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Paul Smith – going up in the world (again)

Having missed out on a 1Km Guinness World Record for ‘Tower Running’ by just 70 metres last year, on March the 5th ETO’s Paul Smith is trying again during Shelter’s Vertical Rush event at Tower 42. Now in its fifth year, this race is held up the 902 steps and 51 floors (nine unnumbered) of the former NatWest Tower in London. Last year Paul climbed the 165m/542ft office block nine times in non-stop succession to raise funds for the housing charity. However, because the tower was slightly shorter than 920 step/180m he’d been told, he failed to get the 1Km/hour vertical record by about five minutes and didn’t hit the hoped-for vertical mile either.

Smith said afterwards: “Bugger.”

So he’s back in 2013 to try again, planning to cover the 102 flights of steps ten times, as quickly as possible, to secure that vertical mile once and for all. He said: “I was very disappointed to discover I’d not got the record last April, when I was able to get an accurate figure for the height of the top floor above street level. Happily, Shelter has agreed to let me try again and I’ve been training hard to get my heart, lungs and legs in top condition to join a very different Mile High club! It’s quite a strain physically and mentally but I enjoyed myself last time and I’m keen to give it another go. Raising money for a very important cause is just a bonus, but I hope people will want to support what I’m trying to achieve. My burning thighs will thank them!”

Paul’s 2013 target is 510 floors, 1020 flights of stairs and 9020 steps in total and if he can cover the first vertical kilometre (3281ft) in less than an hour he’ll get the record too. You can support his efforts via www.justgiving.com/mileup