An athlete crosses the starting line at the Guiyang International Vertical Marathon in Guiyang, Guizhou province. The fastest runner climbed the 55-storey Sofitel Guiyang Hunter hotel in under eight minutes. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

Two hundred steel-thighed runners climbed Guiyang’s highest building the hard way on the morning of March 26, as the capital of Guizhou province held its first “vertical marathon”.

It is likely that few – if any – guests at the Sofitel Guiyang Hunter have ever looked up at the vertigo-inducing 55-storey tower and decided to take the stairs.

But at 9:30 am, athlete after athlete started to fling themselves at the building’s stairwell and power up a grueling 1,308 steps to reach the roof.

Men and women from across China, the US, Netherlands, Italy, India and several other countries took part in the first Guiyang International Vertical Marathon, which was held by the Guiyang Athletic Association and Guiyang Physical Development Ltd.

Competitors set off at ten second intervals in order to avoid a pileup on the stairs, with the male and female participants crossing the finishing line in the fastest time each winning a 1,000 yuan ($146) prize.

The winner of the men’s race, Chen Hao leaped up a muscle-screaming 2.8 steps per second to finish with a time of seven minutes and 47 seconds, his personal best.

“I narrowly won this competition, with the second-placed runner following closely. I was exhausted when I hit the line,” said Chen.

Wu Ying took first prize in the women’s race, climbing from the street to the roof in 10 minutes and 30 seconds.