Corporate Runners Go the Extra Mile

Corporate competition has always been big business in the United States. But within the last decade, athletics have become nearly as competitive among industry giants.

To prove the point, thousands of employees from more than 200 Southern California companies will leave their workplace early this afternoon to compete in a 3.5-mile road race. The eighth annual Manufacturers Hanover Corporate Challenge in Los Angeles is open to all full-time employees of corporations, businesses, and financial institutions.

The race, which begins at 7 p.m. in Griffith Park, is one of a 16-city series, including 13 races in the United States and one each in London, Oslo and Stockholm.

The Challenge is the largest participatory sporting event in the United States with nearly 118,000 runners from more than 6,000 companies taking part in 1989.

“This race allows employees to put down their pen or pencil after work, and encourages friendly competition on a corporate-client basis,” said Ray Baxter, a vice president in corporate banking at Hanover Trust.

Fullerton-based Home Depot, which entered about 300 runners last year, will be joined this year by local teams from TRW, Hughes Aircraft, Mattel Toys and Northrop.

Steven Bishop, 30, a mechanical engineer at Rockwell International in Anaheim, has dominated the Los Angeles event with first-place finishes every year. Bishop set a course record of 16.23 in 1988.

Individual times are combined for team scores. Bishop and his four teammates recorded a time of 1:29.50 in 1989, losing to TRW by 27 seconds.