Shougang Group wins the inaugural Beijing Bloomberg Square Mile Relay

Over 50 teams from leading financial institutions and corporations competed at the inaugural Bloomberg Square Mile Relay in Beijing today. Shougang Group won the title of ‘Fastest Firm in the City’, completing 10 laps of the one-mile (1.6 km) circuit around Shougang Park in 54:51, followed by China Construction Bank in second place and China International Capital Corporation Ltd in third.

China Construction Bank were also the Fastest Mixed Team of the night, and the new award for the Fastest All-Female Team was won by Beijing Banking & Insurance Business Park in a time of 1:24:50. The fastest runner of the night was 周海清 from Shougang Fund who completed the one-mile route with an incredible time of 04:38.

The Race Village was located in the famous Shougang Park that is home to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organising Committee Headquarters and this year is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of its steel production heritage. The unique one-mile (1.6km) route took runners away from Blast Furnace No. 3, past the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organising Committee Headquarters, and around the beautiful Xiu Lake. Beijing is one of 12 cities that now hosts the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, which originated in London in 2007 and has since expanded worldwide, providing participating companies with a one-of-a-kind, immersive team building experience.

Over 50 teams took to the start line in Beijing from companies such as Bank of China, China Development Bank, Harvest Fund, Minsheng Banking Fund, China Construction Bank, Beijing Lingyue Technology Co. Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China, People’s Bank of China, Baidu, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Sequoia Capital, Schroders, MasterCard, DBS Bank and Visa.

Li Bing, Head of Greater China at Bloomberg said “Thank you to the Beijing municipal governments and departments for their support to make the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay possible. Today’s competition demonstrates the vitality and competitiveness of Chinese financial institutions and enterprises. Congratulations to Shougang Group for winning the race and we look forward to more institutions joining us in the future.”

It was announced on the night that 25% of all team entry fees will be invested in ‘The Extra Mile’ Charity programme. This is a chance for the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay to make an impact way beyond the finish line and contribute to the local community in a bigger, better way. The Extra Mile Partner for Beijing, Coaches Across Continents, will help deliver a year-long funded legacy program to address a cause specific to Beijing selected by the runners themselves, on the subject of Happiness.

After each team had completed 10 laps of the one-mile route, all participants were able to return to the Race Village and enjoy the official after-party with complimentary hospitality and live entertainment throughout the evening.

Headline sponsor Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, has supported the event for 13 consecutive years. Bloomberg Businessweek has also been a ‘Strategic Partner’ for many years in support of both the Shanghai and Beijing relays. The race in Beijing also had support from many other fantastic partners including Shougang Park Group, E-Fund, Intersport, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Xingbei Insurance Broker, Keep, Nestlé Group, and new wine retail brand Winefan.

On 25^th October the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay will return to Shanghai. To register for the Shanghai event or to find out more, please visit the website: www.squaremilerelay.cn

Search for the official Weibo: “彭博一英里接力赛” and WeChat: “彭博一英里接力赛” to learn more.