Tokyo Tower hosts one of the final Asian tower races of 2020 this coming Sunday.
It’s the ninth edition of the popular event in Japan, that sees runners sprint up 500 steps.
In the men’s event there is potentially an exciting clash of former champions. Japanese number one tower runner Ryoji Watanabe (2017 and 2018 champion), Takaaki Koyama (2019), and Naoya Endo (2016) are all on the provisional start list.
Koyama is heading into the event following a strong win last weekend at the Sapporo TV Tower, so will definitely be in good form.
Watanabe, who finished third overall on the Vertical World Circuit in 2019, hasn’t raced on the stairs for months but did win ahead of Koyama at the Building Climb Cup race in Niigata back in January.
If Watanabe is anywhere near being in top condition, he will be the man to beat on Sunday. He ran an incredible 2:01 to win in 2018, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Koyama.
