International  Journal  of
Environmental Research
and Public Health
Article
Tower Running—Participation, Performance Trends,
and Sex Diﬀerence
Daniel Stark 1, Stefania Di Gangi 2, Caio Victor Sousa 3
, Pantelis Nikolaidis 4
and
Beat Knechtle 2,5,*
1
Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Kantonsspital Baden, 5404 Baden, Switzerland;
danistark87@gmail.com
2
Institute of Primary Care, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; Stefania.DiGangi@usz.ch
3
Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA;
cvsousa89@gmail.com
4
Exercise Physiology Laboratory, 18450 Nikaia, Greece; pademil@hotmail.com
5
Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland
*
Correspondence: beat.knechtle@hispeed.ch; Tel.: +41-(0)-71-226-93-00
Received: 14 February 2020; Accepted: 10 March 2020; Published: 14 March 2020


Abstract: Though there are exhaustive data about participation, performance trends, and sex
diﬀerences in performance in diﬀerent running disciplines and races, no study has analyzed these
trends in stair climbing and tower running. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate
these trends in tower running. The data, consisting of 28,203 observations from 24,007 climbers between
2014 and 2019, were analyzed. The eﬀects of sex and age, together with the tower characteristics (i.e.,
stairs and ﬂoors), were examined through a multivariable statistical model with random eﬀects on
intercept, at climber’s level, accounting for repeated measurements. Men were faster than women
in each age group (p < 0.001 for ages ≤69 years, p = 0.003 for ages > 69 years), and the diﬀerence in
performance stayed around 0.20 km/h, with a minimum of 0.17 at the oldest age. However, women
were able to outperform men in speciﬁc situations: (i) in smaller buildings (<600 stairs), for ages
between 30 and 59 years and >69 years; (ii) in higher buildings (>2200 stairs), for age groups <20 years
and 60–69 years; and (iii) in buildings with 1600–2200 stairs, for ages >69 years. In summary, men
were faster than women in this speciﬁc running discipline; however, women were able to outperform
men in very speciﬁc situations (i.e., speciﬁc age groups and speciﬁc numbers of stairs).
Keywords: tower running; sex diﬀerences; age; running speed; vertical run
1. Introduction
Distance running is of high popularity and includes diﬀerent distances, from 5 to 10 km [1],
half-marathon [2,3], marathon [2,4], and up to ultra-marathon of diﬀerent distances [5,6]. It is
well-known that men are faster than women from 5 km to marathon [7], and in ultra-marathon
running [8]. However, women were able to reduce the gap with men in ultra-marathon running, with
increasing age and at longer race distances [9].
Stair climbing or tower running is a very speciﬁc running discipline, in which stair climbing has
developed into the organized sport of tower running. Nowadays, tower running is a sport discipline
that involves running up tall buildings, such as internal staircases of skyscrapers. However, tower
running can cover any running race that involves a course that ascends a building.
To date, we have knowledge about the health beneﬁts of stair climbing [10–13]. However, no
data exist about participation and performance trends in tower running, and especially about the sex
diﬀerence in this speciﬁc running discipline. Such information is valuable for athletes and coaches,
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1902; doi:10.3390/ijerph17061902
www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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to better understand and plan a race strategy, and also for race organizers, for insights regarding
future events.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate participation and performance trends
in tower running, with the hypothesis that men would also be faster than women in this discipline.
Regarding age groups, we expected that women might close the performance gap in the older groups
as already shown in long distance races [9].
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Ethics Approval
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kanton St. Gallen, Switzerland,
with a waiver of the requirement for informed consent of the participants, as the study involved the
analysis of publicly available data.
2.2. Methodology
There exists a tower running world association that presents all the results of the known races
around the world on their homepage (www.towerrunning.com). In an older version of this homepage,
there were only the results of the current year, and sometimes, of the preceding year. We contacted the
person in charge at the association to ﬁnd out whether he could provide us with older data as well.
For some races, however, it was not possible to ﬁnd the older results. For example, for the race at the
Willis tower in Chicago, the results before 2018 were not available. For other races, such as the hustle
up race in Chicago, the direct link did not work, but the results could be found by searching for the link
to the race, which is also provided on the homepage of the tower running world association. Table 1
summarizes all considered events listed by the number of steps of the buildings.
