Chongqing Stages First Vertical Run

CHONGQING, China - July 14, 2014 - PRLog -- Chongqing’s tallest building, The Westin Chongqing Liberation Square, will host the city’s only international stair climbing race – “The Westin Chongqing Vertical Run”. On 13^th September 2014, runners will start at the tower’s ground floor lobby and ascend 54 floors to the helipad on the rooftop. They will face the challenge of running up a total 1,352 steps to a height of 245 metres, where, assuming can recover their breath, will see stunning views of Chongqing’s skyline.

Stair climbing, first known as “vertical races” in the 1970s, is now a global sport with stair climbing clubs hailing from the US, Canada, Europe and Asia as well as professional athletes who train year-round to be the first to reach the top of the world’s tallest buildings. Although still a relatively new sport, stair climbing has quickly caught on with fitness enthusiasts attracted not only by the physical demands of this grueling sport but by also the novelty of competing in unique urban settings – the world’s tallest structures, some of the tallest of which are located here in Asia.

‘The Westin Chongqing Vertical Run’ organised by Sporting Republic and the International Skyrunning Federation has been selected as Exhibition Race for the 2014 Vertical World Circuit (VWC), the world’s first and only skyscraper racing circuit, uniting some of the world’s most iconic skyscraper races, including the Empire State Building Run-Up in New York City.

“We are proud to be bringing the Vertical World Circuit to Chongqing and having the world’s best stair climbers participating at the inaugural The Westin Chongqing Vertical Run,” said Eric Ang, Director of Sales and Marketing of The Westin Chongqing Liberation Square. “We look forward to hosting them and the hundreds of participants who will sign up for the challenge”.