Dold and Belotti winners on 101
Men's podium, with Thomas Dold far right
German Thomas Dold and Italian Valentina Belotti conquer the world’s second tallest building in Sunday’s Taipei 101 International Run Up race in a record field of 6,000 contestants…
The time? A mere 11’19” for Dold and 13’51” for Belotti all the way up the 2,046 steps, and 91 floors – nearly half a kilometer skywards (448m high). Marco DeGasperi, one of the world’s top mountain runners and last year’s winner, finished the climb up the famous landmark’s in 11’31”, just 12 seconds behind Dold.
Italians excelled on the podium. In the men’s field, apart from De Gasperi, third across the finish in 11’59” was Fabio Ruga, now heading the Vertical World Circuit® ranking.
The Italian dominance continued in the women’s field after Belotti’s victory with Antonella Confortola, a cross-country skiing Olympic medallist, a tight second in 13’52” and current ranking leader Cristina Bonacina, fifth.
Vibram Team Ruga, Bonacina and FracassiTwo New Zealanders were fourth, respectively Jonathan Wyatt, another great mountain running champion (12’18”) and 2010 VWC winner, Melissa Moon (14’54”).
Top runners Fabio Ruga, Cristina Bonacina and Dario Fracassi (10th) members of the Vibram® Tester Team, raced up 2,046 steps wearing Vibram® FiveFingers® – a “footglove” designed to help balance, stability and propulsion – in this case, straight to the summit.
The limelight is not just for the top runners however, for among the 6,000 contestants, 94-year-old Peng Hung-nian, a Taipei resident, also made it to the finish line for the seventh consecutive year, and reached the summit in 53’38”. He vowed to continue to participate until the age of 101!
Skyscraper racing, governed by the International Skyrunning Federation, is becoming increasingly popular: in 2010 more than 7,000 runners from 30 countries took part in the Vertical World Circuit® and last year’s top ten ranked men and women represented eleven nations.
Next stop on the Vertical World Circuit® is the Berlin Skyrun in less than a week on June 12 for more vertical thrills.
Race results
Men
1. Thomas Dold (GER) – 11’19”
2. Marco De Gasperi (ITA) – 11’31”
3. Fabio Ruga (ITA) – 11’59”
4. Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) – 12’18”
5. Clement Dumony (FRA) – 12’31”
Women
1. Valentina Belotti (ITA) – 13’51”
2. Antonella Confortola (ITA) – 13’52”
3. Eunice Nyawira (KEN) – 14’30”
4. Melissa Moon (NZL) – 14’54”
5. Cristina Bonacina (ITA) – 15’11”
Official Vertical Running website and ranking at www.verticalrunning.org
