The Brigade Group adds another feature to its cap with the introduction of this unique sporting event
Bangalore, June 15th, 2014: Sunday morning was unlike any the city has seen. Sporting enthusiasts gathered together at the World Trade Center at the Brigade Gateway for the first ever Skyscraper Dash, a vertical run that credits its debut in India to the Brigade Group. 650 participants came together to participate in the various versions of this competition. The competition began in waves beginning at 6.15 AM and going on till 10.15 AM.
The Everest Challenge, a sub-event within the Skyscraper Dash had immense appeal among marathon runners of the city. Participants had to run up the 850 steps of the World Trade Center (31 floors), a total of 70 times to equal the height of Mount Everest (8,848 mts). This was made more interesting by allowing participants to get together in groups of 10 and splitting the run up between all of them to earn the necessary rankings to complete the race.
The Mount Everest Challenge was won by Mr. Vikee Parikh, Goldman Sachs who secured medals and a cash prize of Rs 20,000. On winning the competition, he said, “We practiced a lot for this event. When we formed the team we were determined to win this completion. We have participated in several other marathons. But this is the first time we are participating in an event of this nature. Vertical running is unique and challenging. We even did trial run of this earlier last week.”
The Skyscraper Dash saw participants run around the Brigade Campus, Sheraton as well as the Orion Mall, a distance of 2.5km. The dash ended with a run up the 850 stairs all the way to the roof of the building where the finish line was placed.
Winners list is as follows:
2K Dash category (Women)
1st – Soumya Sawanth
2nd – Mahalakshmi
2K Dash category (Men)
1st – Rahul
2nd – Goillame Bay
The Dash category (Men)
1st – Bharath
2nd – Alphis
The Dash category (Women)
1st – Arpitha
2nd – Neera
The prize amount:
First prize winners– Rs.7500
Second prize – Rs.5000
Third prize – Rs.2500
Stair running today is an internationally recognized sport and The Skyscraper Dash at World Trade Centre is accredited by The World Tower Running Association and will count towards their World Cup rankings. All participants were issued timing certificates, along with their prizes.
Mr. Deepak Rao, Goldman Sachs said, “This is a nice event and I am glad to see that such internationally acclaimed events are being organized in our country. I participated in a similar event in Canada, though that was easier compared to the Everest Challenge. I am glad that our team won this challenge.
Ms. Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade Hospitality said, “It was a really fun and well organized event and a unique way to spend Sunday morning. The Brigade Gateway campus was beautiful and we earned our breakfast at High Ultra Lounge today.”
Ajay Gupta, Founder, Sport365 and the organizer of the event said, “Bangalore is the perfect place to arrange these kinds of events. It is a city that has an active set of sporting enthusiasts. This is a very unique event and people have shown immense interest in it. The turnout for this event was stupendous and encouraging.”
Nikhil Arora, vice president and managing director, Intuit India said, “Intuit has been deeply involved in providing a great workplace experience to its employees. This event embodies same values that we embrace and champion at Intuit. Everything we do is directed toward developing fitness, agility and focus for customers and small businesses everywhere, albeit from a financial perspective. We also believe that these traits can cut across personal lifestyles and working habits. When people cultivate them through healthy living and exercise, they carry over and positively impact other aspects of their lives. I am thankful to Bangalore for being so encouraging and showing up in such large numbers.”
