Tower running world champion Suzy Walsham sat down for a chat with Coach Mike from Recovery Systems and it’s a great insight into the approach and attitude of the world’s number one stair runner.
In it Suzy discusses her earlier career in cross country and track and field, injuries and resilience, pacing for stair races, and how she makes use of cross training. There’s lots of good stuff in this chat, and it’s well worth a watch.
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Suzy Walsham recently sat down for a chat with Ian Deeth and Johnny Tieu from the Unlocking Athletic Potential podcast and it’s an excellent discussion that’s well worth your time listening to.
In it Suzy discusses her athletics career from child star to Commonwealth Games, her transition to tower running in late 2006, her love of training, her Red Bull 400 experiences and plenty more.
Suzy’s given a few print and podcast interviews before, but the Unlocking Athletic Potential crew do a great job of digging a bit deeper into her career and training, so there are definitely things in this interview you won’t have heard before.
There’s no fluff in the chat and it helps that the knowledgeable interviewers are already well familiar with the sport of tower running and know their stuff when it comes to fitness and training. It makes for a really informed and interesting discussion.
You can listen to the whole conversation on the Unlocking Athletic Potential podcast.
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Whether you go back to Sheila Duncan running as the only woman in the 1968 BT Tower race in London or admire the incredible ongoing career of Cindy Harris, women have been at the heart of competitive tower running since the sport’s very beginning.
Women’s tower running has come a long way since the earliest stair races at the start of the 1900s.
On the left is the unnamed winner of the women’s division at the Montmartre stair race in 1903. On the right is Mme. Baube, winner of the 1906 Eiffel Tower stair race.
This International Women’s Day we take a quick look at just a handful of some of the brilliant women who have played a key role in the sport.
Schwam (above wearing #11) was already an ultra-running pioneer before she turned up at the first Empire State Building Run-Up in 1978. Only three women took part in the inaugural event. She was the first woman to reach the top and although she never returned to race on the stairs again, she has the honour of being the first woman to win a stair race in the USA.
After the first ESBRU, Schwam went on to set multiple long distance records and is still running now.
Like Schwam, Nina Kuscsik was also a pioneer of women’s participation in running events. She campaigned for equal participation for women at the marathon distance and in 1972 she won the New York and Boston marathons.
Kuscsik went on to to win three ESBRU titles from 1979-1981. She would return to the tower multiple times, racing well into her 70s.
You can read more about Kuscsik in her NYRR Hall of Fame entry
The incredible tower running career of the 2020 USA stairclimbing champion Cindy Harris is one of our favourite parts of the ongoing story of this sport.
Harris has been winning races, sometimes outright ahead of all competing men as well, at the top level for 25 years.
Cindy Harris after winning her first ESBRU title in 1998
In 2003, she became the first woman to secure four wins at the Empire State Building Run-Up. She has also amassed an unbelievable 25 wins at the Bop to the Top race in her hometown of Indianapolis, with the most recent victory coming at the start of the year.
Three-time winner and course record holder at the ESBRU, six-time world mountain running champion and two-time Olympian, Andrea Mayr is one of the best athletes to have ever competed in the discipline of tower running.
The Austrian doctor has dipped in and out of the scene since the early 2000s, but she has left her mark with a series of stunning performances over the years, including a record-breaking run at Taipei 101 in 2005 and victory at the Towerrunning World Championship in 2015.
Andrea Mayr winning the 2015 Towerrunning World Championship
You can read more about her in our article, Where is Andrea Mayr? On the trail of one of the world’s greatest athletes.
The name Suzy Walsham is now synonymous with tower running. In a glittering 14 year career that shows no sign of letting up, the Australian superstar has won everything there is to win.
The 2018 world championship and 10 ESBRU titles are perhaps the most prominent among her multitude of successes, but there are plenty more aside.
Five wins at Taipei 101, eight Vertical World Circuit titles and nine Towerrunning Tour titles are just a few of the additional accolades she’s secured.
That’s not to mention the brilliant track and field career she had before she turned her attention to stair climbing. You can read about that here (along with her 2007 ESBRU win).
