Mar

A Monumental Race: The Eiffel Tower Vertical

by Meredith Mullins on March 18, 2019

Night shot of the Eiffel Tower, one of the amazing places on earth, for the Eiffel Tower Vertical race. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A hint of the moon on the night of the Eiffel Tower Vertical race
© Meredith Mullins

One of the Most Amazing Places in the World Rises to the Challenge

Remember those days as a child when you couldn’t help but run up stairs, two or three at a time.

You often didn’t know (or care) what you would find at the top. You were just excited to get there in a burst of energy, wrapped in the sheer joy of running.

That same exhilaration still exists. In Paris last week, running up stairs (two or three at a time) took center stage—during the 5^thannual Eiffel Tower Vertical race.

La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel—one of the most challenging tower races in the world—made one of the most amazing places in the world even more thrilling.

Two runners at the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Moments of joy at La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel 2019
© Meredith Mullins

The Vertical Challenge

The race is legendary. Tower runners from all continents vie to participate.

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, one of the most amazing places on earth, hosts the Eiffel Tower Vertical run 2019. (Image © Meredith Mulllins.)

The 1,665 steps of the Eiffel Tower become even more challenging on the night of the race.
© Meredith Mullins

The 1,665 steps, which gain 276 meters (three football fields) in altitude, make this one of the most difficult races in tower running—a vertical tour that includes such skyscrapers as One World Trade Center in New York (2,226 steps), the Lotte World Tower in Seoul (2,917 steps), the International Commerce Center in Hong Kong (2,120 steps), and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai (1,334 steps).

International Commerce Center in Hong Kong , one of the tallest buildings and most amazing places in the world for tower runners who have participated in the Eiffel Tower Vertical. (Image © bpperry/iStock.)

Tower running reaches new heights, including the International Commerce Center in Hong Kong.
© bpperry/iStock

Only 130 runners were accepted into the Paris race this year—one runner for each year of the Eiffel Tower’s existence. (The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 for the Universal Exposition. With just a bit of math calculation: In 2018, the race hosted 129 runners, and for 2020 . . . 131 runners.)

Of the 90 men and 40 women selected, 40 are elite runners, 80 are amateurs, and 10 are wild-card recipients.

Janet Goodwin, an entry in the Eiffel Tower Vertical race came to one of the amazing places in the world for this tower race. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Australian Janet Goodwin, a wild-card recipient and stair-climbing trainer,
flew 22 hours just for the race.
© Meredith Mullins

Jean-Charles Perrin—founder of La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel and EcoTrail International CEO—is rightfully proud. “There are tower races in many countries, but creating a race at such an iconic monument makes it special.”

The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most visited monuments on the planet. It took years of negotiations to bring the race to this historic tower.

Jean-Charles Perrin, founder of the Eiffel Tower Vertical race, at the Eiffel Tower, one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Jean-Charles Perrin, the founder of La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel, cheers on the runners.
© Meredith Mullins

What also makes the Eiffel Tower so special are the unique challenges for the competitors. It’s the only tower race that is outside—open to the elements.

Add to that the complexity of spiral stairs (some so narrow that no runner can pass another), steps of varying sizes, and a combination of stairs and flat stretches—from one staircase to the next, from one floor to the next, or as runners move from the south pillar to the west pillar for the climb.

ECOTRAILORGA_CHRISTOPHEGUIARD_Laurent Vincente runs in the Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Photo © EcoTrail Organization.)

French runner Laurent Vincente surrounded by the structure of “The Iron Lady”
Photo courtesy of the EcoTrail Organization

The stairs from the second to the third étage are not open to the public, so the runners have the unique privilege of climbing these stairs in the last leg of the race.

Oh, I see. This is one tough race. But the expansive view of Paris at the top is well worth the climb.

ECOTRAILORGA_CHRISTOPHEGUIARD, a woman running up stairs at the Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the amazing places on earth. (Image © EcoTrail Organization.)

Fighting for the reward at the top: a finish line with a view.
Photo courtesy of the EcoTrail Organization

A Dramatic History

The Eiffel Tower has the distinction of hosting the first-ever stair climbing race more than 100 years ago.

In 1905, a daily sports newspaper organized the “Stair Championship,” which attracted more than 300 participants to climb two levels of the Eiffel Tower (only 729 steps rather than the three levels and 1,665 steps of today).

Stairs of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, one of the most amazing places on earth and host to the Eiffel Tower Vertical race. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Eiffel Tower stairs have always called to adventurers.
© Meredith Mullins

A magnet for daredevil activities, the Eiffel Tower also lays claim to the world’s oldest elephant trying to climb the stairs, athletes racing up the stairs on mountain bikes, people descending the stairs via wheelchair, and the inevitable illegal parachuting or bungie jumping from the tower.

