You’d be forgiven for wondering what tower running actually is. What sounds more like a video game is actually a competitive, gruelling sport. According to Run Society, tower running is a sport that involves running vertical distances through man-made skyscrapers—and usually, the races take part within internal staircases.
Malaysian tower runner Soh Wai Ching is Asia’s number one tower running athlete, and he has just completed his attempt at the Guinness World Record for the greatest vertical height stair climbing in one hour. Soh managed clock in a total vertical running distance of 1.295km—breaking the previous record of 1.227km.
Despite his achievement, Soh’s competitive nature showed when expressing his slight disappointment at his finishing time:
“I am glad that I managed to clock in good time with the run but I am a little disappointed that I couldn’t reach my personal target distance of 1.3 km within the hour.”
via Bernama
Meanwhile, the tower runner explained that one of the reasons for the attempt was to promote Malaysia on a global stage, while growing awareness and raising funds for the sport. Eventually, the aim is to have tower running included as an official event at the Olympics, Soh explained.
While multiple outlets are reporting that confirmation should only arrive within two days, Soh’s new world record has already been made official on the Guinness World Records site:
“The greatest vertical height stair climbing in one hour (male) is 1.295 kms (1295.95m) and was achieved by Soh Wai Ching, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Malaysia Towerrunning Association (all Malaysia) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18 November 2020.”
So, what’s next? Soh says that he intends to run up the iconic Petronas Twin Twoers in the future—once the COVID-19 pandemic gets better, that is. In any case, a huge congratulations to Soh Wai Ching for his achievement! #MalaysiaBoleh
If you’re keen to follow Soh’s progress, you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you’re planning to take up tower running as a (really strenuous) hobby, leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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