Competitors Take Off In Annual Empire State Building Climb

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Hundreds of people took to the stairs at the Empire State Building on Wednesday night, climbing from the lobby to the 86th-floor observatory.

The runners went up the 1,576 steps as part of the 38th annual Empire State Building Run-Up.

Suzy Walsham, originally from Australia, was the women's winner, 1010 WINS reported. This was her sixth win in the race, which was a record, but she said this race was very challenges.

The men's winner was German-born Christian Reidl, who said he has come close before but had never won. He said he was very happy finally to win the race.

The tower climb was organized by the New York Road Runners, which also puts together the New York City Marathon.

In preparation for the climb, the Empire State Building closed early on Wednesday.

The participants come from around the world and were led by the elite women's and men's groups. The general field followed, with staggered, seconds-apart start times for racers so as to avoid a crush of people all trying to get into the stairwell at the same time.

Last year, Australia native Walsham also won the women's event for a record fifth time, in 11 minutes and 57 seconds. Thorbjorn Ludvigsen, of Norway, won the men's race in 10:06. Both were expected to take part in this year's race.

The course records are 9 minutes and 33 seconds for the men, set by Paul Crake of Australia in 2003, and 11 minutes and 23 seconds for the women. That was set by Andrea Mayr of Austria in 2006.

Thomas Dold of Germany holds the record for most men's victories, with seven.

The Empire State Building is one of the more well-known tower climbs around the world.

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