How many times have you found yourself complaining when you're forced to climb up a flight of stairs because the lift stopped working?

Well, can you imagine running up an entire building in less than 11 minutes?

Superhuman feat

That was what a Malaysian tower runner did on Tuesday (26 October) en route to winning a tower race that's considered to be ultimate test of endurance.

Soh Wai Ching made the country proud when he won the Empire State Building Run-Up (ESBRU) in New York, The Rakyat Post reported.

Winning an international running competition was impressive enough, but check out the manner that he did it in: he conquered 86 floors, consisting of 1,576 stairs, in just 10 minutes and 40 seconds!

Yep, you read that right; he climbed the entire Empire State Building from the ground floor to the observation deck on the 86th floor in less time than it takes for you to finish an episode of 'Friends'.
The Empire State Building Run-Up, dubbed by tower-running athletes as the "ultimate endurance test", helped charity organisation Equity Designs to raise funds to train 150 teachers on how to use physical activity to enhance learning and impact the health of over 4,500 Bronx youth, was held on 26 October in New York City.

While his feat sounds, to us mere mortals, like something only Superman could do, the 26-year-old has made breaking records a habit.

Back in November 2021, Soh became the proud owner of a Guinness World Record for the 'Greatest Vertical Height Stair Climbing in One Hour (Male)'.


Image credit: Malay Mail

Soh participated in the tower run competition held at the Four Seasons Place in Kuala Lumpur, and he subsequently beat the world record held by David Robles Tapia of Spain, who clocked in a distance of 1.227km in an hour, with his effort of 1.295km.

A brush with a superhero

On top of winning the Empire State Building Run Up, Soh -- who has been certified as Asia's number one and the world's number two tower runner -- also got to meet one of his favourite supeheroes.

As Soh's feat is nothing short of superhero-like, so who better to congratulate him than an actor who plays a superhero on the big screen?

Sebastian Stan, who plays the Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), congratulated Soh in an Instagram Stories post.

The 39-year-old Stan also participated in the run with his trainer, Don Saladino.


Image credit: Instagram/imsebastianstan

A self-confessed MCU fan boy, Soh gushed about his meeting with Stan.

“Super happy tonight! Won the race and met the Winter Soldier @iamsebastianstan here! Marvel fanboy here. Hoping to meet more Marvel Superhero Actor,” he wrote in an Instagram post:

A post shared by Soh Wai Ching (@mastowerrunner)


Well done, Soh! You're simply amazing.

MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: Twitter/BFMNews