Table 1. Data included in the present study.
Building
City
Steps
Data Available (Years)
Included (Years)
Millennium Tower
Wien
2529
2014–2016
2014–2016
Willis Tower (Sears Tower until 2009)
Chicago
2109
2014–2019
2018
Taipei 101
Taipeh
2046
2014–2019
2017–2018
CN Tower
Toronto
1776
2014–2019
2017–2018
Reunion Tower
Dallas
1674
2018–2019
2018
Eiﬀelturm
Paris
1665
2015–2020
2015–2018
AON Center
Chicago
1643
none on towerrunning.com
2018
John Hancock Center (875 North
Michigan Avenue)
Chicago
1632
2014–2019
2017–2018
Empire State Building
New York
1576
2014–2019
2017–2014
Bank of America Plaza
Dallas
1540
none on towerrunning.com
2018
US Bank Tower
Los Angeles
1500
2014–2019
2018
thyssenkrupp Testturm
Rottweil
1390
2018–2019
2018
Swissôtel The Stamford
Singapur
1336
2014–2018
2017
Rockefeller Center
New York City
1214
2014–2016, 2018, 2019
2019
MesseTurm
Frankfurt am Main
1202
2014–2019
2014–2017
Three Logan Square
Philadelphia
1088
2014–2019
2014, 2018, 2019
Valliance Bank
Oklahoma City
837
2014–2019
2019
Holmenkollbakken
Oslo
800
2015–2018
2015–2017
Run Up Berlin (Park Inn Hotel)
Berlin
770
2015–2019
2015–2018
KölnTurm
Köln
714
none on towerrunning.com
2016–2019
Oakbrook Terrace Tower
Oakbrook
680
2014–2020
2019
Münsterturm
Ulm
560
none on towerrunning.com
2014–2018
Towerrun
Berlin
465
2014–2020
2018
St.George’s Tower
Leicester
351
none on towerrunning.com
2018
Matzleinsdorfer Hochhaus
Wien
342
2017
2017
Windradlauf
Lichtenegg
300
2014
2014
Haus des Meeres
Wien
271
2015–2019
2016–2018
Oluempia Hotel
Tallinn
N/A
2015–2019
2017
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1902
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From the race results, the year of the event, the completed time, the sex, and the name of both
the athletes and the building were available. We further looked for the height of the building and
the number of stairs and ﬂoors. Race time in m:sec was converted to running speed in km/h, using
the height of the building. We removed observations from unknown climbers (where the name of
the climber was not reported or not known) in order to correctly account for repeated measurements.
We also considered multi-climbing.
2.3. Statistical Analysis
The outcome was the tower climbing speed (km/h). Descriptive statistics are presented as means
(SD = standard deviations) by sex and age groups. T-tests were performed to assess the outcome
diﬀerence between sex, overall and for each age groups. Two-way ANOVA tests were also performed
to evaluate the multivariable eﬀect of sex and age on the outcome. Then, to control also for repeated
measurements and the other covariates, the eﬀects of sex and age, together with the tower characteristics
(i.e., stairs and ﬂoors) were examined more rigorously through a multivariable mixed eﬀects model,
with random eﬀects (intercept) for climbers. The model was speciﬁed as follows:
Tower climbing speed (Y) ~ [Fixed eﬀects (X) = Sex*Age*BS (Stairs, df = 5)
+ BS (Floors, df = 5) + [random eﬀects of intercept = runners]
where BS (Stairs, df = 5) and BS (Floors, df = 5) are 5 degrees of freedom (df) basis splines changing
with the number of stairs and ﬂoors, respectively; Sex*Age*BS (Stairs, df = 5) denoted the three-way
interaction term Sex–Age–number of stairs. Calendar year was not considered in the above model
because it was not signiﬁcant.
Results
of
the
regression
model
are
presented
as
estimates
and
standard
errors.
Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.
All statistical analyses were carried out with R,
R Core Team (2016). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for
Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria (www.r-project.org/foundation/). The R packages ggplot2, lme4,
and lmerTest were used, respectively, for data visualization and for the mixed model. The R code to
reproduce the analysis is provided as supplementary information (Supplement 1 R-code).
