Colleagues from our Chicago office laced up their sneakers and participated in their first J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Race as “Team Perficient” this year. They were among more than 27,000 competitors from the business and public sectors who participated to raise money for local charities and nonprofit organizations.
“We had a pretty good turnout,” said Alexandra Elledge, a senior instructor in our Microsoft practice. “I think about half the team are semi-experienced runners or at least run regularly. Running isn’t my forte, but I loved getting together for a little friendly competition with my colleagues, and I think others felt the same.”
Camaraderie and Friendly Competition Among Reasons to Run
Many of the Perficient participants described the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge atmosphere as busy and fun. Runners typically spend about 40 minutes in the corrals before getting to the starting line. “You start to get into it once you see the crowds cheering on the sidelines,” Alexandra said.
“People ran for many different reasons, but mostly just to have some camaraderie with their co-workers and a little bit of friendly competition,” said Donald Peterson, a director in our Microsoft practice. “I run every year because it’s a nice change of pace to run downtown in the city with thousands of people. It’s a bonus when the weather ends up being perfect.”
Cheering Section Keeps the Team Moving
Perficient technical consultants Brian Siefferman and Katherine Lin emerged as the fastest on the team, with finishing times of 21:16 and 29:59 respectively.
Those who opted not to run still turned out to cheer on their colleagues or hang out in the Perficient tent. “This race always has a ton of people, and the course can be a bit cramped. But back at our tent it was nice and relaxed and fun,” said Lee Roth, a director with our Microsoft practice.
Team Building Takes on New Meaning
Overall, the run was certainly a bonding experience and an opportunity to raise money for nonprofit organizations and charities.
“The Perficient team was very supportive of one another, and in the end everyone finished with good times,” Alexandra said. “Post-race food and drinks made it all worth it (and I’m not talking about the free waters and bananas they handed out).”
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