The constant stream of praise for the humility and helpfulness of the most successful tower runner of all-time is further testament to the excellence of this fantastic ambassador for tower running.
These women, and many, many more besides, have each played their own important role in this sport. We’ve enjoyed researching and writing about each of them over the years and look forward to putting together many more articles about their fantastic achievements and the other incredible women in the world of tower running.
La Verticale de La Tour Eiffel 2020 is just under four weeks away and the excitement is building for the biggest race in the European tower running calendar.
The sixth edition of the event, which takes place on the evening of Wednesday 11th March, has a strong line up of some of the best tower runners in the world. In the women’s division, five-time winner Suzy Walsham is back to defend her title. Alongside her in Paris will be 14 others looking to achieve the seemingly impossible and unseat the Australian.
Read on to find out who’s who in the elite women’s division at the 2020 edition of La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel.
The Eiffel Tower stair race has come a long way from its early beginnings in 1905 and 1906.
Mme. Baube, winner of the Eiffel Tower stair run in 1906
The latest version of the race began in 2015 and year-on-year it’s packed full of athletic talent from around the world. Just 15 women have been selected to compete in the Elite division at the 2020 edition.
As the only previous winner, Suzy Walsham is always the pre-race favourite in Paris. But this year, due to scheduled renovations on the tower, the format of the event has changed dramatically. Will the new format open the door for a different woman to finally take the crown of La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel champion?
Instead of the traditional climb to the top of the 1,665-step tower, the new format looks like this:
The final will be held in a pursuit format with the fastest athlete from the qualifying rounds setting off first. That pursuit format means positions on the grid will be all important, so expect to see the runners going all out in both qualifying rounds to secure the best spot.
For more details on the new format for 2020, including rest times between rounds, check out our full news story.
2019 – Suzy Walsham (10:16)
2018 – Suzy Walsham (10:02)
2017 – Suzy Walsham (9:34 – course record)
2016 – Suzy Walsham (9:48)
2015 – Suzy Walsham (9:44)
The step count of the altered format makes it difficult to predict who exactly will be among the top finishers come March. There aren’t many 650 to 700-step towers in the world where the top stair climbers have gone head-to-head.
But here’s our rundown of the 15 women selected to race in the Elite division of La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel 2020.
The 2018 world champion and current world number one has won every edition of this event since it began in 2015 and it’s difficult to not see her winning this one. But Walsham herself has said numerous times that she’s not a sprinter, so the new format presents a unique challenge for her.
She doesn’t race enough short course events for us to know exactly how she’ll fare. Last year she only did two races that were less than 1,000 steps. The first was Subida Vertical Grand Hotel Bali in Benidorm, which she won. The other was the 441-step Pyramidenkogel-Turmlauf in Austria. Walsham took second there behind Austrian multi-athlete Veronika Windisch, missing out on top spot by just three tenths of a second.
So despite what she says, Walsham undoubtedly has speed, which you’d expect from a former Australian national champion at 800m and 1,500m who represented her country at the Commonwealth Games.
She got her 2020 season underway at the start of February with a win in Dubai over close rival Valentina Belotti, so she should be heading to Paris full of confidence.
Only two or three women in the elite division would be able to hang with the Australian star over the long course, but naturally a few more can get closer over just 665 steps, so she will absolutely have to be at her best to secure victory. The 2020 edition of La Verticale is unlikely to be the one-sided Suzy Walsham Show that its been since 2015.
She will definitely be on the podium, and we expect her to win, but it won’t be nearly as clear cut as all her previous victories at the Eiffel Tower.
We wrote briefly about the renaissance of Valentina Belotti last year after she set two course records in seven days at the end of August, including a solid win over Suzy Walsham at Ostankino Tower in Moscow.
She also won the Towerrunning Tour Final at the 3,398-step Shanghai Tower in November, once again finishing ahead of Walsham. The 2009 world mountain running champion is well and truly back.
She’s making her La Verticale debut this year so will have to deal with working out the nuances of the staircase for her first run at least.
