ACLI Capital Challenge: A Fierce Race With Many Winners, Especially Financial Literacy
Due to public health concerns caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 ACLI Capital Challenge was cancelled. ACLI has started planning for next year’s race, tentatively scheduled for May 19, 2021.
Three months from tomorrow, the 2020 election will take a backseat to another political race – one that is more crowded, but also more collegial.
Make no mistake – the competition at this race will be fierce. But this isn’t a typical Democrat vs. Republican contest. It’s a race against the clock.
The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is proud to host the ACLI Capital Challenge on Wednesday, May 13 at 8 a.m. in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia Park.
This will be the 39th time that Washington’s leaders have laced up their sneakers for this three-mile road race. It is open to members of Congress and their staffs, the Administration, the judiciary and the local media.
Over the years, the race has featured prominent Washingtonians including two sitting Supreme Court Justices (Anthony Kennedy in 1990 and Brett Kavanaugh last year), a future Chief Justice (John Roberts in 1984 and 1985 while working in the Reagan Administration and in 1991 while working in the U.S. Solicitor General’s office), a vice president in office (Al Gore, four times), and a future vice president (Mike Pence, three times while he served as an Indiana congressman).
Last year, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) retained their titles as the fastest members of Congress. Sen. Sinema’s team was the fastest Senate squad, while Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) had the fastest House team.
The race every year also features a world-class distance runner, courtesy of John Hancock’s Elite Athlete Ambassador program. This year’s celebrity runner will be Edna Kiplagat, two-time marathon world champion. The mother-of-five finished 2nd last year in the Boston Marathon – at age 39!
One of the best parts about hosting this race is when I get to present a check to Junior Achievement (JA). Last year we donated more than $21,000 to JA to support its financial literacy efforts.
Through our support of JA, we will teach the next generation of American workers the importance of planning early for retirement. This is critical because researchers at the Wharton School found that more than one-third of financial inequality in the U.S. could be accounted for by the differences in financial literacy.
