2015 Vertical Rush winner Piotr Lobodzinski. (c)iancorless.com
Beijing hosts the 6th race of the Vertical World Circuit, Saturday, September 19 at the China World Summit Wing Hotel Vertical Run. The challenge lies in the 2,041 steps of the 82-floors of the city’s tallest skyscraper where nearly 1,000 runners from 20 countries will take part in the third edition of the event.
2014 Vertical World Circuit Champions Piotr Lobodzinski from Poland and Australia’s Suzy Walsham are back and will attempt to hold on to their ranking leadership and, possibly, to break the standing records set by Walsham herself in 2013 in 11’46” and Thomas Dold in 9’55”.
Joining them will be 2013 World Champion Mark Bourne from Australia (currently ranked 7th) and top ranked athletes Norbert Lechner (4th) from Austria, with Italy’s Cristina Bonacina (2nd) and Australian Cindy Reid (4th) as well as a long list of top Chinese runners racing for the US $6,000 prize money at stake.
Suzy Walsham, 2014 race winner, here in Sydney
China World Summit Wing, Beijing has announced that Sino-Ocean Land, developer of The CBD’s Private Palace, is the title sponsor of the 2015 China World Summit Wing Hotel Vertical Run.
All charitable proceeds raised from the China World Summit Wing Vertical Run will benefit the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children.
“As a leader in property development in China, Sino Ocean
Land is very excited and proud to partner with China World Summit Wing, Beijing and ISF to sponsor one of the greatest vertical running events in our country,” said Li Ming, Chairman of Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Limited. “The popularity of the event has never been higher, as people of all ages embrace the challenges that vertical running presents. We look forward to a great day on September 19 with an event that is a fantastic challenge for all abilities and runners of all levels.”
“We are pleased to be bringing the Vertical World Circuit to back to Beijing and look forward to continuing to be a part of the circuit next year and into the future,” said David Shin, race director and International Skyrunning Federation representative. “This year, locals and internationals alike want to take on the 2,041-step challenge and cross one of the world’s tallest finish lines. We are excited to see if new records can be made.”
The China World Summit Wing Hotel Vertical Run is the sixth race in the eight-race circuit which stretches across the world from America to the heart of Europe, Oceania and Asia.
After New York, London, Taipei, Paris and Sydney, the Vertical World Circuit will continue in Asia, heading for Shanghai on October 25 and the grand finale in Hong Kong on December 6 where the World Champions will be crowned at the SHKP Vertical Run for Charity: Race to Hong Kong ICC and receive 100,000 HKD prize money.
The VWC world champion titles are awarded on the score of four out of eight races, with 20% extra points awarded at the final.
Race website: www.chinaverticalrun.com
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