It’s hard to know how Belotti will do in the sprint event. Expect to see her on the podium, but in what position is anyone’s guess.
The Finn, who represented her country at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in the half-marathon, was second behind Walsham in the final rankings of last year’s Vertical World Circuit (VWC). She is one of the emerging forces on the tower running scene.
With a 16:44 PB for 5km and a bunch of sub 34-minute 10km runs to her name, it’s clear Manninen has speed. But with the stages of the VWC held mostly at massive towers, we haven’t had many chances to see how that road running pace translates onto the stairs.
Looking at two of the shortest towers she raced in last year gives us some idea. She was fifth at the 1,037-step Allianz Tower in April, where she finished over a minute behind La Verticale rivals Suzy Walsham and Iwona Wicha. She then finished fourth at Broadgate Tower in July, reaching the top behind Sarah Frost and Anais Leroy who she will also be up against in Paris.
Manninen’s chance of finishing on the podium may well have disappeared with the unanticipated format change. We think there are faster women in the lineup that will leave her in around fourth or fifth place after the final round is run.
The Polish star made her debut at La Verticale last year and finished in fourth place.
She built on that throughout the rest of the 2019 season with home wins at the 790-step Palace of Culture and Science and the Intercontinental Tower Run (959 steps), both in Warsaw. She also took second at the Sky Tower Run in Wroclaw and fourth at the stacked Allianz Vertical Run in Milan.
Perhaps her best performance came at Rondo 1 in Warsaw in February. There she finished second, ahead of top competitors, and La Verticale rivals, including Valentina Belotti, Ilona Gradus, Sarah Frost and Cristina Bonacina.
She capped the season with 10th at the highly competitive Towerrunning Tour Final at Shanghai Tower (3,398-step Shanghai Tower), where she finished ahead of several of the women she’ll be competing against in Paris.
Of course results in buildings as tall as Shanghai Tower have little bearing on what will happen in a sprint race, but all of Wicha’s 2019 results combine to show an in-form athlete with impressive speed and endurance. It’s no surprise, given that Wicha trains with tower running world champion and five-time La Verticale winner Piotr Lobodzinski, who happens to be her husband.
She’s already got her 2020 season off to winning ways with victory at the 5km City Trail in Warsaw at the start of February. She’ll be heading to Paris full of confidence.
Expect to see her pushing for the podium.
Dominika Stelmach won’t be known by many tower running followers, but she will be one of the best athletes in Paris come March.
The Polish ultra runner was silver medalist at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in 2018.
She has also been a force at the Red Bull Wings for Life for the past five years, which involves trying to outrun a Catcher Car for as long as you can. Dozens of these races start at the same time all around the world, and the top athletes compete to see who can outlast their global rivals.
Stelmach has won a Wings for Life event every year since 2015, taking victories in Europe, Australia, Africa and South America. In 2017 she was the overall global winner, running almost 6km further than her nearest rival.
She doesn’t have much experience on the stairs, but when she made her debut at La Verticale in 2017 she finished in second place ahead of far more experienced tower runners.
With a 16:46 PB for 5km we know she also has good speed. She is the real dark horse of this event.
Absolutely no idea how she will get on. Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see her in the top five, but she could well get dropped in the heats as well. Pacing a sprint on the stairs properly takes experience and, super athlete or not, Stelmach doesn’t have that. Very excited to see how she gets on.
After her La Verticale debut in March last year (she finished 7th), UK number one Frost went on to have her best ever season.
Her standout performance of 2019 was at London’s Broadgate Tower (877 steps) where she smashed the course record to set a new best time of 4:40.
She also raced at multiple international events, and only narrowly missed out on third place overall in the Vertical World Circuit. Other highlights included third at the Pyramidenkogel-Turmlauf, second at VertiGO in Paris and third at Subida Vertical Grand Hotel Bali.
Unfortunately, Frost started the year injured and on crutches and has only just begun slowly getting back into training. Will she be back in fully competitive condition by 11 March? We really hope so. Fingers crossed!
