Standard Chartered Charity Run 2011

Written by Delwin Keasberry Wednesday, 13 July 2011 09:15

It was an early morning. I got there 10 minutes after 6.00 a.m. and the parking lot was already packed with cars. There was a tangible anticipation in the air. There were groups warming up with mini-sprints along the National Indoor Stadium. There were familiar faces, members from the press, food stalls being set up, a guy dressed up as a Standard Chartered Bank ATM. There were families, 'serious' looking runners and a whole lot of people wearing the bank's blue race shirt. The local papers reported that the Race That Cares drew over 2,100 people on the day of the race and it sure felt like it. The place was bustling!

Before we knew it, trainers from Fitness Zone kicked off the warm up session and then at five minutes before 7.00 a.m. the 10km runners were instructed to assemble at the Starting point, myself included. See, I intend to run the half-marathon of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in December 2011 and the Race That Cares was a preparation milestone. I took a few photographs and then jostled for position about three metres from  the starting line...not because it gave me any advantage - I just wanted to stand by my long time friend, Gavin, one of the founders of Get Fit Brunei.

Along the way the bank ensured that there were strategically placed water stations and people cheering us on, there were signs indicating distance covered and directions, there were other runners, and there was the challenge. The 10km run. I probably hit the metaphoric Wall around the 8km mark. I pressed through, and after about 80 minutes, I crossed the finishing line. Impressive time? Definitely not, but I ran it in preparation for the half-marathon, and I ran it because I Care.

Ms Lai Pei-Si, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei said "At Standard Chartered Bank, our brand promises ‘here for good’; a simple phrase with multiple meanings. ‘Here for good’ sums up SCB’s commitment to developing deep relationships with our clients and customers; our values, conduct and focus on sustainability; and our longevity, heritage and continued strong performance." She added "This event today is a great example of us living out our brand promise. And this is what we are all about. In everything that the bank does, be it in business or on a corporate responsibility front, we ask ourselves: By doing this, are we delivering on 'here for good'?" ~ Borneo Bulletin

Picture by @syuhailla

Picture by @khairulikhwan23

In the lead up to the event, I asked the folks on Twitter to complete the sentence "I am running the #RaceThatCares because..." and these are some of the responses:

"I am running the #RaceThatCares because I want to contribute my support" ~ @tinireen

"I am running the #RaceThatCares because I care :)" ~ @effennsalleh

"I am running the #RaceThatCares because if we don't care, who will?" ~ @emmagoodegg

I also asked the question "Why did you run the #RaceThatCares?" after the run.

"I ran the #RaceThatCares because my colleagues and I wanted to support our wheelchair bound boss :)" ~ @ickydoodles

"I ran the #RaceThatCares because not everyone in the world can run, and I dedicate this run to them all" ~ @aizade

And after the run, I wrote on my Facebook "This morning's event confirmed the difference between covering an event and participating in an event. Thanks Standard Chartered Bank for the memories"

To date, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei have raised over $95,000 with proceeds going to Smarter Brunei, Learning Ladders Society and Standard Chartered's own "Seeing is Believing" program.

Here for Good.

Awesome.