics Associations. An exciting showdown is expected between the top two teams, Kenya and Zimbabwe, who are currently a mere eight minutes apart. The Regional Challenges have created fascinating local rivalries between competing nations, and looking to defend their strong position in these will be India, Indonesia, Taiwan and UK.

The stakes are also high in the race for The Individual Challenge, where athletes run all four marathons in the series. Amazingly, after three races, the top two contenders, Meshack Kirwa and Emmanuel Kosgei, are separated by just 18 seconds. A nail-biting finish is undoubtedly in store to decide who will win the US$100,000 first prize.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets of Hong Kong on 12 February, bringing the city to a standstill. The Hong Kong Marathon was launched 10 years ago and has earned a reputation for being one of the toughest in the world. The cosmopolitan city’s harbour-side course is uphill most of the way. The course starts in the historic Kowloon district and takes runners between skyscrapers, over bridges, through a tunnel and onto a punishing five kilometre climb to the finishing line on the opposite side of the harbour.

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth sees competing athletes run some of the world's most difficult courses, battling altitude, heat, humidity and exhaustion along the way. The Greatest Race 2005/6 Series has attracted 578 runners, twice the number from last year’s inaugural series. Each leg of the series has seen more than 120 runners from over 30 different countries compete. It all started in Nairobi in October 2005, moving on to Singapore in December 2005 and Mumbai last month, and will come to its conclusion in Hong Kong.

Find out more and register online at www.thegreatestrace.com.

The four marathons that comprise the Greatest Race are:

Nairobi 23 October 2005
Singapore 4 December 2005
Mumbai 15 January 2006
Hong Kong 12 February 2006

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 every day – 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 USD175,000 for top three women teams.

The 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, Europe & Oceania, Middle East and Americas, 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.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest