Empire State Building Run-Up Wrap Up
Again for 2009, Thomas Dold of Germany and Suzanne Walsham of Singapore and Australia won the Run-Up, finishing respectively in 10m 7s and 13m 27s. For some reason though, the race did not feel as competitive as usual with a lot of the top racers not in attendance. Nevertheless, a huge congratulations is in order for Dwayne Fernandes of Australia. He is the first athlete ever to compete in the Empire with prostheses for his two legs. He finished the climb in an amazing and inspiring 26m 12s!
As for me finishing in over 16m, I was a bit disappointed that I did not match or beat my last year’s time. I trained hard for this, and even trimmed some weight off, but it did not help. Unlike other stair races, this race has a major element of randomness which definitely slowed me down this time. The stairwell was really crowded this year, and I started in back of the pack (this is a gun-start race, not a staggered one). I am also 3 1/2 months off of ankle surgery (to remove 8 screws and a plate from my break in December 2005) which surely did not help either. Nevertheless, I had a terrific time and that is what’s most important!
My next race will be on February 22, 2009, up the John Hancock Tower in Chicago, IL, participating in the Elite Division. For the Empire results, see: http://web2.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.exe/aes-programs/results/startup.html?result.id=a90203&result.year=2009 and for a video of the race, http://www.nyrr.org/resources/video/misc/2009/esbru.asp.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
on 
on
February 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I will not take credit for your poor performance, but I will take full credit for your weight loss (lol).
Reply
MJK
Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Ouch! Pick and choose what you like, don’t you? Well, let’s see YOU get into the Empire State Building Runup, and make it up so fast!
Reply
February 27th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Just Kidding, the truth is I’m very proud of you!
Reply