If you love the StairMaster, you're going to love stair racing (also called stair or skyscraper run-ups). 
If you enter a race, you start at the ground level of a gigantic building, and you run up the stairs with hundreds of other people, often ascending thousands of steps in a few minutes. Just recently in the Taipei 101 race, a German athlete sprinted up 91 floors in 10 minutes and 53 seconds! Talk about major cardio.
You can find stair-climbing races in all the world's skyscrapers including the Empire State Building in New York City, the Sheraton Wall Center Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, and the Menara Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Many of these stair climbs are for charities, so not only are people getting into the physical challenge of stair racing, but they feel good knowing they're raising money for good causes.
Even if you're not into racing, you can still benefit from climbing stairs. There's no need to buy an expensive StairMaster or join a gym. You can climb the stairs in tall buildings near you, or if you don't have access to multiple flights of stairs, you can go up and down one flight of stairs. You'll tone your quads, buns, and calves, and your heart and lungs will get an amazing workout as well. Not only that, it's totally free.
Dress for Less
Fossil
Timberland
Fun! I love running stairs, and I take a class at my gym several times a week where we run up and down stairs, totalling at least 100 flights. It's exhausting, but fun. I have wanted to enter a stair running race - I think I'll do it!
1Oh, I love stair-climbing! I used to live across the street from my college's stadium and I would go over there and run up and down stairs to mix up my running routine.
2i see many stitches in my future if i stair race. i'll stick to racing on flat surfaces.
3I've never been a fan of stair racing.
4I love doing this, but unfortunately my 28-story stairwell at work is not air conditioned. It's like a sauna in there this time of year.
5When I was younger and went in for target shooting, my dad thought running up the stairs would help me to stand in balance for long periods (he also arranged a wire for me to walk on). I don't know if it helped or not, I won some competitions once in a while but quit anyway as I got older as my results weren't improving the way we would have wanted.
6Oh stair running is such a great workout! My thighs are on fire by the time I've finished though.
7I used to love running stadiums in college!
8Nothing firms your arse better than stair climbing.
991 flights in 10-ish minutes! It makes my legs hurt just thinking about it.
10I am gathering information for an article on stair racing for American Fitness Magazine. Would anyone like to contribute their ideas on climbing technique, training methods etc.?
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