Berlin Skyrun: It’s Germany’s day
Dold (L) and Hahner - winners in Berlin
Germany’s tallest building, Berlin’s Park Inn Hotel, hosted the 5th stage of the 9-race 2010 Vertical World Circuit® – where runners from diverse athletic backgrounds battle against gravity to summit the world’s tallest skyscrapers.
Three hundred athletes from ten nations took off on Sunday, May 23 at ground-level to race the 39 floors and 770 steps to the 140 metre summit of the building. Men’s winner, Germany’s Thomas Dold confirmed his world ranking lead after winning three of the five races outright.
After Milan’s Vertical Sprint and New York’s Empire State Building Run-Up in January and February this year, Dold totals 300 points, followed by Spain’s Ignacio Cardona (3rd in the race), Italy’s Fabio Ruga (absent) and Pavel Holec from the Czech Republic (5th).
It was a double success for Germany, with Anna Hahner, a cross country specialist, winning the women’s category, with co-nationals Sylvia Jacobs and Marie-Fee Breyer, second and third respectively. Italy’s Daniela Vassalli (2009 World Champion and last year’s winner in Berlin), with her fourth position, maintains the ranking leadership.
The vertical running scenario shifts next Sunday, May 30, from Germany to Taipei’s 101Tower Run-Up for the sixth stage of the Vertical World Circuit®. Just a few month’s ago, the 101 Tower was the world’s tallest building: the race reaches the 91st floor after 2,046 steps and 391 metres of vertical climb, currently the Circuit’s toughest race. Thomas Dold will be on the start line, challenged by Italian’s Fabio Ruga and Marco De Gasperi, who won here in 2007.
The vertical running trend is taking off around the world and races in London, San Paolo, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and China are lined up for next year’s exciting calendar.
Everyone can take a stab at vertical running as a fascinating ISF research project reveals: tests carried out since 2007 on athletes and runners in skyscraper races have confirm that stair climbing is a valid tool in getting fit fast and as a general health benefit.
See www.verticalrunning.org for full information and ranking