If she is, expect to see her pushing for the top six. If not, she won’t make the final.
Still a relative newcomer to the sport of tower running – although a long-time quality runner on the track (3,000m SC) and in cross country – Leroy continues to make an impact when she crosses over onto the stairs. She was fifth on her La Verticale debut in 2018, then missed the 2019 edition despite being selected.
But she was back in action a couple of months later when she took first at the 954-step VertiGO at Tour First in Paris. She then ran sub five-minutes to take third at Broadgate Tower in July in a stacked field of international runners.
Her track speed will serve her well over the 665 steps and we expect to see her pushing for a top-eight finish.
One of the stars of the fast-emerging Mexican tower running scene, Lopez Pimentel has raced at the Eiffel Tower twice and finished in sixth place on both occasions.
She had a very successful 2019 season, including multiple wins and top five finishes. She was winner of the sprint, and second in the vertical mile, at the competitive Dallas Vert Mile event in January, and then second at Scale the Strat in Las Vegas in February.
She won the Mexican Towerrunning Championships in July at Pabellon M Monterrey and followed this up a week later with a win at the 654-step Carrera Vertical UVM Campus Chapultepec.
Her season ended on a high in December with victory at the Carrera Towerrunning WTC (868 steps), which was fully stacked with Mexico’s top tower runners.
If she can carry that form over the short courses into 2020 then she has a solid chance of making the final. If she manages that, then we expect to see her finishing in around sixth, seventh, or eighth place.
The third Polish athlete in the Elite division, Ilona Gradus is making her La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel debut.
She had an excellent 2019 season and her results were enough to see her finish in sixth place in the Towerrunning World Association rankings.
Among the highlights were a couple of sprint wins at European venues. First she was fastest at the 524-step Atomium Stair Race in Brussels, Belgium back in June. Then she took victory at Bieg Po Schodach Collegium Altum (392 steps) in Poznan, Poland in October.
Other impressive performances included finishing third at the Altus Cup in Poland, second at the UFO Vertical Sprint in Bratislava (which involves three runs of 430 steps), sixth at Rondo 1 in Poland, and sixth at Subida Vertical Grand Hotel Bali in Benidorm.
She finished the year with a solid win at the Yayasan TM Tower Run (1,296 steps) in Malaysia in November and was then 12th at the Towerrunning Tour Final, finishing ahead of some of her La Verticale rivals.
Will be surprised not to see her in the final, but the top end of the table might be out of reach.
Winner of the Towerrunning World Cup in 2011, Bonacina is a highly experienced tower runner with a full spread of wins and podium finishes at venues around the world. She’s well familiar with the Eiffel Tower, too, having raced at the venue four times (2015-17, 2019).
Bonacina had a busy 2019 season, with her results bringing her up to fourth place in the Towerrunning World Association rankings.
Given the strong field of competitors, the Italian will have her work cut out to be in the 10 that proceed to the final. It’s within her capabilities, but she will have to be in top form.
Another top French athlete who will be flying the flag for the home nation on March 11th. Bertrand debuted at La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel in 2018 and took seventh. Last year she finished eighth.
She had a decent 2019 season, finishing 7th at Subida Vertical Grand Hotel Bali, fourth at VertiGO in Paris, and ninth at the Dubai Holding SkyRun.
There are a number of faster women in the line up and Bertrand will be up against it to make the cut off for the final 10. But a return to 2018 form and she will be able to pull it off.
Another crossover athlete, Beltran Toledo is an excellent trail and mountain runner who is making her debut at the Eiffel Tower.
Although not a regular on the tower running circuit, the Spaniard still has a lot of race experience on the stairs and has proven herself capable of hanging with the top stair climbers a number of times.
She was second at Subida Vertical Grand Hotel Bali in 2016 and third in 2017 and 2018. She was also second at the Broadgate Tower Run Up in 2018. Last year she was 11th at the Towerrunning Tour Final.
Her times at Broadgate Tower and Grand Hotel Bali suggest the sprint format in Paris could really suit her.