3. Results
Between 2014 and 2019, the total number of observations was 28,203 (24,007 climbers). However,
the total number of observations, with non-missing sex, was 28,156 (23,960 climbers). The participation
and men-to-women ratio is shown in Figure 1. We observed that we had a low number of participants
and a high men-to-women ratio before 2017 (i.e., the number of men was three times the number of
women in 2015). The highest number of participants was recorded in 2018. In fact, the number of
women in 2018 was eight times the number of women in 2014, and the number of men in 2018 was
four times the number of men in 2014. In 2019, the number of available observations decreased again.
The men-to-women ratio reached a minimum in 2019 with 0.89, meaning that the number of women
was higher than the number of men.
In Table 2, the mean performance by sex and age group is reported. Men were faster than women
in each age group (p < 0.001 for all ages until 69 years, p = 0.003 for ages >69 years), and the diﬀerence in
performance stayed around 0.20 km/h, with a minimum of 0.17 at the oldest age. In Table 3, summary
statistics of performance, together with tower characteristics: height, number of ﬂoors and stairs are
reported by sex. Overall, the sex diﬀerence in performance was signiﬁcant (p < 0.001); sex diﬀerences
were also signiﬁcant (p < 0.001) in average ﬂoors and stairs climbed. The results of the multivariable
statistical analysis are displayed in Figure 2, to allow an easier interpretation and understanding.
Moreover, we had no signiﬁcant diﬀerence between men and women alone, but in the interaction
with age groups and stairs climbed (Supplemental 2 Table). The variability, in terms of performance,
was greater in very young and very old age groups (<20 years, 60–69 years, and >69 years). This also
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1902
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had an eﬀect on sex diﬀerences. Women performed better than men in the following situations:
(i) smaller buildings (<600 stairs), for ages between 30 and 59 years and >69 years; (ii) higher buildings
(>2200 stairs), for age <20 years and ages between 60 and 69 years; and (iii) buildings with 1600 to
2200 stairs, for age >69 years. In all other cases, men performed better than women, with the sex
diﬀerence reducing when the number of stairs increased. In Figure 3, the eﬀect of the number of
ﬂoors on performance, by sex, is shown. When the number of ﬂoors increased, the average speed of
tower climbing decreased, but then increased around 90 ﬂoors, and decreased again in climbing the
highest buildings.
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the number of women in 2015). The highest number of participants was recorded in 2018. In fact, the 
number of women in 2018 was eight times the number of women in 2014, and the number of men in 
2018 was four times the number of men in 2014. In 2019, the number of available observations 
decreased again. The men-to-women ratio reached a minimum in 2019 with 0.89, meaning that the 
number of women was higher than the number of men. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1. Participation and men-to-women ratio. 
 
In Table 2, the mean performance by sex and age group is reported. Men were faster than women 
in each age group (p<0.001 for all ages until 69 years, p=0.003 for ages >69 years), and the difference 
in performance stayed around 0.20 km/h, with a minimum of 0.17 at the oldest age. In Table 3, 
summary statistics of performance, together with tower characteristics: height, number of floors and 
stairs are reported by sex. Overall, the sex difference in performance was significant (p<0.001); sex 
differences were also significant (p<0.001) in average floors and stairs climbed. The results of the 
multivariable statistical analysis are displayed in Figure 2, to allow an easier interpretation and 
understanding. Moreover, we had no significant difference between men and women alone, but in 
the interaction with age groups and stairs climbed (Supplemental 2 Table). The variability, in terms 
of performance, was greater in very young and very old age groups (<20 years, 60–69 years, and >69 
years). This also had an effect on sex differences. Women performed better than men in the following 
situations: (i) smaller buildings (<600 stairs), for ages between 30 and 59 years and >69 years; (ii) 
higher buildings (>2200 stairs), for age <20 years and ages between 60 and 69 years; and (iii) buildings 
with 1600 to 2200 stairs, for age >69 years. In all other cases, men performed better than women, with 
the sex difference reducing when the number of stairs increased. In Figure 3, the effect of the number 
of floors on performance, by sex, is shown. When the number of floors increased, the average speed 
of tower climbing decreased, but then increased around 90 floors, and decreased again in climbing 
the highest buildings. 
 
Figure 1. Participation and men-to-women ratio.
