This is the quintessential New York event. The race to the TOP of the Empire State Building. The field of this run is small and I was lucky to have received entry.
You begin in the lobby of the Empire State Building and you simply race the stairs to the top...all 88 flights - One Thousand Five Hundred and Seventy Six steps!
The finish line is a full loop of the observation deck on the roof 88 stories above Manhattan.
It is not a long race, time wise, but grueling none the less. Your quads and calf muscles are dying by the time you reach the 60th floor and you have to dig deep to finish the climb. Once you reach the 88th floor and you see all of Manhattan below you, it is a feeling like no other.
Here is a great article published in the New York Times Magazine about the Empire State Run Up.
Distance 1576 steps = Suggested Minimum Donation $157.60