The famous French high-wire artist, Philippe Petit, walked from the Palais de Chaillot to the second floor of the tower via tightrope in 1989 (to celebrate the 200^thanniversary of the French Revolution).

Group of runners at the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Let the race begin!
© Meredith Mullins

2019: Under Eight Minutes!

This year’s story was no less dramatic. The good news was . . . it wasn’t raining. The bad news was . . . it was cold and the wind was fierce. The top of the Eiffel Tower was swaying.

The race was delayed by 30 minutes as the organizers waited for the wind to subside and debated whether to make this a “race to the middle” rather than a “race to the top.”

Not a chance. La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel is a race about summiting.

Runner #2 climbs the stairs of the Eiffel Tower Vertical at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

It’s all about reaching the top.
© Meredith Mullins

Let the challenge begin.

The race is in time trial format, with a runner in the starting block every 30 or 60 seconds.

Runner checking watch at the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Keeping track of time in the race agains the clock
© Meredith Mullins

Support shouts of “Allez! Allez! Courage!”could be heard at every turn as, one by one, each of the 130 racers did their best to manage their breathing and overcome muscle pain, dizziness, and burning lungs to reach the top—a finish line with a view.

Piotr Lobodzinski, winner of the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical, rounds the corner at one of the most amazing places on earth—the Eiffel Tower. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Men’s winner Piotr Lobodzinski stays strong throughout the race, finishing in under eight minutes.
© Meredith Mullins

The 1^stplace winners of the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical were Piotr Lobodzinski from Poland (7:53:97) and Suzy Walsham from Australia (10:16:57). Not surprisingly, both are the reigning world champions in tower running. More results can be found here.

ECOTRAILORGA_ANTHONYCHAUMONTEL_VTE2019_Suzy Walsham running in the Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image courtesy of the EcoTrail Organization.)

Suzy Walsham’s focused race brought her another victory.
Photo courtesy of the EcoTrail Organization

They were pleased with their race, given the challenging conditions. And, as Piotr said when he received his award, he hopes, like fine wine, he will just get better with age.

It is certain that more amazing places in the world—the tall ones, especially—will continue to attract these super athletes. Congratulations to all.

The runners of the 2019 Eiffel Tower Vertical race at one of the most amazing places on earth. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Congratulations to all!
© Meredith Mullins

For more information about the Eiffel Tower Vertical, visit La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel website, the EcoTrail website, and the Towerrunning World Association website.

Health Note: Research shows that climbing stairs has significant health benefits. You don’t have to enter The Eiffel Tower Vertical race, but if you take the stairs every now and then, you’ll be the beneficiary.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Adventure Travel/France/On Foot

Mar

The Daring of the Green

by Joyce McGreevy on March 11, 2019

A man adjusting a dining room chandelier in Glendalough suggests that Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

From Glendalough (above) to Galway, cooks have cast Irish cuisine in a whole new light.

Irish Cuisine Turns the Tables on Culinary Stereotypes

St. Patrick’s Day is coming and you know what that means. It’s time for the Annual Feast of Culinary Stereotypes!

Once a year, sales of green food-dye soar in the U.S., evidenced by neon green bagels, chartreuse cupcakes, and acid-lime donuts. Meanwhile, Corned Beef and Cabbage (which originated in the U.S., not Ireland) will be dutifully served at Irish-themed parties.

Don’t get me started about green beer and “shamrock” milkshakes. No wonder many people believe “Irish cuisine” is a contradiction in terms.

Forty Shades of Cuisine

But feast on this: To dine at one Michelin-starred or Bib Gourmand restaurant per day in Ireland, you’d need a 40-day vacation. You’d travel from County Down in the North, along the Irish coast from Dublin to Cork to Galway, and across Ireland’s well-fed middle from Limerick to Kilkenny.

A woman gesturing toward a seafood platter in Howth shows that Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Grainne McMorrow and I share a feast of fish on Dublin’s Howth Peninsula.
© Joyce McGreevy

That’s just for starters. Because you needn’t carry loads of “green” to feast on great Irish cooking.

Oh, I see: Today’s Ireland is studded with culinary gems. From storied estates and castles to gastro-pubs, food trucks, and farmer’s markets, Ireland’s culinary renaissance offers something for every palate and budget.

A vegetable garden in Inish Beg Estate, Cork, Ireland evokes the way Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Inish Beg Estate, Co. Cork typifies a “growing” trend toward organic food production.
© Joyce McGreevy

Recipe for a Culinary Renaissance

Only a few decades ago, critics had their knives out, suggesting there was nothing so bad on Irish menus that Irish cookery couldn’t make it worse. The Ireland of today is a trend-setter, thanks to a whole new recipe:

Start with an island smaller than Indiana but bountiful in seafood, freshwater fish, and forage-able plants.
Add economic prosperity and strong support for organic farming.
Fire up keen interest in new ways of using traditional Irish ingredients.
Stir in meticulous technique and bold experimentation.
Season with cross-cultural inspiration.
Serve in as many creative ways and settings as possible.

