The task: to climb 183m up the 42 floors of Tower 42 (seen here to the left of the Gherkin, with Canary Wharf in the background)Photograph: David Levene/GuardianMore than 600 competitors get off to a flying startPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesThis runner attempts to overtake the packPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The crowds thinned out by the upper storeysPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesRolf Majcen takes a break at the top of the tower after winning the race in 4mins 57sec. Amateurs take heart: Majcen is a professional tower runnerPhotograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAMost runners show more signs of exhaustion than RolfPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesFew are left standing ...Photograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images... and some don't even have the strength to sitPhotograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty ImagesThough one runner manages to performs a few nonchalent quad stretchesPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesThe view from the top that makes all that pain worth itPhotograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
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