To overcome the stairs and... yourself
As many as 37 floors, 836 steps and 76 landings had to be covered by those who entered the run to the top of the Rondo 1 office building in Warsaw on March 15th. These numbers did not scare them away – quite the opposite, in fact. Over 500 stair running enthusiasts attended the charity event
Along with all the professionals and mountain runners taking part, the event was also attended by 38 firefighters, who dashed to the top of the 192m skyscraper in pairs and in full uniform, which weighs at least a few kilograms. Marcin Ździebło turned out to be the fastest of these brave men and women. The second to reach the finishing line was Paweł Hess, while Mateusz Iracki came third. The Rondo 1 Run-Up is included in the Towerrunning World Cup series, and as such the sport’s best competitors entered the contest: Piotr Łobodziński (Poland) – this year’s men’s winner – and Lenka Šabíková (Czech Republic), who came second in the women’s category. Damian Ziemianin (the current Polish champion in stair running) was another who took part, coming in tenth. Furthermore, mountain runners Anna Ficner (who came third this year) and Dominika Wiśniewska-Ulfik – the winner of this year’s Rondo 1 Run-Up – were also able to test their mettle. And the real estate sector, which was also represented in the race, should be proud of Ewa Madej of JLL, who had the best women’s score (6:41) in the category for our business. Katarzyna Kosińska (Knight Frank), Ewelina Gronek (Vertigo Property Group), Konrad Szaruga from CBRE, who had the best men’s time (5:04), Tomasz Czerniak (Colliers International), Zbigniew Smyczyński (CBRE), Łukasz Duczkowski (Colliers International), Paweł Płusa (Knight Frank) and Wojciech Jaros (Vertigo Property Group) also did not disappoint the sector – each of them finished the run in impressive times.
When it was all over, the finishing line on the top (37th) floor was a scene of a great deal of sweating, tiredness and satisfaction. All those taking part said that it was their way of proving themselves, overcoming weakness and exceeding their own limitations. Only the best can run up 836 steps in little over three minutes, but everyone who took up their positions at the start had to be in good shape to finish the race at all. And it was worth it. Not only for those participating, but also for the children cared for by the SOS Children’s Villages association. The organiser – Rondo 1 – donated the entire money raised from the entry fees (PLN 23,500) to the organisation. The event was co-organised by Advanced Public Relations and Sport Evolutions.
The Rondo 1 Run-Up is included in the Grand Prix of Poland, and is thus counted among the eleven most significant meetings in this year’s Towerrunning World Cup. The other buildings include the Empire State Building (New York), Stratosphere Tower (Las Vegas), Torch Tower (Doha), Taipei 101 (Taipei), Millenium Tower (Vienna) and Eureka Tower (Melbourne).
The 2014 winners of the Rondo 1 Run-Up (men)
Piotr Łobodziński (Poland) 3:36
Christian Riedl (Germany) 3:56
Tomáš Čelko (Slovakia) 3:59
The 2014 winners of the Rondo 1 Run-Up (women)
Dominika Wiśniewska-Ulfik (Poland) 4:53
Lenka Šabíková (Czech Republic) 5:04
Anna Ficner (Poland) 5:39