Poached eggs from Glebe Gardens, Co. Cork, suggest how Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Poached eggs at Glebe Gardens, Cork, make breakfast a culinary wake-up call.
© Joyce McGreevy

What’s on the Menu?

This year, ditch the green food-dye and treat yourself to a feast of today’s Irish flavors. Here’s a Travel Menu with options for home cooks:

A man cooking at home in Galway, Ireland evokes the way Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Home cooks in Ireland celebrate local and cross-cultural ingredients and techniques.
© Joyce McGreevy

Starters: In Ireland, where appetizers are called “starters,” the best starter is a food tour. No matter which part of Ireland you visit, there’s a food trail worth following.

Or go straight to Chapter One (18-19 Parnell Square, Dublin). Michelin’s review says: “Good old-fashioned Irish hospitality meets with modern Irish cooking in this stylish restaurant beneath the Writers Museum…Boldly flavored dishes showcase produce from local artisan producers.”

Home cook’s starter: Vodka-Cured Salmon with Avocado Cream, Pickled Vegetables, and Horseradish Mayonnaise (The New Irish Table: Recipes from Ireland’s Top Chefs, edited by Leslie Conron Carola; Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc., 2017)

Gourmet Grocery: Fallon & Byrne, Dublin, “offering the season’s good stuff from land and sea.”

A plate of smoked salmon and brown bread in Galway, Ireland evokes the way Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Wild smoked salmon with brown bread is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day appetizer.
© Carolyn McGreevy

Main course: Want the whole Irish enchildada? (Yes, Ireland’s reinvented enchiladas, too!) Take classes at Ballymaloe Cookery School, set on 300 acres of organic farmland in County Cork. Or head to Michelin-starred Loam in Galway for dishes like Lamb Shoulder, Turnip, and Damson fruit.

Home cook’s main course: Discover Allen’s marvelous take on traditional Shepherd’s Pie, made with roast duck and parsnips. Or savor Allen’s Wild Garlic & Potato Soup.

Gourmet Grocery: English Market, Cork City’s outstanding 18th century covered market.

Supper at The Piemaker, Galway, showcases Ireland's culinary renaissance. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Diners line up for savories at The Piemaker, Galway.
© Carolyn McGreevy

Dessert: Feast your eyes on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, then thrill your taste buds with Murphy’s Ice Cream. Founded in Dingle, Murphy’s also chills in Galway and Dublin. Flavors range from Rainwater Sorbets and Caramelized Brown Bread to Honey Lavender and Candied Chili Pepper.

A dessert at Kai Cafe in Galway, Ireland evokes the way Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Rhubarb meets edible flowers at Kai Café in Galway.
© Joyce McGreevy

Home cook’s dessert: Bake a “dark and majestic” Guinness cake (from Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen: A Fresh Take on Traditional Flavors, by Clodagh McKenna, Kyle Books, 2015).

Gourmet Grocery: McCambridge‘s, Galway, pleasing palates since 1934.

A baker and cake at Burren Cafe, Co. Clare show how Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A luscious black walnut cake at Burren Café favors taste over symmetry.
© Joyce McGreevy

Irish Cuisine Made Easy

Most U.S. grocers stock Irish soda bread, Kerrygold butter, Dublin cheddar, Irish tea, and other Celtic fare. Add easy-peasy Roast Root Vegetables, with or without chicken or Limerick ham. Then settle in to watch Dare to Be Wild (Netflix), easily the most gorgeous Irish movie you’ll ever see.

A display of plates at a restaurant in Dublin, Ireland evokes the way Ireland’s culinary renaissance has dispelled stereotypes about Irish cuisine. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

The diversity of dishes in Ireland surprises first-time visitors.
© Carolyn McGreevy

You’ll be glad you skipped the culinary stereotypes and sampled today’s Irish cuisine.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 1 Comment

Art of Travel/Ireland/Stereotypes/The World's Chefs

Mar

The Art of Cloud Watching

by Meredith Mullins on March 4, 2019

Altocumulus clouds at sunset near Yosemite National Park in California, traveling the world while cloud watching. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Keep looking up
© Meredith Mullins

Looking Up . . . While Traveling the World

It all started with a mackerel sky—a real-life Magritte painting that rose up in splendor near the foothills of the California Sierra.

I had never seen anything like it before. A sky filled with cotton balls. Dancing sheep. Wayward popcorn.