We think she has a good chance of making the final.
A successful marathoner and trail runner with loads of tower running experience, Russell should be expecting to make the final in Paris.
She was sixth in the final Vertical World Circuit rankings last year. A seventh placed finish at Allianz Tower in Milan, fifth at One World Trade Center in New York and sixth at the Beijing Vertical Run were among her best results in very competitive races.
But she also took wins at the Fight for Air Climb Miami (648 steps) in March and the Manila Vertical Run (1,353 steps) in September.
Russell ended the year with an impressive ninth at the Towerrunning Tour Final.
If she can carry that form into 2020, she has a chance of making it to the final.
Another long-distance trail runner crossing over to the stairs, Eloy made her debut at the Eiffel Tower last year. She finished 10th, just behind Cristina Bonacina and Amandine Bertrand.
A lack of experience on the stairs can cause real issues when trying to effectively pace a sprint climb and this might catch Eloy out come March.
We don’t think we’ll see her in the final.
Unless you’re a US tower runner, or a keen follower of the sport, you might not be familiar with the name Meg Santanna. The American doesn’t tend to race internationally (it’s her La Verticale debut this year), but she is well capable of holding her own against the bulk of the women on this list.
Santanna was third at SkyRise Chicago (2,123 steps) back in November last year, finishing ahead of La Verticale rivals Rosalyn Russell and Maria Elisa Lopez Pimentel. She was also third at the USA Stairclimbing Championships 2019 at Scale the Strat, Las Vegas and sixth at the Empire State Building Run-Up.
The Charlotte, NC-based athlete also took first place at the Tunnel to Towers event at the 1,207-step Duke Energy Center in her home city, and was second at the Fight For Air Climb Charlotte (883 steps).
She’s been competing at the top in the States for a few years now. She was second at the USA Stairclimbing Championships in 2017 and third in 2018. She was also third at the Empire State Building Run-Up in 2017.
If the race at the Eiffel Tower was full distance, we’d bank on Santanna finishing well inside the top 10. But the sprint format for this year throws up so many unknowns. It’s hard to predict with any confidence how she’ll fare on her debut.
More:
World number ones Suzy Walsham and Piotr Lobodzinski will kick off their 2020 tower running seasons on Saturday (Feb.1) at the 1,600-step Almas Tower in Dubai.
Poland’s Lobodzinski will have to see off the challenge from world number two Soh Wai Ching (MYS) and Emanuele Manzi (ITA) if he is to secure his fifth win in a row at the 7th tallest tower in Dubai.
Walsham (AUS), who set the course record of 9:21 at the tower last year, will be challenged by the 2018 winner, and former record holder, Valentina Belotti (ITA).
It’s an exciting clash so early on in the season and will give a good insight into how the athletes have fared with their training in the small off-season since they last met in November at the Towerrunning Tour Final at Shanghai Tower.
At that race, Belotti secured her second win over Walsham in 2019, following her record-setting victory at Ostankino Tower, Moscow, in August. Walsham will be keen to get back to winning ways over the Italian, before the pair clash again at the Eiffel Tower in March.
On the line in Dubai will be around £2,000 for the fastest man and the fastest woman.
New for 2020 at the Vertical Run Almas Tower is a four person relay race, with each runner taking on 16 floors of the 64-floor tower.
Suzy Walsham, Valentina Belotti, Emanuele Manzi and Soh Wai Ching will combine forces to try and win the £1,000 prize.
Will any foursome in Dubai be able to get close to that tower running Dream Team?
For years Australian tower runners have been among the very best in the world, winning multiple titles and setting untouchable records.
The performance of Aussie athletes at the Empire State Building Run-Up is particularly impressive. From Geoff Case and Belinda Soszyn in the 1990s to Paul Crake and Suzy Walsham throughout the 2000s.
To celebrate the national day (26th January) of the home of these incredible tower runners we’ve put together a video of all the winning Australian athletes at the ESBRU from Craig Logan in 1988 to Suzy Walsham in 2019.
