Brisbane Vertical Night Sprint Race Report

An exciting four days in Brisbane started with the inaugural Vertical Night Sprint up the Student One accommodation building. At just 707 stairs this was going to be short and fast. Over 200 people completed the challenge with many students joining the fun.

Participants chose either a single climb, a double or a triple with most SCA members going for the triple of course! With a party on the top floor finish line it was easily the most fun we’ve had after an event.

The triple climb racers headed off first so there was a good crowd of SCA shirts lining up at the front to lead the way. Jason and Ed negotiated for Ed to go off first, Ed not liking chasing and Jason not liking being chased.

There was a big countdown and we were off. The first 40 stairs were steep but straight up to the second floor, then a short transfer around to the stairs and it was on. With one flight per floor the numbers clocked over quickly. Ed and Jason led the way and crossed the line dropping to the floor exhausted. Very quickly after a succession of SCA runners ran through the finish line - Arthavan, Steve, Ricky, Grayson, Amber.

In the first group also was Arturo and Alejandra who had travelled over from Mexico to do the Sydney Stadium Stomp and this race. It was great to see international tower runners coming to Australia for a bit of stair fun. They entered the double climb twice so each got to climb four times, something no-one else on the night did! We enjoyed their company at the post-race festivities.

The SCA runners kept coming with Maria, coming back from injury, crossing the line with a smile, then Trevor, Janet, Darryl, Vanessa, Nicky and finally Scott, also coming back from injury (just a broken leg!), very happy to be climbing stairs again.

For most of us this was only the beginning so it was back down the lift, change the number and head back to the start line to do it all two more times. Special mention goes to Vanessa for the pirate outfit she wore on her second climb - very cool. Also a mention needs to go to Steve who proved the most consistent with all three of his climbs being within 7 secs of each other, his fastest time (4:02) making him the forth fastest on the night.

We had a total of 15 SCA members racing on the night with a great mix of our faster climbers and those who don’t have the speed but certainly have the passion. From the first to last SCA members were there flying the flag and climbing with all their effort.

At the pointy end of the race SCA filled a number of the top finishers. New member Amber Thompson (4:34) won the women’s race with another member Nicole Sattler (4:45) finishing in second. They were the only two women to run under 5 mins.

In the men’s race Jason Williams (3:14) was the fastest and completed all three of his climbs in under 4 mins. Impressive in second was Ed Manktelow (3:27), quickly improving into one fast stair climber, and in third was Darryl Taylor (3:51), the only other climber to go under 4 mins. In all SCA filled the top 5 spots in the men’s race as well as 7th and 12th, a great showing.

The after party, complete with a live band, beers and food was a first for a race in Australia and we hope it is something that continues in the future. It was great to have a reason to stick around and enjoy the company of the other climbers and share stories of the evening. We hope Student One will run the event again next year and if they do make sure you get there - this is already one of the best stair races in the country!

Event organiser Steve Corrie dressed up for the night.

Arturo and Alejandra from Mexico with SCA’s Vanessa.

Vanessa the Pirate

The SCA team at the after party.