Table 2. Summary statistics of tower climbing performance, running speed (km/h), by sex and age
groups. p-values from t-tests for each subgroup are reported. p-values from ANOVA were both p < 0.001
for sex and age. Men-to-women ratio, computed with the number of participants, is reported.
Age Group
Sex
N
Mean (SD)
p
Men-to-Women Ratio
<20
F
501
0.73 (0.27)
<0.001
1.30
M
652
0.91 (0.38)
20–29
F
1887
0.81 (0.24)
<0.001
1.39
M
2615
0.99 (0.35)
30–39
F
2552
0.80 (0.30)
<0.001
1.34
M
3415
1.03 (0.39)
40–49
F
1941
0.78 (0.32)
<0.001
1.33
M
2583
1.00 (0.39)
50–59
F
1220
0.76 (0.30)
<0.001
1.60
M
1951
0.97 (0.38)
60–69
F
239
0.72 (0.25)
<0.001
2.62
M
626
0.90 (0.27)
>69
F
44
0.66 (0.33)
0.003
4.57
M
201
0.83 (0.33)
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Figure 2. Speed (km/h) by stairs, age, and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed 
model and points represent the average of the observed values. 
 
Figure 3. Speed (km/h) by floors and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed model 
and points represent the average of the observed values. 
Figure 2. Speed (km/h) by stairs, age, and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed
model and points represent the average of the observed values.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, x FOR PEER REVIEW 
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Figure 2. Speed (km/h) by stairs, age, and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed 
model and points represent the average of the observed values. 
 
Figure 3. Speed (km/h) by floors and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed model 
and points represent the average of the observed values. 
Figure 3. Speed (km/h) by ﬂoors and sex. Lines represent the predicted values from the mixed model
and points represent the average of the observed values.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1902
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Table 3. Summary statistics of running speed (km/h) and race time (min), tower height (m), ﬂoors,
and stairs by sex. Data expressed as mean (± SD).
Females (n = 11,886)
Males (n = 16,270)
p-Value
Speed km/h
0.85 (0.37)
1.06 (0.46)
<0.001
Time (min)
24.26 (14.16)
18.43 (11.69)
<0.001
Tower height (m)
296.25 (111.37)
276.27 (108.72)
<0.001
Floors
85.44 (36.37)
76.00 (35.97)
<0.001
Stairs
1466.43 (420.36)
1401.18 (429.59)
<0.001
4. Discussion
The aim of the present study was to investigate participation trends, performance trends, and trends
in sex diﬀerence in tower running, with the hypothesis that men would be faster than women in this
discipline. The main ﬁndings were: (1) more men than women competed before 2017, (2) men were
faster than women in each age group and the diﬀerence in performance stayed around 0.20 km/h, with
a minimum of 0.17 km/h at the oldest age, and (3) women aged between 30 and 59 years and >69 years
performed better than men in smaller buildings (<600 stairs).
4.1. Change in the Men-to-Women Ratio Across Years
Before 2017, we observed a low number of participants and a high men-to-women ratio. The highest
number of participants was recorded in 2018. In 2019, the number of participants decreased again and
the men-to-women ratio reached the minimum of 0.89, which means that the number of women was
higher than the number of men. This could also be due to a selection bias. At the time of the data
collection (2017–2019), there were more results available from the earlier races and since the aim of
the selection was to represent the sport and include the most important races all over the world, we
did not pay attention to compare for every year the exact same number of races. This fact should
encourage race directors to join the ‘Towerrunning World Association’ (www.towerrunning.com), in
order to build up a ﬁrm data base for future analyses.
Generally, in races of long traditions, the men-to-women ratio is > 1.0, indicating that more men
than women competed [14], but the men-to-women ratio can decrease over the years, indicating that
the number of women increased over time [15]. Future studies with larger data sets are needed to
investigate this trend.
4.2. Sex Diﬀerence in Performance
Looking at the anatomical aspect of sex diﬀerence, studies have shown that there are diﬀerences in
the anatomy and physiology of the heart [16], and in the oxygen uptake in repetitive muscle activity [17]
between men and women. This fact suggests that there must also be diﬀerences in performance
between genders in the sport of tower running.
