Runners brave JP Morgan Challenge

Runners from CM Group

Runners from CM Group

Sydney’s Centennial Park hosted 8,335 runners from 341 companies for JP Morgan’s Corporate Challenge, a charity run to bring employees together and support the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

CM Group sent a team of 29 participants to take on the 5.6km race course, through the rain, with a record number of runners for the Sydney event despite the wet.

Team captain Tomas van der Meer says the Challenge brings together staff across the group, from CM+, Context and Street Furniture Australia.

He says, “At Centennial Park we went for the group photo, pinned our numbers and lined up for the start. Though it was raining we entertained ourselves with a breakdance and photographs. The sleeves were rolled up and at 6:40pm we were off.

“Jason from Context flew over the course and all of the others followed soon after with solid times across all companies supporting the Indigenous Marathon Project.

“I want to thank all the participants for being awesome. Wear your shirts proudly and hopefully we will catch up again soon.”

Fastest to the flagged finish was Macquarie Group’s Jeffrey Hunt, with a time of 16:38. The female winner, Lucy Starrat, representing Channel 7 and defending her title from 2014, broke the tape with a time of 19:08.

Jason Packenham, senior landscape architect with Context, clocked the first CM Group finish with a time of 24:57.

He says, “It was good to get the group together away from the office and while the rain was frustrating it made for good running weather.

“This was my first time taking part in the event. I was surprised by the number of runners. I hadn’t trained so I was pretty sore for a few days afterwards.”

For the second consecutive year JP Morgan made a donation on behalf of participants to the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, which uses marathon running to demonstrate the incredible capacity Indigenous Australian men and women have to achieve.

The Foundation was founded by running legend Rob de Castella, who recently returned to Australia from the US where he brought a team of ten Indigenous athletes to compete in the New York City Marathon.

The Challenge is an annual global event, with races from March to November in 14 cities. In 2014 some 267,960 runners and walkers from 8,071 companies helped to raise more than $700,000 to not-for-profit organisations in each city.

JP Morgan Challenge

JP Morgan Run 2015 - 5


make an enquiry

Opening hours are from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

enquire now

recent news

Top 10 StreetChat stories of 2023

Did you catch these most-read case studies, furnishing tips, new product announcements and special industry events in your StreetChat updates in 2023? Each month our StreetChat enewsletter publishes new projects, products and trends from the public domain; subscribe to receive it in your inbox. 10. Which design firm can see Longhorn Cattle from their office window? 2 countries. 9 cities. 300 landscape architects. Street Furniture Australia and USA partner Spruce & Gander visited offices in Australia and Texas. There were key similarities and some notable standouts. 9. Jazz at The Mint: Product and Book Launch Sydney landscape architects gathered at the iconic Mint Courtyard to launch a design book by our founding directors Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, and expansions to the Linea collection. 8. 2023 Good Cause Giveaway goes to …

  • 18 jan 2024
read more

Book your spot on a 2024 Factory Tour

The Street Furniture Australia factory, in Regents Park, Western Sydney, is both a manufacturing hub and R&D studio for our Australian-designed and made street furniture products. We run fun and informative group events for customers throughout the year, to share how products are designed, tested and built, and the latest products and projects. This tour is open to design specifiers such as landscape architects and architects, and place custodians including Councils, government agencies, developers and other place managers. Director of Tract Julie Lee said: “It was a great opportunity for our team to look behind the scenes and understand the innovation, research and climate positive outcomes Street Furniture Australia is focusing on. Thank you for having us!” Place Design Group Associate, Liam Isaksen, said: “The factory tour is a fun …

  • 20 nov 2023
read more

Western Sydney train stations kickstart prototype ‘Power Spots’

Street Furniture Australia has designed and built prototype charging stands as part of a Transport for NSW program to deliver free phone chargers at 15 Sydney train stations. Developed by Street Furniture Australia’s inhouse industrial designers in collaboration with Transport for NSW, the prototypes offer wireless, USB-A and USB-C charging, and can power 7 devices at once. They were built at the Street Furniture Australia factory in Western Sydney. Two Power Spots are now installed at Liverpool and Campbelltown stations. The $1 million Power Spots Project rollout to 15 transport hubs including Bankstown, Hurstville, Lidcombe, Penrith, Wynyard, Central, Town Hall and Bondi Junction will be completed by late 2024. NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Power Spots provide peace of mind: “In the modern world, our phones are our …

  • 18 jan 2024
read more

related news

A First Look at Georges River Council’s Prototype ChillOUT Hubs

We’re pleased to share that the construction of our three ChillOUT Hubs is nearing completion, part of a pilot study for the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. ChillOUT Hubs are smart, open-air community spaces. The prototype installations offer people a free, comfortable place to meet, work and play. They also enable asset managers to monitor utilities, visitation and the microclimate. For more information see our article What Is ChillOUT? The official launch will take place in February 2020. The collaborative team of Georges River Council, UNSW and Street Furniture Australia will also host a series of events including a Council Knowledge Exchange, industry hackathon and tours to site. Please register your interest with Tiffany Hoy at editor@streetfurniture.com  Here is an update from each site. A Streetscape – Belgrave …

  • 12 dec 2019
read more

My Park Rules finalists

Close to 100 pleas for new parks have flooded in for the My Park Rules competition, with eight state and territory finalists teaming up with leading landscape architects to pitch for the coveted playground makeover. The judging panel, including Lucy Turnbull AO, Sacha Coles from ASPECT Studios and Mary Jeavons from Jeavons Landscape Architecture, will consider each pitch in March, and announce the national winner on May 1. Street Furniture Australia is delighted to be an official sponsor of the competition. Highgate Primary School in Western Australia, which received 870 votes to propel it into the state round of the contest, will bid to transform bitumen and sandy yards under the guidance of UDLA. Snug Primary School in Tasmania, paired with Playstreet Urban Design, dreams of transforming empty fields from out-of-bounds to creative fitness haven. Sydney’s …

  • 13 jan 2016
read more

Camerer hatches winning seat

Landscape architect Nicholas Camerer, from Fremantle’s Ecoscape in Western Australia, is the winner of the first Intergrain Urban Timber Project. Graduates and students pitched their designs for a functional piece of urban furniture for a community garden in Werribee Park, Victoria; a supportive cross-cultural hub for locals and Karen refugees. The challenge: to find imaginative ways to use timber in a seat that invites the community to come together. Camerer’s winning design, ‘Hatch,’ features a curved form and strong timber cross beams, which can serve as a leaning rack for tools and garden stakes when not being used as a seat. Flashes of red, white and blue on inner panels represent the colours of both Karen and Australian flags. The bench is designed for easy maintenance and cleaning, and complements an existing …

  • 12 jan 2016
read more