29 October 2006, Nairobi - Standard Chartered’s Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) athlete Irene Jerotich today recorded the fastest time ever on Kenyan soil to win the Women’s Nairobi Marathon. The victory puts her team Cyclone into the lead of the GROE Women’s Challenge after the first of four marathons. In a tough contest, Kenyan Jerotich recorded a time of 2:32:46 beating the existing record by over three minutes.
Another GROE runner, China Team’s 19 year-old Zhang Xin, came second with a time of 2:37:34 in her first ever Nairobi Marathon, and elevates her prospects as an emerging talent for China in the 2008 Olympics. Beatrice Omwanza, of the Run for Peace team, came third with a time of 2:39:15.
Kenyan Christopher Cheboiboch was the highest-placed male athlete in this first leg of GROE, the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, with a time of 2:14:59, taking fifth place in the overall marathon. This takes his Run for Fun team into the lead of the GROE Main Team Challenge.
Close behind in second place was Erastus Thumbi running for Posso Nyahururu in 2:15:24, with only one second separating him from Lisoreng Philmon of Kericho team.
The 2006/07 Standard Chartered GROE, which has a total prize pool of US$1.5 million, is a team relay of four challenging marathons in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong. The field of elite athletes and emerging talent sped away from the start-line at 7.45am along the Mombasa Road, all battling the 1,600m altitude.
The new series sees participation from over 30 countries. The GROE Nations Challenge saw Uganda shine, as Moses Cherop stormed through the course to finish with a time of 2:18:26, a creditable 4 minutes 16 seconds ahead of current holders Kenya who are third.
Uganda now lead also the Africa regional competition with Kenya second and Zimbabwe third, finishing with a time of 2:23.39. The six regional competitions within the Nations Challenge look set to be very exciting in this year’s series. Vietnam leads Indonesia by 12 minutes 40 seconds with Indonesia running a 2:35.19 race in the South East Asia category. Amnuay Tongmit from Thailand was third with a time of 2:43:07.
In the North East Asia region, Taiwan are leading with a time of 2:45:40, whilst the South Korea team are in second place over 11 minutes behind and Hong Kong are in third place.
India leads the South Asia region with national representative Lyngkhoi Bining completing the course in 2:25:24. Close rivals Sri Lanka are second with 2:26:18 and Pakistan are third with a time of 2:41:30.
The Oceania and Europe region is lead by Ireland. Cathal O’Connell ran 2:37:53, 3 minutes 49 seconds ahead of Australia with 2:42:42 and Denmark who are placed third.
In the Americas, a new addition to GROE this series, Argentina lead with a time of 2:34:07, almost ten minutes ahead of Mexico.
In an increase on last year’s Nairobi marathon attendance of 12,000, it was estimated that nearly 16,000 runners participated. The consistent growth in the popularity of the Nairobi Marathon since its inception in 2003 was mirrored by the thousands of spectators that lined the new route, and is strong testament to the passion and popularity of long distance running in Kenya.
Greatest Race on Earth Results (provisional) – Leg 1: Nairobi Marathon
Main Team Challenge (open to all teams)
| Position | Name | Team Name | Time (hrs:min:sec) |
| 1. | Christopher Cheboiboch | Run for Fun | 02:14:59 |
| 2 | Erastus Maina Thumbi | Posso Nyahururu | 02:15:24 |
| 3. | Lisoreng Yarasia Philmon | Kericho | 02:15:25 |
| 4. | Jonstone Kemboi Chebii | Kensky Athletics Intyl1 | 02:16:19 |
| 5. | Francis Kipketer Chesumei | Pace Sports Management | 02:16:26 |
Women’s Challenge
| Position | Name | Team Name | Time (hrs:min:sec) |
| 1. | Irene Jerotich | Cyclone | 02:32:46 |
| 2 | Zhang Xin | China Team | 02:37:34 |
| 3. | Beatrice Omwanza | Run for Peace | 02:39:15 |
Nations Challenge (Open to National Associations only)
| Position | Name | National Association | Time (hrs:min:sec) |
| 1. | Moses Cherop | Uganda | 02:18:26 |
| 2 | Nguyen Chi Dong | Vietnam | 02:22:39 |
| 3. | Sammy Karanja Karuku | Kenya | 02:22:42 |
Nations Challenge – Regions
| Position | Name | Country | Time (hrs:min:sec) |
| Africa |
| 1. | Moses Cherop | Uganda | 02:18:26 |
| 2 | Sammy Karanja Karuku | Kenya | 02:22:42 |
| 3. | Abel Chimukoko | Zimbabwe | 02:23:39 |
| North East Asia |
| 1. | Chien-Hsin Chiu | Taiwan | 02:45:40 |
| 2 | Se Jeong, Oh | South Korea | 02:56:49 |
| 3. | Tsui Theeradej Winter | Hong Kong | 03:07:56 |
| Oceania & Europe |
| 1. | Cathal O’Connell | Ireland | 02:37:53 |
| 2 | Martin Considine | Australia | 02:41:42 |