For the first time since 2010 Suzy Walsham will not attend the Empire State Building Run-Up.
The Australian star, who has remained unbeaten at the ESBRU since 2013, has decided not to compete at the race in May.
It’s somewhat of a surprise announcement from the athlete whose name has become synonymous with the iconic New York race. Since her debut in 2007, Walsham has gone on to become the winningest athlete ever at the venue, taking victory a record 10 times.
But her decision not to compete this year does not come as a complete shock given the close proximity of the Empire State Building Run-Up (Tuesday, May 12) to the Towerrunning World Championships at Taipei 101 in Taiwan (Saturday, May 9).
Suzy Walsham won on her ESBRU debut back in 2007
The absence of the 2018 world champion and reigning world number one opens the door for a new name, or a familiar one, to enter the ESBRU record books.
Walsham’s closest rivals in recent years have been four-time champion Cindy Moll-Harris (USA) and Laura Manninen (FIN).
With those two also likely to be at the World Championships in Taiwan the weekend before the ESBRU, it is perhaps unlikely they will make the long journey to New York in time for the race.
If that’s the case, it leaves the door open for a completely new name to step in and take the crown. Stephanie Hucko, Shari Klarfeld and Meg Santana, who have all finished on the podium in recent years, will likely be in the mix for top spot on Tuesday, May 12.
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Q1 Tower, Queensland, Australia – 1,331 steps/77 floors
2005 Paul Crake (AUS) 7:42 Hubertien Wichers (AUS) 11:12 – race report
2015 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:45 Kim Hamilton (AUS) 10:03
2016 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:41* Alice McNamara (AUS) 8:17 – results
2017 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:57 Meg Reeves (AUS) 8:43 – results
2018 Jason Williams (AUS) 8:05 Monica Medjumurac (AUS) 9:49 – results
2019 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:48 Alice McNamara (AUS) 8:56 – results
2021 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:59 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 7:52* – results
2022 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:52 Meg Reeves (AUS) 8:52 – results
* course record
Find out all the winners from other events around the world in our historical tower running results database.
Suzy Walsham and Piotr Lobodzinski retained their Vertical World Circuit (VWC) titles yesterday at the grand finale in Osaka, Japan.
It was the eighth straight title for Australia’s Walsham, who first won the series back in 2012, and a sixth title for Piotr Lobodzinski.
The ten-event series has seen close races around the world throughout 2019. Starting in Seoul back in April, runners have since done battle in Milan, Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, New York, London, Beijing, Shanghai and Dubai before the final race on Sunday (Nov. 10) in Osaka.
The 1,610-step Abeno Harukas was the venue for the final event.
Heading into the race, Lobodzinski needed to place at least second to be certain of retaining his title. With a resurgent Mark Bourne (AUS) in the mix, and Ryoji Watanabe (JPN) seeking his first VWC title it was not an easy situation for the Polish world champion.
But in the end he did enough. Mark Bourne took the win with a new course record of 8:29 and Lobodzinski followed in 8:43. His second-place finish enough to earn him the overall Vertical World Circuit 2019 crown.
Harukas Skyrun men’s results:
‘Of course, I wanted to win today, but my shape is not as good as in spring. Mark was better and I had no chance to win the race but the points I collected in the first part of the season were enough to secure my sixth title in a row so I’m very happy and glad to be on top for so long,’ Lobodzinski told reporters after the race.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B43obbBHRsc/
In the final of the women’s event, Suzy Walsham only needed to finish in fifth place to be sure of winning an incredible eighth VWC title.
Giving her the title, then, was in part mere formality, as you probably have to go back to 2011 to find the last time the Australian star didn’t finish on the podium at a tower run.
But the race still had to be run and Walsham put in a blistering performance to take the win and finish in 10:18, just four seconds off the course record set by Japan’s Yuri Yoshizumi in 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4uBUBlnLBc/
Harukas Skyrun women’s results:
‘I’m thrilled to win here in Osaka at the 2019 Vertical World Circuit final and achieve my eighth straight world title,’ said Walsham. ‘I had a strong run, although I was a little disappointed to just miss the record, but it’s hard to be at your absolute peak for every race. It’s been a great year of racing and I’m already looking forward to VWC 2020!’
