Hundreds of runners from across the globe trekked up 86 flights in the 32nd annual Empire State Building Run-up today.

The runners hailed from 17 different countries.

The race covered a vertical distance of 1,050 feet and takes in more than 1,500 steps.

The men’s winner for the fourth year in a row was Thomas Dold of Germany in a time of 10 minutes and six seconds – 33 seconds shy of the world record set in 2003 by an Australian runner.

Dold said the race does not get any easier with time.

“It was really hard. The Empire State Building is hard every time,” he said. “You have to train a lot to make a race like this and a time like that. It’s really cool to show the people what I train for.”

Despite falling early in the race, Suzanne Walsham of Singapore won the women’s race for the third-straight year, in a time of 13 minutes and 26 seconds.

Many runners from the city and around the world savored the chance to race to the iconic skyscraper’s snow-covered rooftop.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime, or once-a-year opportunity, so just that fact alone is cool,” said Lauren Antonucci, winner of the women’s preliminary race. “I’m a New Yorker, so running up one of the biggest New York landmarks is just a great idea. And then just the challenge of running up that amount of flights of stairs is just somewhat intriguing.”

“I definitely feel like I have some street cred. It is a different level of street cred now – I conquered the Empire State Building,” said runner John Harkey.

“You could take the elevator, but you appreciate the view more if you take the stairs because you work that much harder for it,” said runner Monica Sanchez.

Dwayne Fernandes of Australia took about 27 minutes to finish while running on prosthetic legs.

“I probably won’t defend this record, because this way it gets other people off their couch, into the world and exploring it. That’s what it is all about,” said Fernandes.

This year’s male and female victors earn no cash winnings, but they will be flown back to New York next year to try beating the record times again.

(Source: NY1)