More than 8,700 runners and walkers hoofed it through downtown Rochester Tuesday night, for the 28th running of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.
This was the second year the event has been held downtown; previously it was held at RIT for a number of years and before that, Highland Park.
This event features teams from more than 360 businesses and other organizations.
Daniel Cross is managing director for Love Beets in Rochester and he says besides being a great time, this event is a nice way to showcase his company's products.
“I think beets are a healthy item , we’ve got some pro runners in our group, so we thought it would be a good thing to be involved in lately,” Cross told WXXI News.
Penny Jones was with her coworkers from Honeoye Central School, one of the more than 300 organizations and businesses participating. She says it's a nice way to meet up with your colleagues.
“It’s just great camaraderie. It’s a good way to get some exercise and spend time with your friends and other people, our colleagues at school.”
Lorri Harkins works for Bonduelle, a frozen vegetable processor that has plants in the region. She likes the move to a downtown venue.
“I think it’s great for parking down here, I think it’s a big open area, it’s fun in the stadium they have a band so it’s fun.
This year's 3.5 mile course was a little different than last year; it spent more time on downtown streets and less on the Inner Loop.
J.P. Morgan made a donation to the Veterans Outreach Center in celebration of the race participants.
The first-place men’s finisher was Matthew Wilber, representing Corning Federal Credit Union, with a winning time of 18:21. Trisha Byler of DuPont successfully defenders her 2017 women’s title, breaking the tape in 21:16.
The largest companies in terms of participation were: Wegmans (862 entrants); Paychex (410), Rochester Regional Health (364), University of Rochester (261), City of Rochester (147), Harris Corporation (145) and LaBella Associates (100).
The runners/walkers gather outside Frontier Field:
