IT'S all in the math for Soh Wai Ching. Bent over his laptop, the 30-year-old athlete declares: "I can never be a Lee Chong Wei or a Nicol David!" It's not a self-deprecating remark, but as Soh points out seriously, it's all in the math.
Brows furrowed, he looks at me, saying: "I've won 89 out of 126 tower running competitions."
"That's a great record!" I interject, and he nods, before turning to his laptop again. "Yeah, so it's a 70.63 per cent winning rate. I knew I can't compare myself with Chong Wei's winning rate. But I have calculated his anyway."
I must say I'm intrigued.
He grins, continuing: "When Lee retired, his winning rate was 84 per cent. So, imagine this. Every time he showed up at the badminton court, there was an 84 per cent chance that he'd win. So, for me right now, it's at 70.63 per cent!"
Eyes squinting at the screen, he murmurs: "I need to keep up. I need to build my winning rate and ensure that by the time I exit, I'd hit his rate."
What about Nicol David? I ask curiously.
"I'm not sure," he admits, adding: "I couldn't get the data. But she's been the world No.1 for a record-breaking 108 consecutive months!"
The goal for Soh is simple, as far as he's concerned.
"I must maintain my world No. 1 title for 10 years in a row. That's my goal."
He's referring to his World No. 1 ranking as a tower runner, of course.
Soh has stayed true to his goal so far by maintaining his position at the top. Most recently, he secured victory in the 2024 Tower running World Championships by conquering the Taipei 101 in Taiwan on May 4.
In the competition, he completed the first round, covering all 91 floors (with a 390m elevation gain), in an impressive time of 11 minutes and 35.61 seconds. He then raced 59 floors (with a 256m elevation gain) during the second round in just 7 minutes and 1.01 seconds.
That's a lot of stairs to conquer.
A LIFE CALLING
Often dubbed as vertical running or stair climbing, tower running is a challenging sport that involves racing up the stairs of skyscrapers, towers or other tall structures.
Competitors tackle a vertical ascent, often spanning multiple floors and covering significant elevation gains. The sport requires not only physical endurance and strength, but also mental resilience and strategy.
"So, you run up the stairs of a skyscraper or tall building. It's simple, really. You start at the bottom and race to the top," he explains, adding: "Most of the time they start us off individually. We typically carry a timing chip positioned strategically behind our race bibs. There's a sensor at the starting line, so when we pass it, the timing begins. And as we cross the finishing line at the top, the timing stops."
To those on the outside, tower running might seem mundane and arduous, as participants tackle gravity and ascend countless flights of stairs in plain stairwells. But for Soh, this sport became his life's calling.
"No two staircases are alike," he explains, adding: "There are variations in step height, depth, width, and even the position of handrails. Some staircases have them on both sides."
He doesn't run, he clarifies. "It's more akin to a brisk walk up the stairs!"
Ah, the agonies people are prepared to inflict upon themselves in the name of fitness and fun are often baffling, but tower running takes endurance to a whole new dimension.
It's a sport of few rules: you sprint up a skyscraper's stairwell, you collapse and the fastest time wins. Despite the fact that it sounds about as enjoyable as gargling with nails, it's one of the fastest-growing sport in the world.
"I love it!" enthuses Soh, adding: "Because it's an individual flag-off, you have no idea what's happening behind you or in front of you. So, you don't really care about what other racers are doing... Whether they're fast or slow. It's none of your business. You just focus on yourself, pace yourself well, push and give your best until you cross the line and collapse on the floor!"
So, that means you're actually racing against yourself, I remark and he nods with a grin. "Exactly!" he replies.
Tower running is certainly not for the fainthearted. Once regarded as oddball curiosities, these races have increased in number and stature through the years.
In 1905, the first documented tower race was held at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, organised by Les Sports. This pioneering event aimed to test the fitness of champions and elite athletes across various sporting disciplines. The race drew 283 participants, including runners, cyclists, footballers and amateurs.
Subsequent races at the Eiffel Tower followed in 1906, 1946 and 1995. After a hiatus, tower running returned to the same tower in 2015 with the inaugural La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel, now established as a premier event on the tower-running circuit.
The United States saw its first tower running event in 1978, when Fred Lebow organised the Empire State Building Run Up (ESBRU), which has been held annually ever since, except for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the longest continuously running stair-racing event globally.
In 2021, when the ESBRU resumed its prestigious race, Soh conquered that daunting challenge: scaling 87 flights of stairs, totalling 1,576 steps, to reach the summit of the Empire State Building, the sixth tallest building in the United States.
His remarkable effort led him to clinch the first place, completing the ascent in just 10 minutes and 47 seconds. However, this victory represents more than just a win; it etched Soh's name in history as the first Asian athlete to triumph in this annual endurance race.
NEW OBSESSION
"I enjoy strategising and mind games," reveals Soh, reflecting on his childhood. "Since the age of 6, I've played Chinese chess, competitive chess and even enjoyed solving the Rubik's Cube. I loved everything that challenged the mind."
