For the third time, an elderly gentleman in a sports suit is trotting through the lobby of the Messeturm.

A few meters away, a young man in shorts jumps up and down in front of the coffee bar.

Not only the entrance hall of the tower slowly fills up with runners around 9:30 a.m. this Sunday.

Even in front of the glass doors, more and more people are preparing for the 1200 steps that they are trying to climb in just a few minutes.

After a three-year break, the “Arque” association has again invited people to run up the stairs in the Messeturm this year.

The route of the 13th “SkyRun” extends over 61 floors, with a difference in altitude of 213 meters between the start and finish.

Seven minutes and 39 seconds

Christian Riedl is the first of the approximately 420 participants to start.

The 42-year-old course record holder from Nuremberg is a multiple German champion in tower running and took part in the Frankfurt "SkyRun" for the first time in 2006.

Due to the conversion of the tower, however, some details on the route have changed this year.

The participants first walk around 150 meters around the tower before they enter the stairwell.

After six floors, there is another flat section that leads from the newly built staircase into the old staircase of the tower.

Seven minutes and 39 seconds later, Riedl was the first to reach the finish line on the 61st floor, covered in sweat.

He breathes heavily and falls to the ground, his face contorted in pain.

A few bystanders exchange worried looks, even the two cheerleaders don't dare to cheer.

There is tense silence for a few seconds, then Riedl looks up with an exhausted smile: "It's so quiet here".

Shortly thereafter, Riedl's teammates Görge Heimann and Andreas Fuhrmann from the "Towerrunning Germany" club also cross the finish line, similarly exhausted.

Although they are all trained stair walkers, it does not seem to have been an easy exercise for any of them.

"That's why you travel from Berlin in the morning to lie on the ground like that," says Heimann with a laugh to his club colleague, who is lying on his back panting just after the finish line.

Tactics also matter

Nadine Groß also notes that the 1200 steps are quite a challenge.

She only registered for the competition the day before the event.

After the run, the 26-year-old from Frankfurt reports on her strategic considerations before the start: “At the beginning you have to think about which tactics you are going to use.

Do you take two steps at once or not?

Do you use the railing?”

After the award ceremony, at which Christian Riedl and his teammate Verena Schmitz were named the fastest women with a time of nine minutes and 25 seconds, the rescue services set out in the afternoon, in teams of three for the 213 meters in altitude, but in full gear to climb.

The sporting top performances are not only used for pure competition, but also for a charitable purpose.

The organizing association "Arque", whose chairman Michael Lederer is also the route manager of the "SkyRun", has been supporting children with spinal cord injuries for 43 years.

This time, too, the proceeds from the stair run will be used to help physically handicapped boys and girls.

1200 steps in a wheelchair

This Sunday, Paralympic athlete Haki Doku proves that the 1,200 steps can also be mastered in a wheelchair.

Almost at the same time as him, Kevin Delco is setting a world record: in a handstand he wants to descend 1600 steps within an hour.

In front of each staircase, Delco takes a deep breath before he swings into a handstand - but after about 1300 steps the time is up.

"I just didn't have the muscle strength today and the steps were a bit slippery at times," says Delco.

He still wants to continue training.

His goal is to one day climb down the Eiffel Tower on hands.

Christian Riedl is also fascinated by the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, which are largely free-standing and lead to the top without a staircase.

On the way to Paris, however, there are a few other competitions for him and his teammates.

So next year the world championship in tower running in Taipei is coming up, before Riedl and his club colleagues meet again in the stairwell of the Frankfurt exhibition tower.