| 3. | Kenneth Munk | Denmark | 02:45:08 |
| South East Asia |
| 1. | Nguyen Chi Dong | Vietnam | 02:22:39 |
| 2 | I Gusti Gede Karangasem | Indonesia 02:35:19 |
| 3. | Amnuay Tongmit | Thailand | 02:43:07 |
| South Asia |
| 1. | Lyngkhoi Bining | India | 02:25:24 |
| 2 | Ishan Kumara Wijethilaka | Sri Lanka | 02:26:18 |
| 3. | Muhammad Aslam | Pakistan | 02:41:30 |
| Americas |
| 1. | Alejandro Gimenez | Argentina | 02:34:07 |
| 2 | Alejandro Jimenez Cara | Mexico | 02:44:04 |
Website: 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. The Main Team Challenge category is open to men and women over 18 years of age, of any nationality, with no restriction on the level of competence. Each team member will run in one marathon. 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.
In 2005/06 the quality of the runners was world-class, with 24 male and 30 female GROE runners placing in the top 10 of each of the four marathons.
Building on the success of the first two series, Standard Chartered presents GROE for the third time. There are over 80 teams and 300 participants taking part. 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 – 29 October 2006
• The island race around Singapore – 3 December 2006
• The historic race through Mumbai – 21 January 2007
• The harbour race across Hong Kong – 4 March 2007
The marathons characterise the values and attitude that Standard Chartered believes in, and lives by every day. Partnership, teamwork, trust, courage, willpower, the determination to “go the distance” and a “can-do” attitude, all of which are Standard Chartered core values, will be key factors in determining the winners.
3 overall categories
Main Team Challenge Prize pool of US$845,000; fastest combined time of four runners across all four marathons (one runner per team per race); top prize of US$400,000; prizes to 5th place. Includes a bonus prize pool of US$200,000 for top five women teams.
The Nations Challenge Prize pool of US$400,000 – fastest National Athletics Association team time of four runners across all four marathons (one runner per team per race); top overall prize of US$50,000. Teams are also divided into 6 regions – Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia, Europe & Oceania, and Americas, with prizes for teams who finish in top three in each region.
Performance Awards Bonus pool of US$55,000 has been set aside for special achievement awards. These are awarded to national teams that have made a significant improvement on their previous GROE times, and teams that have demonstrated commitment, endeavour and determination in competing in and completing the Greatest Race on Earth
Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is consistently ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companies by market capitalisation.
Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and is in many of the world’s fastest-growing markets with an extensive global network of over 1,200 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) in over 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas.
As one of the world’s most international banks, Standard Chartered employs almost 50,000 people, representing over 90 nationalities, worldwide. This diversity lies at the heart of the Bank’s values and supports the Bank’s growth as the world increasingly becomes one market.
With strong organic growth supported by strategic alliances and acquisitions and driven by its strengths in the balance and diversity of its business, products, geography and people, Standard Chartered is well positioned in the emerging trade corridors of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Standard Chartered uniquely derives over 90 per cent of profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Serving both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers worldwide, the Bank combines deep local knowledge with global capability to offer a wide range of innovative products and services as well as award-winning solutions.
Trusted across its network for its standard of governance and corporate responsibility, Standard Chartered takes a long term view of the consequences of its actions to ensure that the Bank builds a sustainable business through social inclusion, environmental protection and good governance.
Standard Chartered is also committed to all its stakeholders by living its values in its approach towards managing its people, exceeding expectations of its customers, making a difference in communities and working with regulators.
For more information on Standard Chartered, please log on to www.standardchartered.com.
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