Halfway is only the beginning: Staircase Run 2023

The annual Staircase Run took place in the Mandeville Building on Thursday, with twelve participants waiting to see who could climb twenty flights of stairs the fastest. Some were there to challenge themselves, but the winner, Ananye Achintye, didn’t even know that it was a competition to begin with.

Race time approached while people chatted with each other and stretching their arms and legs, awaiting the short yet intense run to the twentieth floor. Bence Horvath, a student in Supplychain Management, shared: “It sounds better than running in a 10k flat race, that takes forever. This gets very intense but at least for a short amount of time.”

Keep the streak going

The contestants had different motivations for joining. PhD candidate in Economics Andrea Pogliano had been taking part since he was a bachelor student, and has signed up for it every year. “I want to keep the streak going”, he said. Policy officer Linda de Vreede found it amusing to try something different: “It’s funny because I work in this building and never take the stairs.”

The race began, and as the first runner sprinted off, others impatiently awaited their turn. Those who had already completed the challenge sat down to catch their breath, or to steam off.

Quite some athletic people were present, including the winner himself, student Ananye Achintye, who finished the race in 1 minute 44 seconds. Ananye, a third-year student studying Econometrics and Economics, hadn’t planned to compete: “I was just hoping for some cardio training, I thought I wasn’t ready for a race, but I ended up doing all right.” He also trains as a competitive swimmer ten times a week, and noted casually that he would celebrate by training even more later that night.

Recommend it?

Most runners saw the part around the 9th to 12th floor to be a turning point, because of how intense it got. Project officer Emma Daanen shared: “I noticed halfway is when it really starts.” Bence Horvath called the middle of the race a ‘nightmare’.

Despite the difficulties, some runners were quite content with themselves after completing the race. Erasmus Sports employee Mascha de Bruijn, who participated in a duo team with her colleague and three-time Olympian Rebekka Kadijk, found the race to be a ‘great bonding experience’: “It’s very nice to challenge yourself with a colleague.” Winner Ananye would recommend the race ‘hundred percent to everyone.” He had one single suggestion: “If you are not athletic, prepare beforehand.”