2019 Vertical World Circuit final standings:
Men
Women
1987 Kenneth Keng (SIN) 7:20 Helen Gilbey (AUS) 9:04
1988 Kenneth Keng (SIN) 7:35 Helen Gilbey (AUS) 8:46
1989 Balvinder Singh (SIN) 6:55
1990 Law Kah Yew (SIN) Helen Gilbey (AUS)
1991 – 1998 Results yet to be found
1999 Adrian Mok (SIN)
2000 ?
2001 ?
2002 ?
2003 Pedro Ribeiro (POR)
2004 Ben Pulham 7:35 Esther Tan
2005 Pedro Ribeiro (POR) 7:18 Kristy Rice (USA) 10:13
2006 Pedro Ribeiro (POR) Suzy Walsham (AUS)
2007 Mwai Zakayo Nderi (KEN) 7:03 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:31
2008 Thomas Dold (GER) 6:52 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:19
2009 Thomas Dold (GER) 6:46* Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:29
2010 Thomas Dold (GER) 6:51 Melissa Moon (NZL) 8:57
2011 Matthias Jahn (GER) 7:16 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:23
2012 Darren Wilson (AUS) 7:13 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 7:51*
2013 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:51 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 7:57
2014 Mark Bourne (AUS) 6:46* Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:02
2015 Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) 6:48 Suzy Walsham (AUS) 7:46**
2016 Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) 6:55 Suzy Walsham (AUS)
2017 Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) 6:33 Suzy Walsham (AUS) **
2018 Ching Chun Lo Bridget Robertson **
* course record
** indoor finish on 69th floor due to poor weather on 73rd floor helipad
Suzy Walsham and Piotr Lobodzinski smashed their course records at the Dubai Holding SkyRun this morning.
In the penultimate leg of the Vertical World Circuit, the world champions each took a massive chunk off their respective best times at Jumeirah Emirates Towers.
Walsham (AUS) completed the 1,334-step course in 8:03, taking 13 seconds off the 8:16 record she set in 2017.
The victory was the second in five days for Walsham, after she won in commanding fashion in Shanghai last Sunday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4CGktKHIVd/
Top five women:
1. Suzy Walsham (AUS) 8:03
2. Laura Manninen (FIN) 8:48
3. Huan Wang (CHN) 8:59
4. Lyubov Novgorodtseva (RUS) 9:15
5. Sarah Frost (GBR) 9:17
After the disappointment of having his unbeaten run in 2019 ended by Mark Bourne in Shanghai last Sunday, Piotr Lobodzinski came right back with the perfect performance to demonstrate why he is still the finest tower runner in the world.
The Polish star had said before the race that he felt in good shape and was planning a sub seven-minute finish. And he was absolutely true to his word.
His previous best time of 7:09 was smashed as he crossed the finish line in a new magnificent record of 6:55.
Top five men:
1. Piotr Lobodzinski (POL) 6:55
2. Emanuele Manzi (ITA) 7:17
3. Omar Bekkali (BEL) 7:59
4. Mickael Pourcelot (FRA) 8:04
5. Gholamreza Cheraghikavari (IRI) 9:09
Whether you’re after training ideas from the best, or just looking to keep up with what’s happening in the global tower running community, these Instagram accounts will keep you motivated and in the know.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3BaISSHmN_/
The Australian superstar posts regularly on the platform with pictures from her training sessions, race updates and more. Her account gives a great insight into the relentless amount of hard work the 10-time winner of the Empire State Building Run-Up puts in to stay on top.
If you’re going to follow any tower runner, it may as well be the best in the world, right? Lobodzinski isn’t the most consistent poster on Instagram but still, it’s good to keep up with the global travels and triumphs of one of the best stair climbers of all time. It’s worth noting, though, that many of his captions are in his native Polish so you’ll have to translate those. Dzięki!
