March 2, 2013
Suzy Walsham, winner and new record holder at Tower Running, Basel start
The second leg of the Vertical World Circuit was staged in the picturesque Swiss town of Basel, where the 105, 31-story Messeturm towers over the Rhine. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Tower Running event.
The men’s elite featured many of the top European vertical runners, and it was a close finish with just 1.5 seconds separating the first three positions. The winner was Piotr Lobodzinski, clocking a very fast 2:36.2, narrowly missing the course record by 0.2 sec making it a 1-2 finish for Poland. Second place went to Bartosz Swiatkowski, who was only 0.5 seconds behind in 2:36.7. Third place went to Italy’s Fabio Ruga, who clocked a personal best 2:37.8. Last year’s winner and course record holder German Christian Riedl, placed 4th in 2:39.8. 2012 Vertical World Champion Thomas Dold was absent.
Commenting after the race, Lobodzinski said “I felt good during the race and I wasn’t too tired at the end – I think I could have gone a little bit faster. I am happy with the win, but disappointed that I missed the course record by such a small margin.”
The women’s elite race featured last year’s winner and 2012 World Vertical Circuit Champion, Suzy Walsham of Australia, and two-time race winner Marie-Fee Breyer of Germany. Walsham continued her good form from New York, winning the race in a new course record of 3:10.0. Second place went to Cornelia Schindler of Germany with Breyer coming in 3rd.
“It was very cold today and I found it hard to get my rhythm up the stairs”, said Walsham. “Based on my training, I thought I would go a little faster, but it is still great to come first and get the course record.” Walsham now extends her lead in the 2013 Vertical World Circuit rankings, while Christian Riedl takes the lead in the men’s ranking.
Race results
Men
Piotr Lobodzinski 2:36.2
Bartosz Swiatkowski 2:36.7
Fabio Ruga 2:37.8
Christian Riedl 2:39.8
Women
Suzy Walsham 3:10.0
Cornelia Schindler 3:26.2
Marie-Fee Breyer 3:31.7
Full race results here
VWC ranking
Look out for the world’s top runners at the next VWC race up Madrid’s Torre Espacio on April 13 and follow us on Facebook for news and updates.