The premiere event Alive Step Up – running up the steps to the top of the tallest building in Slovenia – has surpassed all our expectations and received praise from the public and the media.
On Sunday, 23 November 2014, the Crystal Palace in BTC City Ljubljana hosted the first ever run up the steps to the top of the tallest building in Slovenia. This sports discipline, which is already well established abroad – among the most famous events in the world are the run to the top of the Empire State Building in New York and the run to the top of the Petronas building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – has finally found its spotlight in Slovenia, thanks to Živa Cesar and Boštjan Gams. Along with the sports society Alive they set the wheels in motion and were preparing for this event throughout the entire year, which in the end attracted 350 participants. Together with their colleagues they carried out a pilot project, which can over the following years be developed into a big international success story.
The sports day in BTC City was introduced by runners in the discipline Step Up, who needed to conquer 89 altitude metres, 20 floors and 459 steps on their way to the finish line. The fastest were Jasmina Klančnik and Matic Dovžan. The most prestigious discipline – the Extreme Step Up, which includes three runs to the top of the building – was won by Karmen Klančnik and Matjaž Mikloša, who became the king and the queen of the premiere Alive Step Up event. Matjaž Mikloša also showed his charitable side as he gave up his award, the Phillips home cinema set, and donated it to the charity auction for the tetraplegic Luka Plavčak. 400 Euros were already raised at the auction of the items of the Slovene women’s ski team and the music band Siddharta.
The relay runs were carried out in three categories. Among the civilians the win went to the team Odpisani, while the battle for the last place was between the morning and the afternoon team of the Radio Antena station. The loss of the morning team was expected, since the run took place in the afternoon. The run of the firefighters was also fascinating, as runners took the stairs in their full firefighter’s gear, while in the advanced category they even used the breathing masks. Victories went to the teams of PGD Podbrezje and PGD Spodnje Pirniče – Vikrče – Zavrh. The first three competitors in all categories received medals and practical awards, and on top of it all the winners also received unique trophies by the designer Maja Zaplotnik.
The event was hosted by Andrej Težak – Tešky and David Urankar, while the entertainment programme was filled with the performances by the Urban Roof athletes and dancers, and DJ Teo. The official timekeeper of the event, which could be seen live via the website vzivo.si, was Timing Ljubljana. The event was also supported by Dulcis Gourmet, which awarded every competitor with a French kiss sweet, while several other sponsors contributed prestigious awards for the competitors and the fans.
