We can finally report a few small steps that begin the long-awaited return to the usual stairing times.
Last weekend, for the first time in a year, we had three races on a single weekend !  All of them were outdoor events. The American Lung Association, which hosts most climbs in the US, has switched to stadium climbs this year and after Louisville in February last Saturday we saw their Fight for Air Climbs in Miami and Las Vegas. The event at Ballpark replaced the legendary traditional host of the US championships “Scale the Strat”. Sunday in Japan we had the inaugural race of the “Stairs Rally”, a series of seven stair sprints organized by Tower Running Tokyo.
More Info and Results here:

Excitement awaits us next Sunday when the 6th edition of the Q1 Stair Challenge at Australia’s Gold Coast is held. Q1 is one of the highest residential buildings worldwide, its name a reminiscence to a successful Olympic rowing team from Queensland in the 1920ies. There are 77 stories with 1331 stairs to master and we look forward to competion of the highest level. Mark Bourne is leading the male field and on the female side the one to beat is World Champion and Ranking No. 1 Suzy Walsham in her first race after more than a year and her return to Australia.