A team of five staff from St Paul's have their eyes focused on the top of the London skyline as they prepare for a daunting physical challenge this spring.

Team St Paul's Cathedral will take part in Vertical Rush on Tuesday 4 March - a challenge to race to the very top of Tower 42, one of the City's tallest buildings, to help raise money for Shelter.

The team of five is made up of:
Tom Fletcher - Works Manager
Vanessa de Lande Long - Corporate Events Assistant
Rob Gordon - St Paul's Institute Manager
Ed Holmes - Press & Communications Manager
Garry Shrimpton - Cathedral Shop Buyer

(Rosie Day - Corporate Events Manager, had to withdraw due to injury)

Vertical Rush, described by The Times as 'a race for sporting masochists', has been held since 2009 and is the UK's original tower running event. Held at Tower 42 (formerly the National Westminster Tower), it sees hundreds of competitors ascending the 920 steps of the 182m tall building in the fastest time possible.

Team St Paul's Cathedral decided to sign-up for the challenge as Shelter undertakes vitally important work in the City of London and throughout the capital, working to alleviate the distress caused by homelessness and bad housing.

Ed Holmes said: "Both St Paul's Cathedral and Tower 42 stand tall in the City of London and it is vital that those people who live and work in the Square Mile, one of the wealthiest areas of land in the whole world, remember that issues of homelessness and poor housing continue to this day. Challenges such as Vertical Rush can only serve to help raise awareness of the vital work of this charity."

"With 2014 now upon us, our training will begin in earnest. Luckily, St Paul's provides excellent stair running facilities and we'll be dashing from the Cathedral floor to the Golden Gallery in no time at all...hopefully."