Running and racing up the stairs of tall buildings seems like a strange thing to do for most of us, but for Shaun Stephens-Whale, it’s become a bit of an obsession. Poised as one of the best in the world at tower running and coming off a string of wins and podium finishes in Europe and the U.S., the former Sunshine Coaster now has the ability to reach the pinnacle of this crazy sport.
Recently finishing sixth overall at the Verticale de la Tour Eiffel in Paris March 16 against the very best, he has claimed respect in Europe. Recent accomplishments include second place at the Boston Prudential Tower in a one-on-one battle with world champion Piotr Lobodzinski of Poland. From there it was Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Tower and a close finish between Stephens-Whale, German Christian Riedl and Slovakian Tomas Celko, with nine seconds between all three runners.
Five days later, Shaun claimed another third-place podium finish at the Empire State Building, New York, with Piotr again taking the win and Aussie Darren Wilson second. In Las Vegas, Stephens-Whale took the win as well as setting a new record 7’03” in the very high 1,665 steps of the Stratosphere.
Next on the list is a go at the CN Tower record April 9, which includes a TV interview with the WWF Foundation and much needed publicity to draw in the big sponsors.
Some of the world’s tallest buildings still need to be conquered – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 828 metres (2,717 feet) is the tallest and as yet no official race is planned. That would take somewhere around 20 minutes to climb. Others in China, Shanghia Tower at 632 metres and Guangzhov CTF Financial Centre at 530 metres (that’s 1,739 ft., half the height of Mt Seymour) will be raced this July.
Some decent prize money is coming into the sport with first place drawing up to $4,000 Euro or U.S.; travelling to these events is expensive but airfare is the only expense as food and accommodation is usually free. When in Abu Dhabi, while racing the Etihad Tower, fantastic meals and extravagant accommodations were given to all the 28 men and 20 women invited athletes. All these new, tall engineering marvels of the 21st century have spawned a new breed of athlete willing to travel the planet in search of the ultimate high.
– Submitted