A mackerel sky (altocumulus clouds) near Yosemite National Park in California, traveling the world while cloud watching. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

My first mackerel sky
© Meredith Mullins

I posted the photo on Facebook, feeling like a humble human proud to share the poetic beauty of nature with the world.

It was then I realized I must be cloud deprived. It seemed that most of my friends had seen plenty of mackerel skies before (and even had “altocumulus” at the tip of their tongue). I was clearly behind on the cloud curve.

A lenticular cloud, cloud watching while traveling in the world. (Image © DMT.)

The lenticular UFO shaped cloud, often found near mountains
© DMT

They had also, in the tradition of Facebook bragging, been privy to some magically dramatic cloud formations, like the lenticular UFO shaped clouds and the mysterious “hole in the sky.” They posted photos that led me into a new world.

Cloud called Fallstreak Hole, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Eric Pearson.)

Where had I been? When traveling the world, had I failed to look up? Had I failed to realize that clouds are a constantly changing show in whatever country you’re in? And, “Oh, I see.” Even now, their shapes and the interplay with light and color pave the way for flights of the imagination, just as they did when we were kids.

Storm cloud shaped like a bull, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Eric Pearson.)

Being One with the Sky

Most of us can remember staring at the sky for hours when we were young, seeing perky poodles, dancing bears, scaly dinosaurs, and exploding volcanoes floating through the atmosphere.

We feel nostalgia for the time spent lying on the grass making up storylines as the crisp-edged cumulus clouds gracefully changed shape and form.

Cloud shaped like a baby elephant, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

As Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, recalls, we were “masters of daydreaming.”

Why not return to that state of bliss?

Animal shaped cloud resembling a bear, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Robert Ax/iStock.)

Pretor-Pinney urges us to return to those childhood days of letting our imagination run wild. Nature’s Rorschach test. What exactly do we see (and why?) when these cloud shapes are forming?

Clouds shaped like a crocodile eating a python, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

“Cloudwatching legitimizes doing nothing,” Pretor-Pinney says. It gives us a chance to take a break from “perpetual busy-ness.” We don’t have to work or tweet or Instagram every moment of the day. We can just meditate on the beauty of the sky. It’s good for the soul.

A cloud at sunset, as seen while cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Joni Mitchell encouraged us to look at clouds from both sides now, and The Rolling Stones demanded that we get off of THEIR cloud (“hey you”). But clouds rarely become the main attraction in today’s busy world.

For many people, clouds seem to be visual white noise, a stage-set background for some bigger and better main character. Something less ephemeral.

But clouds can be a main act.

Cloud in the shape of a fish, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Germi_p/iStock.)

The Science of Clouds

Not all cloudwatching is aimless, however. Clouds give us much information about what weather changes might be coming.

We learned the ten main cloud types in grade school.

Cumulus clouds are the puffy fair-weather clouds that often inspire creative interpretation. They grow into animals, people, and symbols, contained only by the limits of imagination.

Cumulus clouds, part of cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Altocumulus clouds (white or gray clumps or rolls) produce the most dramatic and artistic cloudscapes, especially when the sun is low in the sky.

Altocumulus clouds, as seen when cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

Cirrus clouds look like delicate brushstrokes or wisps of hair (cirrus is Latin for “curl of hair”). This type of cloud can be the first sign of moisture developing and can mean rain in the future.

Cirrus clouds, as seen when cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

The subtle Cirrostratus and Cirrocumulus are layers of ice crystals high in the sky, so shapes and edges are not common in these formations.

Cirrocumulus clouds, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Some of the low-lying and mid-level gray layer clouds are not as dramatic or popular. Stratus clouds bring fog, Altostratus bring drizzle, and Nimbostratus bring rain.

Stratocumulus is another cloud type destined to lose the popularity contest. It’s the most widespread of cloud types and usually brings overcast days.

We get more dramatic when the Cumulonimbus clouds form—skyscrapers of power announcing a coming storm.

Storm clouds, cumulonimbus, above a hill, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

A Small World

Somehow, when we realize that every human can look upward and see the same kinds of cloud formations around the world, it unifies us as a planet.

Cloudwatching is something anyone can do. There is no cost. It’s egalitarian.

The clouds may change while traveling around the world—depending on the season, the weather, and the land or sea forms under the clouds. But . . . the sky is everywhere.

All we have to do is to keep looking up.

A sunset with lighthouse, cloud watching while traveling the world. (Image © DMT.)

OIC Moments welcomes your best cloud photos to inspire our further cloud appreciation. Please share them in the “Comments” section of the OIC Moments Facebook Page.

Find out more about the Cloud Appreciation Society, and view Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s Ted Talk. You can also get a cloudspot app for your phone if you want to become an avid cloud collector.

For an additional cloudspotting guide, visit the BBC Guide or the Met Office.