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The world’s premier skyscraper racing tour is ready to launch the 2020 calendar. This year’s Vertical World Circuit^® features nine races and again, a line-up of the best specialists aiming for ranking points together with thousands of amateurs climbing the stairs – for fun, for fitness, for a special cause – and the unique reward of a bird’s eye view from the top.

Nine races stretch across the globe from New York to London, Paris and Milan in Europe, via Dubai in the Middle East and on to Asia, hub of the world’s tallest towers in Beijing, Shanghai and Osaka, concluding with the Grand Finale in Hong Kong. Among the tallest towers selected in key cities, New York’s One World Trade Center commemorating 9/11, stars. It is the highest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The 2020 Vertical World Circuit^® kicks off in Milan, Italy, on April 19 with the Allianz VERTICAL RUN. After last year’s entry on the circuit, Allianz will welcome back VWC world champions together with elite runners from far and near.

Super-woman, Suzy Walsham, 46, from Australia, is an eight-time VWC champion. “It’s always exciting when the new VWC calendar comes out and I can start planning my races for the year. I’m looking forward to another active year on the circuit and will be trying to defend my overall title again. The competition keeps getting stronger and stronger so it will be an exciting year.”

The world’s number one skyscraper racer, Piotr Lobodzinski, 34, from Poland, has won the circuit six times. “I’m very excited for the new VWC season, the tenth for me, counting my first race in Milan in 2011,” he commented. “My last race of the 2019 season was the beginning of November in Osaka so I’m very hungry to start competing again. I think it will be a very interesting and gripping season.”

Japan’s Ryoji Watanabe, 35, has been climbing the 2019 rankings to place third, winning the New York, London and Beijing events. Highly passionate about the sport, this exuberant athlete stated, “I was just waiting for this moment! I’m happy to compete again with my rivals and will race with all my might as usual!”

Five out of the nine races are counted for the final ranking. An extra 25% bonus points are assigned to three races: Milan, London and Dubai, with an extra 50% bonus points at the Grand Finale in Hong Kong on December 6 where the VWC champion titles together with the HK$ 110,000 end-of-season prize purse presented by SHKP, will be awarded.

Celebrating eleven years, the Vertical World Circuit^® is sanctioned by the International Skyrunning Federation which has conducted exclusive scientific research on stair climbing. The results are good news for everyone. Running up stairs represents a fun way to reach the top fast for fit, healthy people. For sedentary, unfit people a little goes a long way: regular stair climbing yields enormous benefits not only through increased fitness levels, but overall health and mental well-being.

Forget the elevator. Walking uphill, compared to the same exercise on level ground, consumes up to 10 times more calories!

Elite stair climbers, runners, fitness fans and office workers can all benefit and be inspired by the Vertical World Circuit^® – a spectacular sports arena right in the heart of the city.

2020 VERTICAL WORLD CIRCUIT^®

April 19 – *MILAN: Allianz VERTICAL RUN (TBC)
May 14 – PARIS: VertiGO
June 14 – NEW YORK: T2T Tower Climb
July 5 – *LONDON: The Broadgate Tower Run Up
August 29 – BEIJING: China World Summit Wing, Beijing Vertical Run
October 18 – SHANGHAI: SHKP Vertical Run for Charity – Race to Shanghai IFC
November 6 – *DUBAI: Dubai Holding Skyrun
November 15 – OSAKA: Harukas Skyrun
December 6 – **HONG KONG: SHKP Vertical Run for Charity Race to Hong Kong

(*) Bonus 25% ranking points
(**) Bonus 50% ranking points

2019 VWC Ranking

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18 March 2020