May 30:
After a couple of weeks break in the American race calendar, there were three events at the end of May; one in Columbia, South Carolina, one in Austin, Texas and the final one in Minneapolis, MN.
Capitol Center in Columbia, South Carolina
In Columbia, around 90 athletes took on the Capitol Center’s 479 stairs. Fastest male on the day was 17 year old Jared “Sweet Tears of the Falcon” Elliot who was the only runner to go sub-3 minutes. The quickest lady was Stacie “The Believer” Weaver in 3.35, which earned her 7th overall.
In Austin, TX there were some big names racing at a two-part event in the city’s Frost Bank Tower. In addition to a single climb up the building’s 660 steps, there were also a hardened crew that took on a double climb option.
Fastest in the solo climb was Eric “North Face of The” Geiger who clocked a speedy 3.20. Winner of the double climb option was West Coast Labels athlete Scott “The Chalice of Thunder” Stanley, who took his second win on the trot. We’re very pleased to see a real turnaround in his season.
The unique looking Frost Bank Tower in Austin
In Minneapolis, Minnesota it was business as usual for “The Steel Oath” Jason Larson as he took another victory. The event took place at the TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota, and saw competitors take on 6,054 steps. The Steel Oath finished his climb in 34.02, nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
The biggest race of the day was in Benidorm, Spain where some of the world’s elites converged in battle for crucial ranking points at a Towerrunning World Cup premium race. The event, now in its 13th year, takes place at the Grand Hotel Bali and covers 936 stairs. In attendance were top names that included Omar Bekkali, Ralf Hascher and Dario Fracassi.
Taking the win in a tight race, in which the top four were separated by only 13 seconds, was Tomas Celko. The consistent Celko currently sits second on the Towerrunning World Cup leader board and this win will have given him a bit of a cushion between himself and third placed Christian Riedl.
Omar Bekkali maintained his recent form by taking a bronze position on the podium for the second week in a row, while Spain’s Ignacio Cardona Torres kept the locals happy with his second place finish.
Following her solid win in Paris the weekend before, it was Lenka Svabikova who came out on top in the women’s division. In doing so she became only the second woman at the event to ever run under 6 minutes, and was just three seconds shy of the course record.
Podium finishers in Benidorm: (l-r) Omar Bekkali, Ivonne Martinucci, Lenka Svabikova, Tomas Celko, Ignacio Cardona, Rosi Llorens
The final race of the day was in Kolbnitz, Austria where the daunting task of 8,971 stairs, alongside a mountain railway, stood before a small number of competitors. The event attracted some big names, including Matjaz “The Slovenian Multi-Tool” Miklosa and Germany’s Rudolf “One Shot” Reitberger.
The win however was taken by Richard “Big Ricky Beans” Obendorfer who finished his run up in 54mins 46secs.
The gorgeous setting for the Reißeck Bergbahn stair race in Kolbnitz, Austria
May 31:
The final two races in May took place in Germany. The first was an inaugural race in Hemer with 466 steps, which was won by Jeroen “Jerry the Chin” Vochteloo in a time of 2.26. The other race was held in Darmstadt and saw Franz “Franky Fingers” Maier from Towerrunning Germany take victory.
Keep climbing!
Tower Running UK 