In terms of followers, Wai Ching is well out in front in the tower running world (over 6,600 at the time of writing). The current world number two is a prolific poster, providing a look into his training and travels as he continues toward his goal of becoming the top stair climber in the world.
With his chiseled good looks and winning smile, the darling of Towerrunning Mexico is easy on the eye. He’s up to third in the world, as of the most recent TWA rankings, so his posts on training are well worth a read. His often lengthy captions are all en español, though, so you’ll need your Spanish dictionary (or Google translate) to hand.
Frost is the standout star of UK tower running and her account is packed full of quality shots and videos from her intense training and racing schedule. She often breaks down her training sessions in the captions, which is super useful for anyone wondering how the hell to actually train for a stair race. Frost is also a keen rock climber and horse rider, so as an added bonus you’ll occasionally get to see cool videos of her tackling some tough bouldering routes or jumping obstacles on horse back.
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Suzy Walsham is one of the greatest tower runners of all time, so who better to hear from to find out more about the sport of stair climbing?
In this episode of the excellent Everyday Running Legends podcast, Suzy chats with Brodie Sharpe and discusses her journey from an elite track and field career to stair climbing super-stardom.
The episode also covers how she trains for a tower run, the differences between stair running and flat running, and her tips for those looking to start out in the sport.
Click the link below to listen to the full podcast:
Everyday Running Podcast – Reaching the top of the world in tower running with Suzy Walsham
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Britain’s Sarah Frost took third place at the Pyramidenkogel-Turmlauf in Keutschach, Austria on Friday afternoon.
The British number one reached the top of the distinctive tower’s 441 steps in 2:45.04 to continue her impressive run of form in 2019.
‘It was a better result than I expected, so I am super stoked’, said Frost.
‘There’s still a large gap between myself and the legends of Windisch and Walsham, so I can’t wait to get back to training in London – lots of work to do to catch up.’
Austria’s Veronika Windisch, who set the course record at the inaugural event in 2018, returned to take the narrowest of wins ahead of Australia’s Suzy Walsham.
Windisch clocked a winning time of 2:36.42, while world number one Walsham finished agonizingly close in 2:36.68, to claim second.
Walsham followed the race with a ski jump run-up at the Red Bull 400 event in Planica, Slovenia on Saturday, where she finished fourth overall.
Sarah Frost is set to return to action on home soil at next month’s NSPCC Gherkin Challenge, where she is hotly tipped to break her own course record.
Valentina Belotti set a new course record on her way to victory at the Valle Camonica Vertical in Malegno, Italy on Saturday (31 August).
The in-form Italian was untouchable as she climbed the 2,975 steps (with 750m of vertical gain) in a new record of 25:51, taking a massive 1:20 off the previous best time.
The victory made it two wins from two races (plus two course records) in just seven days for the 2009 world mountain running champion.
It followed her stunning victory the weekend before (24th August) at the 1,704-step Ostankino Tower in Moscow. There she set a new course record of 10:54, easily beating a stacked field of international tower runners that included the world number one Suzy Walsham (second in 11:40) and American Cindy Harris (third in 12:46).
The Ostankino Tower in Moscow
Belotti has become a dominant force on the emerging Italian outdoor stair climbing scene. Last year she won at the 535 in Condotta event in Moio de’ Calvi, in similarly dominant fashion. She is now taking this form back indoors more consistently now, securing wins and podium places around the world.
It’s somewhat of a renaissance for the mountain running star. A four-time winner at Taipei 101 (2011-2014) with multiple VWC stage wins to her name as well during that period, Belotti was the dominant force on the global tower running scene in the early to mid-2010s.
She focused her athletic endeavours elsewhere for a few years, popping up occasionally for races, but not committing fully to the stair running circuit.
However, in 2018, her second-place finish at the tower running world championship event at Taipei 101 heralded the return of one of the best stair climbers ever.
If Belotti can maintain this type of form throughout the winter and into the World Championship year of 2020, she may prove to be the greatest challenge to the dominance of reigning world champion Walsham.
Tower Running UK 