The young boy, passionate about biology and physics, dreamt of becoming a biotechnologist. He continued his Form 6 studies in the science stream, but his focus gradually shifted.
After graduating from Form 5, his sister introduced him to marathon running. When he entered Form 6, Soh had become hooked on the sport and was involved in many long-distance running events and marathons.
"I got into 5k, 10k marathons to see how far I could actually go. My aim was to collect all those finisher medals!" he reminisces, before cheekily adding: "I wanted to collect as many medals as I could so I'd be able to… you know… tell all these stories to my future grandchildren one day. Back in those days, our dreams were like thatlah!"
Much to his parents' disappointment, Soh didn't perform well in his Form 6 exams.
"I just wanted to run, and my father didn't understand why I'd spent so much money entering marathons. I'd join up to 50 events a year. He was livid, especially when I wasn't doing well in school," he recalls sheepishly.
His older three siblings were all top scholars. His taxi-driver father and homemaker mother dreamt the same big dreams for their youngest boy as well. "Unfortunately, I was the most headstrong and refused to listen to advice!" he exclaims, chuckling.
Soh spent most of his free time travelling to other states to participate in races and marathons, much to his father's displeasure. "I almost got kicked out of the family!" he reveals, shaking his head.
Despite his less-than-stellar Form 6 results, Soh forged ahead to pursue a degree in sports science, majoring in exercise science, at Universiti Malaya (UM).
"Since I was so obsessed with sports and running, I figured this degree would be helpful!" he remarks wryly. At UM, he excelled in long-distance running, clinching double gold in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres at the Malaysian University Track and Field Championship (MASUM) in 2018.
"I love running," he confides, eyes lighting up. "There's nothing like pushing myself, feeling the wind on my face. It's exhilarating knowing that I'm always running against my own limits."
BIRTH OF A TOWER RUNNER
His involvement with tower running began with a dare. Tired of having Soh beat him in 10-kilometre races, his friend and running enthusiast Jeffrey Ross challenged him to take part in the KL Tower International Towerthon Challenge (KLTITC) 2017.
"The deal was that whoever loses must wear a pink tutu in the next race!" recalls Soh, adding: "Ross was a veteran tower runner but I've never done a tower run in my life."
So, he decided to put his degree to use by creating his own training programme. "I trained by repeatedly climbing the stairs at a 20-floor condominium near my parents' house in Selayang. Every day, I'd run up, take the lift down, and then run up again!" shares Soh.
A day before the KLTITC 2017, he discovered that there are many tower-running competitions around the world and a world ranking for the sport. "I told myself that I'd start travelling overseas to challenge the world-class tower runners after winning the competition the next day," recounts Soh.
With just one month's training, the young wiry athlete beat Ross and ended up being just 13 seconds behind the champion, a Kenyan. He'd eventually claim the top spot two years later.
The sporting Ross wore a pink tutu for the subsequent KL Marathon, where he ran the 21-kilometre race and won "…with his pink tutu and all!" remarks Soh, breaking into laughter.
Bolstered by his success, he decided to explore his potential and began competing in tower-running races globally. "I gave myself three years to beat everyone!" shares Soh.
Fast forward three years later and he's done exactly that. For Soh, it's all about challenging himself and excelling in this sport. "I wanted to be the best in the world," he says simply.
In the next few years, he'd go on to win enough tower running races to secure his No. 1 world ranking, charting a whopping 59 course records from 89 wins. Soh also broke two Guinness World Records — Greatest Vertical Height Stair Climbing in One Hour (2020) and Farthest Simulated Distance Climbed on a Stair Machine in One Hour (2023).
Outside of races, he dedicates time to analysing other participants' results and styles. During races, he keenly observes their running movements. These habits stem from his experiences as an avid competitive chess and Chinese chess player.
"I'm a logic and strategy type of person," he explains, adding: "I enjoy delving into numbers, data, and exploring probabilities and possibilities."
Staying on top demands immense sacrifice. "It's not easy," Soh admits ruefully. "As a full-time athlete, I work tirelessly to secure my own sponsorships. Travelling around the world to compete is expensive. I'm incredibly grateful to my Malaysian friends who host me, take me out to eat, and offer their support. That kind of help is invaluable."
A Marvel fan, he playfully compares himself to Spiderman. "I don't get any support from the government, but I get a lot of love and support from my neighbourhood!" he says, grinning.
The Selayang native is eager to promote tower running as a healthy sport in Malaysia. "It's easy to organise a tower run and almost everyone can participate," he assures me. "It lacks support because it's not included in major events like the Southeast Asian Games and the Olympics. This is what I hope will change in the near future."
But until that day comes, Soh will continue aiming for the skyscrapers. "I have my goals. It's just a matter of time and hard work before I achieve them," he concludes, determinedly.
I believe him. After all, as Soh believes, it all comes down to math.