Students from all over the country got together in the Erasmus building last Friday night, to run up the stairs as fast as possible. This was part of the Dutch student’s stair climbing championship, hosted by student athletics association ‘t Haasje. ‘I’m completely done.’

The stairs of the Erasmus tower are braved by many students every day. But those who have to climb more than a few floors are likely to take the elevator instead. Especially if they have to go up all twenty floors. But not last Friday: several students ran up the full flight of stairs as fast as they could, as part of the stair climbing championship.

Students from associations across the country joined the championship. Students Eva, Stijn, and Chrisja travelled down from Wageningen. The trio participated in both the ten-floor run and the relay race. ‘The vibe at these competitions is always great fun; that’s the reason we came to Nijmegen.’ What are their ambitions? ‘We’re mostly in it for fun.’

Same Tactic

Matthijs van den Broek, a participant from Eindhoven, was last year’s winner of the twenty-floor race. But it’s going to be a little harder to win this year. Van den Broek: ‘There are a lot more competitors this time, so I will have to do my best.’ He hopes that he can use the same tactic that worked for him last year. ‘Alternate taking two- and three steps at a time, for as long as I can keep it up.’

‘I try to keep expectations low; that way, things can only turn out better than expected’

Another repeat performer is Tonnie de Benis from Nijmegen: ‘It’s an iconic event. I was very nervous last year, which didn’t help. This year, I’ll try to be a bit more relaxed’, he says. De Benis does not expect to emerge victorious. ‘I try to keep expectations low; that way, things can only turn out better than expected.’

‘Being able to organise this is really cool’, according to Daniëlle Smit, chair of association ‘t Haasje. ‘It’s a unique competition that is slowly gaining widespread attention.’ This is reflected in the number of signups: 171, more than double than expected.

With its twenty stories, the Erasmus building makes for the perfect location to hold a chair climbing competition, Smit thinks. ‘There are few campus buildings in the Netherlands of that height. That is why we can hold the twenty-floor competition here. Not only that, but the building has a very suitable stairwell, with no interruptions. That makes it the ideal site for a competition.’

Chug a beer

Besides the ten-floor-, twenty-floor-, and relay races, there is also the so-called ‘beer chase’. ‘This involves chugging a beer before climbing the stairs’, Smit explains. ‘When you pass on the relay baton, the next person needs to do likewise.’ The winner of the beer chase is rewarded with more beer. ‘La Trappe, to be specific’, Smit says and smiles.

It’s not long before the twentieth floor of the Erasmus building is strewn with exhausted runners. De Benis is among them. ‘I’m completely done’, he says, still recovering from the effort. ‘I think I did worse than last year.’ His competition from Eindhoven looks more refreshed. ‘I think I could’ve gone faster’, according to Van den Broek. ‘I tried to hold back on the lower floors so I wouldn’t break down in the end. But I think that caused me to run slower than I could have.’

Sadly, Van den Broek’s tactic cost him first place. The winner of the 2023 stair climbing competition is Lorens Niehof, who conquered the twenty flights of stairs in 2 minutes and 4 seconds.

The final results of the competition can be found using this link.

Translated by Jasper Pesch