SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Metro Silicon Valley Marathon® announced today that the second annual Comerica Corporate Challenge will take place on Sunday, Oct. 29 as part of the 2006 event.
Twenty companies are expected to field teams of runners at several distances, including the half-marathon, the distance at which the winner of The Comerica Cup, which goes to the "Fastest Company in Silicon Valley," will be determined.
Genentech will be defending its 2005 "Fastest Company in Silicon Valley" title, when its best three half-marathoners finished the San Jose-to-Los Gatos course in a cumulative time of 4:16:37. Team Yahoo! won the prize for the biggest team of runners in 2005, with 29 participants in the marathon, half-marathon and 5K race, and Team Apple walked away with the "Spirit" title. In 2005, 150 runners from 15 companies, including Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Lockheed-Martin, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems, participated in the inaugural Comerica Corporate Challenge.
In addition to the trophies and bragging rights, the 2006 Comerica Corporate Challenge will feature a donation of $2,250, courtesy of Comerica Bank, to The Health Trust's Wellness, Education & Prevention Fund in honor of the winning teams. This money will directly fund programs that advance wellness in the Santa Clara County community, including The Health Trust's Children's Dental Services, Healthy Silicon Valley, Aids Services and The Women's Health Fund; as well as to other select community non-profits.
"The friendly competition displayed by last year's teams was indicative of the spirit that makes Silicon Valley such a vibrant community," said Mike Fulton, president and CEO of Comerica Bank's Western Market. "It's great that even more companies are joining this year's competition for The Comerica Cup."
Metro Silicon Valley Marathon Race Director Doug Epstein said, "The Comerica Corporate Challenge adds a distinct Silicon Valley flavor to this prominent race. We are excited to see if Genentech, Yahoo! and Apple have what it takes to defend their crowns."
About The Metro Silicon Valley Marathon
The family-friendly 2006 Metro Silicon Valley Marathon takes place on Sunday October 29th and will be preceded by a Sports Tech Expo on Saturday October 28th at Parkside Hall in San Jose. The scenic, flat course is an official, chip-timed Boston Marathon qualifier. Title sponsor Metro Newspapers publishes an award-winning weekly publication that is read by more than 700,000 Bay Area residents each month. The official benefiting charity is The Health Trust (http://www.healthtrust.org/), and author, broadcaster and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan will serve as honorary event chair. Please visit http://www.svmarathon.com/ or text MSVM to 44636 for information and registration instructions for the Marathon, Half-Marathon, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital 5K Run/Walk presented by Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, and The Phelps & Cohen Orthodontics Kids Races, as well as to purchase official Event apparel and merchandise.
About Comerica Bank
Comerica Bank, founded in 1849, is the 20th largest banking firm in the United States. Comerica Bank's Western Market headquarters is located in San Jose, Calif. The Western Market of Comerica Bank includes banking centers in key California markets, including: San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz /Monterey; also, banking centers in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz. and offices in Washington, Nevada and Colorado. Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a financial services company headquartered in Detroit strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful. Comerica reported total assets of $57.1 billion at June 30, 2006. For more information, go to http://www.comerica.com/ .
CONTACT: PRIMARY MEDIA CONTACT, Doug Epstein of Metro Silicon Valley
Marathon, +1-415-462-6200, doug@evolve-sports.com; or COMERICA BANK CONTACT,
Barry Holtzclaw, bholtzclaw@comerica.com, +1-408-556-5111 or +1-408-315-6554
