Participating in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Chase Challenge is a must for Thomas Berenz and his team from Global Safety. “We’ve been in every race for eight years straight. ‘The Chase’ is the hottest topic in the office, even days before it happens. And people are always bragging about their new personal bests,” he says. But as soon as he and his colleagues arrive in Frankfurt, setting athletic records suddenly takes a back seat.

“The real magic is the team experience,” Berenz says. He always makes it a point to stay beside the slowest runner in the group to keep him or her company. And that great team spirit is precisely what has led Opel’s presence at the world’s largest corporate race to grow year after year. The 23rd edition of the mammoth event brought out 70,239 runners from 2,682 companies to take on the car-free streets of downtown Frankfurt. As always, it was a sight to behold.

For those who need a little athletic power in addition to the team experience, Uwe Bernd was once again Opel’s best runner. The athlete from the LG Rüsselsheim running club, who also competes in races

around the world, needed just 19:07 minutes for the 5.6-kilometer race. Christian Schweiger was the second-fastest Opel employee at 21:55 minutes.

↑ Don’t forget: The race served a good cause and helped collect €250,000 for disabled athletes in Germany.

↑ The “ÜberhOH!lspur”: Opel employees made a great impression during the run – and not only because of the new T-shirts.

→ For six months old, Nicolas Gubitz – seen here with his father, Tobias – sure is steady on his feet. That strength, combined with the fact that he was wearing an Opel T-shirt, was enough to qualify him as the youngest competitor on this year’s Opel team.

The inviting Opel Meeting Point in the Taunusanlage is yet another reason why the J.P. Morgan Corporate Chase Challenge is so popular year in and year out. For a number of years now, the Opel team has had many special supporters at the corporate race. BKK vor Ort, a leading health insurance provider, was once again on hand to lend its support at this year’s event. Employees from the provider’s prae Natura supplementary health insurance program organized the clothing storage and timekeeping and handed out finisher packs. Opel Insurance Services and Opel Bank sponsored the run T-shirts. JumpStart employees also helped make the race a complete success, and even colleagues from other GM sites traveled to Frankfurt to join the fun.

↑ Green oasis: Opel’s Meeting Point was once again located in the middle of the Taunusanlage.