Macquarie was crowned the “fastest firm in the city” following their first-place finish in the seventh running of the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay Singapore, as 147 teams took to the city’s financial district to battle it out for top spot in the annual event.
Each team consisted of 10 members who were tasked with running the one-mile course in the fastest possible time before passing on the baton to the next colleague. The team to complete its 10 cumulative one-mile laps in the fastest time was Macquarie with the firm crossing the line in 53 minutes and 16 seconds, just ahead of Standard Chartered Bank in second place, and Credit Agricole CIB in third.
Macquarie team captain, Cameron Brooks said: “The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay is very competitive each year, and we were not certain if we would be able to keep our title for the seventh consecutive year. In fact, it felt like we might not have been able to make first place halfway through the race, but the team persevered and we made it. We’re all very happy, of course, and Macquarie will also be donating an additional USD$20,000 to the relay’s ‘The Extra Mile’ initiative.”
The fastest runner on the day was Ashley Miles, from Macquarie, who ran his one-mile lap in a time of 4 minutes and 52 seconds, and the Fastest Mixed Team award was won by GIC Pte Ltd in a time of 1 hour 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
A new award category for the 2019 series was the Fastest All-Female Team – introduced to continue the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay’s commitment to increasing female participation across the series – which was won by Macquarie. Their team captain, Olivia Shepherd, said: “It’s amazing that the organisers are committed to encouraging female runners to be a part of the relay. We actually entered two teams last year with a total of four female runners. This year, we sent three teams with a total of 12 female runners, proving that this new award category is definitely effective.”
Through the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay’s ‘The Extra Mile’ initiative, the series aims to address unique social challenges in each city where the relay race takes place, with projects delivering lasting positive social impact long after the teams cross the finish line. Ahead of participating, all 1470 Singapore runners were asked to select one of three causes to run for, put forward by The Extra Mile Partner SportCares, with each respective lap time counting towards their chosen cause. The cause with the quickest average time was Access & Inclusion, receiving 25% of each team’s race entry fee, amounting to S$45,572. SportCares will now use this donation to deliver a year-long programme to address the winning cause.
147 teams competed in the Singapore leg of the global race series, which takes place annually in 12 cities world-wide, including Beijing and Mumbai that hosted their inaugural races this year. Headline sponsor Bloomberg returned for its seventh year of sponsorship in Singapore, joined by Pure Fitness as Fitness Partner, Conrad Centennial Hotel as Hotel & Catering Partner, and Peroni as Beer Supplier.
James Hassett, Managing Director of race organiser Square Mile Sport, said: “Thank you to all our sponsors and partners for helping make the Singapore race such a success. The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay is an unparalleled sporting event that offers the city’s leading institutions an opportunity to come together for a night of a night of camaraderie, competition, teamwork, and networking in support of a special cause. It was exciting to welcome Beijing and Mumbai to the global series of races this year, but Singapore’s business community always displays a level of enthusiasm, competitive spirit and teamwork unlike any other city and we always look forward to returning every year.”
Download the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay App via squaremilerelay.com/app (also available on the App Store and Google Play) for updates on race information, including LIVE race lap timings and results.
About Bloomberg Square Mile Relay
Website: www.squaremilerelay.com/singapore
Facebook: BloombergSquareMileRelay
Twitter: @SquareMileRelay
Instagram: @bloombergsquaremilerelay
Official hashtag: #WeRunThisCity
The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay is a one-of-a-kind, immersive team building experience, which uniquely takes place in the heart of financial districts in 12 cities around the world. Unlike other corporate events where individuals compete against one-another, this event is all about the TEAM. You and nine co-workers take it in turn to run an unconventional and exciting one-mile lap. After you’ve taken on your business rivals and earned your bragging rights for the year, your team can kick back at the after party, enjoy complimentary hospitality and celebrate with a live DJ in the Race Village.
About Square Mile Sport
Square Mile Sport is the event owner and delivery agency of the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay – a unique event series designed exclusively to provide businessmen and women with an outlet for their sporting passion. Established in 2007 in London, Square Mile Sport plans to replicate the event in cities across the world. Square Mile Sport is wholly owned by Benchmark Sport, which operates leading international brands including the Sport Industry Group and Beyond Sport. www.squaremilerelay.com
About Bloomberg
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength: leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. For more information, visit www.bloomberg.com
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