Shanghai's Towerrunning challenge sees record participation

The 2025 Shanghai Tower Towerrunning Challenge was held on Saturday, attracting over 3,000 participants from more than 20 countries and regions, to race to the top of the 552-meter, 119-floor tower with 3,398 steps.

Among the standout competitors were visually impaired athlete Zhang Liangmin and amputee athlete Pan Nianshu, who led the charge.

Malaysia's Soh Wai Ching claimed the men's title with an impressive time of 18 minutes and 3 seconds, while Croatia's Tea Faber secured the women's crown in 21 minutes and 7 seconds.

Hosted by Shanghai Tower, this year's event expanded by 1,000 participants compared to last year and featured two main categories: the full course race and the fun run.

Mei Xue, general manager of Shanghai Tower Business Operation Co Ltd, noted that the full course race required participants to have completed at least a half marathon to enter, yet the event still reached full capacity through selection.

Soh Wai Ching, the current world No 1 in tower running and event record-holder, said, "I hope the scale will expand to 5,000 to 10,000 participants next year. Climbing stairs is easy on the knees, suitable for training in office buildings, environmentally friendly, and a great way to burn fat."

Spanish competitor Marc Toda Vericat, competing for the first time, was impressed. "For me it was a very good experience. The full atmosphere, the organization was very good. But for me it was also a tough race. It's very tall and it's the only one where you have to run nonstop inside the winding stairs."

Malaysian athlete Muhammad Hazim Zuhairi Bin Azahari also found the course challenging. "It's very demanding in terms of endurance and speed. I trained for this but not long enough to make the top six, but I'll try harder next year."

He was also struck by Shanghai's nightscape. "The Bund is my favorite place. At night you can see Lujiazui area, including Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center. I climbed the latter last month in eighteen minutes."

As China's first professional tower running event, the competition has earned ISO9001 certification and dual recognition as a Shanghai Brand and D-level Event. It has also led the development of the world's first group standard for event services.

Mei revealed plans for further upgrades next year, including the addition of a women's full course race in response to the enthusiastic reception of the women's half marathon.