Bournemouth AC’s two leading distance men, Rob McTaggart and Dave Newman, took on one of the strongest fields of the summer when they competed in the prestigious JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge in Battersea Park.

The Corporate Challenge is far more than just another midweek race. The global series spans 16 locations across six continents, bringing together more than 150,000 runners representing companies from around the world. While the emphasis is on corporate participation and camaraderie, the sharp end of the field is stacked with athletes of national and international calibre.

The London leg was staged over two evenings on a 3.5-mile multi-terrain course in Battersea Park rather than the lightning-fast circuit familiar to runners from the Podium 5k series. With more than 20,000 competitors spread across the Wednesday and Thursday races, it provided a spectacular backdrop for some outstanding performances.

Wednesday evening saw Rob McTaggart line up in Nationwide Building Society colours. Tag has enjoyed another excellent campaign, finishing runner-up behind Poole AC’s Charlie Collins at the Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon in 1:12:35 before dipping under the 70-minute barrier with a superb 1:09 at Fleet and later clocking 2:29:38 in the London Marathon.

His preparations, however, could hardly have been less than ideal after being struck down by illness the night before the race. Lesser athletes might have called it a day, but Tag dug deep and still produced a performance of real quality.

Opening with a spirited 5:07 first mile, he followed that with splits of 5:16 and 5:23 before finding another gear over the closing half mile, covering it at 5:07 pace to stop the clock at an impressive 18:30.

The following evening it was the turn of Dave Newman, representing JPMorganChase. Newman has also been enjoying a tremendous season, winning the Weymouth Half Marathon in March in 1:12 before producing an outstanding 2:28:51 to finish 157th overall at the London Marathon.

Dave wasted no time asserting himself, flying through the opening mile in 4:59 before maintaining the pressure with a 5:03 second mile. A 5:18 third split set up a determined finish, and he closed the final half mile at 5:15 pace to record 18:09, averaging a blistering 5:07 per mile and securing a place in the top ten on his night.

When the results from both evenings were combined, Dave finished an outstanding 20th overall, while Tag claimed 34th from a staggering field of 20,626 runners.

The scale of the event becomes even clearer when the worldwide rankings are considered. Across all 16 host cities and 154,355 competitors, Dave finished 80th globally, with McTaggart an equally impressive 126th.

The London event also attracted a host of familiar names from the local racing scene. Poole AC’s Mark Ruby produced a magnificent 16:55 to top the London standings and finish fifth in the worldwide rankings. Jonathan Coates, representing JPMorganChase, was second in London with 16:59 to rank tenth globally, while Kurt Taylor of Petauri completed the London podium in exactly 17:00, placing 11th worldwide.

Another familiar face, Hercules Wimbledon’s Fred Slemeck – well known to Hampshire runners through his victories at the Alresford 10k – clocked 17:41 to finish 12th in London and 33rd in the global standings.

At the head of the worldwide leaderboard, Moges Dargie Mengesha dominated the Frankfurt race in 16:06. Fellow Frankfurt competitor Yihun Gezahign Fantahun followed just one second behind in 16:07, with Samuel Blake also racing in Frankfurt taking third in 16:21. Olympic 1500m champion Matthew Centrowitz, competing in Chicago, recorded a 16:51 to place fourth overall.

Against a field packed with elite club runners and international-standard athletes, Dave Newman and Tag once again demonstrated that Bournemouth AC continues to boast two of the finest endurance performers currently racing on the domestic circuit.