UBB Millennium Center, home to the companies of KBC Group in Bulgaria, turned into a sports arena. One of the tallest buildings in the capital city hosted the extreme vertical run. 300 participants who have signed up in advance overcame a track of 24 floors up, 24 floors down, 1012 steps and 190 m of difference in elevation.

Only a week after announcing the start of the sign-up process the list of participants was fully booked. On the signature building stairs, both professional and amateur racers competed against each other. The best time among the professionals was achieved by the Dryanovo-born athletics national Stoyan Vladkov. Only days ago, he contributed to the historic first place of the Bulgarian national team at the Balkan Cross-country Championship in Montenegro. With a result of 4:00.1, he broke the standing record, set in 2018. Thus, the athletes in 2020 will have to overcome the psychological 4-minute barrier.

Two hosts - Deo and Kiril Nikolov-Dizela, guided and assisted the runners on the track. They also joined the race, as Dizela finished second among the professionals with a time of 4:05.9. In the TEAM BLUE category - reserved for employees of KBC Group in Bulgaria (UBB, DZI, UBB Interlease and UBB’s subsidiaries) - the last year achievements were also improved. 57 employees of the bank-insurance group joined the extreme run. The gentlemen and ladies of KBC displayed outstanding preparation and good sporting condition.

Unconventional runners also took part in the UBB Vertical Run. The oldest participant was Boyka Arsova, 69 years old, and the youngest - Simona Marinova, 7 years old. The slowest participants were also among the honored ones because it was attitude and participation that mattered - not the record time.

UBB Vertical Run is a part of KBC Group's long-term policy for environmental conservation, reduction of negative impact on climate and encouraging a healthier lifestyle. The race is organized for the purpose of motivating more people to use alternative means of movement.