One hundred leading stair runners will be competing for the first prizes of 3,000 euros (US$3,684) in the men’s and women’s categories at the 2nd Towerrunning World Championships on May 5.
While most visitors to Taiwan’s landmark Taipei 101 experience scaling the towering structure through an elevator ride, it will soon welcome elite athletes who will be competing to race up its 2,046 stairs to the 91st floor at a vertical height of 390 metres.
One hundred leading stair runners will be competing for the first prizes of 3,000 euros (US$3,684) in the men’s and women’s categories at the 2nd Towerrunning World Championships on May 5.
The event is co-organised by skyscraper operator Taipei Financial Center Corp. (TFCC) and Austria-headquartered Towerrunning World Association (TWA).
In addition to the elite competition, Taipei 101 will also be hosting a public event on the same day for up to 5,000 participants, according to a media report by Taiwan Today. Registration is set to open in April.
TFCC spokesman Michael Liu said the championships built on the success of the annual Taipei 101 Run Up, a fixture of Taiwan’s sporting calendar since its launch in 2005 and one of the TWA’s leading tour races since 2014.
Last year’s Run Up event attracted around 4,500 local and foreign participants under the association’s Asian and Oceania Towerrunning Championships.
According to Liu, TFCC plans to develop travel packages in collaboration with hotels and stores in Taipei City to encourage sports enthusiasts to visit the country for the public event.