This week in Nanjing looks set to be book ended by two marathons, beginning as it did with the Nanjing Marathon on Sunday and ending this coming Sunday, with one of a less-horizontal variety, namely a climb up one of Nanjing’s most famous buildings; a vertical marathon.
The event, “Just Up”, shall see contestants challenged in a race to the top of Nanjing’s International Youth Culture Centre, all the way up the stairs. To walk up the 1,341 steps that comprise the 57 floors, or 260 metres, of building, would be physically challenging to pretty much everyone. The concept of running up in just a few minutes is reserved for only the super human.
Among the more famous competitors shall be Taizhou, Jiangsu-born, He Liangliang (何亮亮), fresh from the conclusion of the Vertical World Circuit 2019 that came to an end on the same day as the Nanjing Marathon was held, this past Sunday, 10 November, with a race to the top of Japan’s tallest building, the 330-metre Abeno Harukas in Osaka.
He came in seventh overall in the competition that took in races to the summits of towers in 10 of the world’s greatest cities, while he was also placed second in Beijing, ascending the 82 floors of the China World Summit Wing in an unbelievable 11 minutes, 9 seconds.
Vertical marathons belong to the sport of tower running, technically a foot race which ascends any man-made surface, although the staircases of tall buildings are most common. While the concept itself allegedly dates back to a challenge laid down to a barman in a London pub in 1730, as a sport, tower running has, for longevity, the Empire State Building Run Up, that has seen runners ascend New York’s Empire State Building Every year since 1978.
“Just Up” is an independent, tower running event, for now. Nanjing authorities are hoping that, providing all goes well on Sunday, the event could become a regular thing, perhaps joining Shanghai and Beijing as part of the Vertical World Circuit. One day, Nanjing might even be host to the Towerrunning World Cup, that next year shall take place in May at the famous Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
Speaking with the Yangtze Evening News, He spoke of his drive for tower running, saying, “The pursuit of excellence is a must, while it is also an upward process. It may be very tiring and difficult, but the only way is up”.
