The Empire State Building Run-Up is an annual event held in New York’s landmark Empire State Building, which sees runners being challenged to scale up over 86 dizzying flights of stairs to reach the observatory! That’s about 1,576 stairs, according to the event’s official site. And given the physical exertion required to pull off the feat, the event organisers have described the run as being the ‘ultimate test of endurance’.
Malaysian Soh Wai Ching wins Empire State Building Run-Up
But what makes this year’s Empire State Building Run-Up all the more special is how Malaysian tower runner, Soh Wai Ching, was just announced as the winner after scaling the building in exactly 10 minutes and 40 seconds. Now that is a truly impressive feat.
But as one would come to expect, an event of such gravity can often attract more than just a few famous faces. As it turns out, Marvel action star Sebastian Stan, most famous for playing the role of Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, had also taken part in the event alongside his trainer!
And of course upon reaching the top, both men celebrated together with a picture. In fact, Sebastian even posted about their meeting together on his Instagram stories too!
A self-professed Marvel fan, Soh also uploaded an Instagram post of his own, gushing over the chance encounter with one of Hollywood’s biggest names.
“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.
The event is organised to promote access for people with disabilities in sports
The Empire State Building Run-Up was held on 26th October 2021, and was presented by Turkish Airlines, whose offices are also located within the building itself.
Proceeds from the event will be channeled to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), which will in turn help raise awareness and funding for people with physical disabilities to gain access to ‘adaptive sports equipment, athletic training, an active lifestyle, community and mentorship’, according to the event’s official site.
The event will also help fund Equity Designs, which aims to help train 150 teachers on how to use physical activity to enhance learning & impact the health of over 4500 Bronx youth, according to Sebastian Stan’s Instagram.
For more stories like this, follow us on Facebook!
Also read: Student activist Ain Husniza to speak on children’s rights at regional Unicef conference
