Brooklyn's Progress
August 2003

By Peter Deutsch

Eriksen Translations was one of 622 companies fielding a team for the June 25th running of the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge. The race, now in its 27th year, will eventually be held in a total of 16 cities, including three events in New York’s Central Park, culminating in the Championship race this October, down Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the last New York Knicks NBA championship, Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, were the celebrity starters, sending 14,924 runners on a 3.5-mile dash in sweltering 93-degree heat.

Eriksen’s all-women team, made up of Leah Ruggiero, Claudia Waitman, Annika Wendt and Andrea Cabrera, all racing for the first time, started sprinting at the gun, never letting up for a moment. According to team captain Ruggiero, “We decided at the outset that we’d go all-out and finish with the best times we were capable of.” Teammate Waitman added, “We always give it everything. That’s what everyone expects from us. Our friends and family, and our clients too.”

The Eriksen contingent, led by company president Vigdis Eriksen was settled in behind their banner near the finish line, adjacent to two of their top clients’ contingents, JPMorgan Chase and Kenyon & Kenyon. It was a unique opportunity to have some fun and do a little networking.

Unlike many of the 4-person teams, which break up into individual runners over the course, reuniting at the finish line, Eriksen’s runners decided to start and finish together. “Teamwork and supporting each other is always the way to go,” stated Ruggiero.