2010 NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up

rburgunder — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:25:23 +0000

For the fourth consecutive year, I had the honor to compete as an invited athlete in one of the most exhilarating athletic competitions in the world with some of the most diverse and well-trained athletes in the field. The 33rd annual NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up is one of the world’s premier tower races up a total of 1,576 steps to the Observatory deck on the 86th floor. The event is an invitation-only world class race attracting top athletes from 19 states and 17 different countries. I started in the Elite wave (runners seeded 1-99) and finished 61st among a field of 294 runners with a time of 14:46, a new PR.

The Empire State Building - 86 Floors and 1,576 Steps to the Observation Deck

It’s showtime!

Team MGD 64 Athlete

“I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights.” – Ali

Trevor Folgering getting some advice from superstar Thomas Dold. Trevor used to be a professional body builder too.

Tony brought out the big guns for the ESBRU

Elaine (USA), Thomas Dold (Germany) and Trevor Folgering (Canada)

A New ESBRU PR – 14:46

Tony, Mark and I Promoting MGD 64

Lower Manhattan from the Observation Deck

Upper Manhattan and the Chrysler Building from the Observation Deck

Thomas Dold, 25, of Germany won his fifth consecutive NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up today, tying Al Waquie of the United States (1983–87) and Paul Crake of Australia (1999–2003) for most victories in the 33-year history of this race up 86 flights (1,576 steps) to the observation deck of New York’s tallest building. Melissa Moon, 40, of New Zealand won the women’s race in her debut.

5x Empire State Building Run-Up World Champion Thomas Dold of Germany and I

The Overall Male and Female Award Winners:Men – Thomas Dold (Germany), Matthias Jahn (Germany) and Matthew Byrne (USA) Female – Melissa Moon (New Zealand), Gretchen Grindle Hurlbutt (New York) and Amy Fredericks (Connecticut) Photo by New York Road Runners© 2010

Thomas Dold (Germany) and Melissa Moon (New Zealand) – The Overall Champions

Mark and I celebrating

How high can we go? And this was after we ran 86 flights and 1, 576 stairs…

Elaine and I “Jumping”

In addition to the excitement of competing in the race, I had the opportunity to meet several very intriguing athletes from all around the world. Some really cool people that I met included Elaine, Trevor, Tim (aka “Running Raw”), the Germans and Patel. Elaine is an American endurance athlete who will be competing in the Comrades Marathon in South Africa and then three days later climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Trevor Folgering is a Canadian who’s a fitness professional, former pro body builder and also the current director of the Canadian Stair Climbing Association. Trevor hopes to implement an elite level stair climbing circuit throughout Canada that would attract extreme athletes from around the world. Tim Van Orden started “Running Raw”, a grand experiment in diet and athletic performance focusing on athletic performance athlete while eating a 100% raw vegan diet. Patel Devang is only 20 yeas old and ran an astonishing 14:26 in his first Empire State Building Run-Up. I also want to thank my ultrarunning friend, Mark Saxon, for being my VIP guest to this event and the designated photographer.

A Pyramid
Mark, Trevor (Canada), Elaine, a random Italian girl and I

Good times with some new friends

2010 NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up Medal

Thanks again to all of my sponsors, teammates, fans, friends and family for your loyal support. Your encouragement and support goes a long way!

Mt. Washington Climb to the Summit – Summer 2009

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:26:00 +0000

After the XTERRA New England Trail Run Series finale in Hanover, NH, my friend McKinley and I decided to have some additional fun in the White Mountains by climbing world famous Mt. Washington via the Lion’s Head Trail. This was McKinley’s first time on the mountain and he successfully reached the summit after a strenuous climb that only the most fit can typically handle. Congratulations to him! This was my fifth time on the mountain, with three in the winter and two in the summer or spring.

6,288ft Mt. Washington is known for bitter cold, dense fog, heavy snow, record wind and the world’s most extreme weather. The mountain has hurricane force winds over 100 days of the year and claims lives quite often. It’s an extreme mountain that makes an exhilarating adventure outing anytime.

One of the many warning signs at the base of the mountain

Starting from the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center at 11 am, we headed up the rocky ravine via Lion Head’s Trail to the Crystal Cascades Falls. These falls are hundreds of feet high and absolutely beautiful.

Crystal Cascades Falls

After spending some time at the falls, we proceed up Tuckerman Ravine Trail stumbling across rocks, boulders, climbing steep ledges and hurdling a couple of small run-off streams and springs. We had great weather for most of the trip up the mountain until we broke the tree line, where things changed slightly.

Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Wooden Ladder – It was steep

Mt. Washington’s summit in the distance with heavy cloud cover

Mt. Washington

As we got closer to the tree line, the trail became much steeper and required some bouldering and climbing. Shortly after you break the tree line, an amazing view of Tuckerman Ravine awaits you. Tuckerman Ravine is famous for extreme skiing, snowboarding and winter avalanches. During the winter, over up to 50 feet of snow will accumulate in this basin creating some extremely dangerous avalanches and world-class extreme skiing.

Tuckerman Ravine

We took a short break on the ridge at Tuckerman and then continued the final push to the summit of Mt. Washington. As we looked out towards the summit, we noticed heavy cloud cover and bad weather moving in. Just a couple of days before our climb, there was 80mph winds and hail recorded on the summit.

0.9 Miles to Go!

McKinley modeling my PowerBar Winter Dome Beanie (It came in handy as temperatures drastically dropped)

After 6,288 feet, we made it!

Mt. Washington Summit – 6,288 Feet

Heavy Cloud Cover at the Summit (About 35 Degrees)

McKinley signing the guest book (includes many people from all around the world)

Richard Burgunder – Professional Extreme Athlete » Climbing

2010 NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up

Mt. Washington Climb to the Summit – Summer 2009