Men were faster than women in each age group and the diﬀerence in performance stayed around
0.20 km/h, with a minimum of 0.17 at the oldest age. However, women outperformed men in the
following situations: (i) smaller buildings (<600 stairs) and ages between 30 and 59 years and >69 years;
(ii) higher buildings (>2200 stairs) and ages <20 years and between 60 and 69 years; and (iii) buildings
with 1600–2200 stairs and ages >69 years.
When the number of ﬂoors increased, the average running speed of tower climbing decreased,
but then increased around 90 ﬂoors, and decreased again in climbing of highest buildings. A possible
explanation for this fact could be the diversity of the runners. One could think that recreational runners
take part in races until a certain height, because of their estimated stamina. Therefore, their running
speed decreases until they reach their maximum of the height of the building. More professional
runners again might only start in the races in which they have to climb the higher buildings, starting
around 90 ﬂoors. Again, these professional runners will have to decrease their average running speed,
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 1902
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to be able to climb even the highest building. This, on the other hand, is only a hypothesis that we did
not investigate, and would need further studies to be veriﬁed.
Another explanation could be the men-to-women ratio by age group. When female and male
age group ultra-marathoners were investigated, women could close the gap to men in older age
groups (>60 years) and longer race distances (i.e., 100 miles compared with 50 miles) [9]. This relative
improvement in female performance at higher ages is most likely due to the change in the men-to-women
ratio in older age groups. It has been shown for female and male age group freestyle swimmers, from
25–29 to 85–89 years, competing in the FINA World Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014,
that women were faster than men for age groups 80–84 and 85–89 years. When the trend for the
men-to-women ratio for age groups 25–29 to 75–79 years (i.e., men were faster than women) and age
groups 80–84 to 85–89 years (i.e., women were faster than men) was analyzed, the men-to-women ratio
remained unchanged in 50 m, 100 m, and 400 m in age groups 25–29 to 75–79 years, but increased in
200 m and 800 m. For age groups 80–84 to 85–89 years, the men-to-women ratio remained unchanged
in 50 m and 100 m, but decreased in 200 to 800 m [18]. However, in the present tower runners,
the men-to-women ratio increased with increasing age, but was lowest in the youngest age group
(Table 2).
Other variables could explain that women outperformed men in some speciﬁc situations (e.g.,
speciﬁc age groups and building heights) of this running discipline. Generally, women are lighter
than men [19–21], which might help in running upwards. Body mass was, however, not predictive in
female mountain ultra-marathoners [21]. Unfortunately, body mass was not available in these runners.
Another explanation could be the motivation of female athletes [22]. For example, motivation diﬀers
between female and male marathon runners [22]. It has been shown that female marathon ﬁnishers
exceeded men on the motivational scales for body weight concern, aﬃliation, psychological coping, life
meaning, and self-esteem, and they scored lower on competitive motivation [23]. Future studies might
investigate the motivation of female and male tower runners by age group and performance level.
Regarding the health aspect, it has already been investigated that stair climbing brings certain
beneﬁts. It could be shown that it helps decrease blood glucose levels [12] and that it brings a cardiac
beneﬁt in senior citizens [13]. Therefore, there is a certain interest in investigating this subject regarding
public health.
5. Conclusions
Men are generally faster than women in tower running, but women are closing the gap with
men, with increasing stairs and increasing age. The reason for the better performance in women with
increasing stairs remains unclear and might be a subject for further research.
Supplementary Materials: The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/1902/s1,
Table S1: R-Code, Table S2: Regression analysis (mixed model) of speed (km/h) in tower climbing.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, D.S. and B.K.; methodology, S.D.G.; software, S.D.G.; validation, D.S.,
S.D.G., and B.K.; formal analysis, S.D.G.; investigation, D.S.; resources, D.S.; data curation, D.S.; writing—original
draft preparation, D.S., S.D.G., C.V.S., P.N., and B.K.; writing—review and editing, D.S, S.D.G., C.V.S., P.N.,
and B.K.; visualization, S.D.G.; supervision, B.K.; project administration, B.K. All authors have read and agreed to
the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Conﬂicts of Interest: The authors declare no conﬂicts of interest.
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Tower Running-Participation, Performance Trends, and Sex Difference.
Stark, Daniel,Di Gangi, Stefania,Sousa, Caio Victor,Nikolaidis, Pantelis,Knechtle, Beat