.jpg)
KUALA LUMPUR - With the TNB Record Breaking Night on his mind ever since he wrote his name in the Guinness Book of Records, TowerRunner world record holder, Soh Wai Ching, has now engraved his name in the Malaysia Book of Records.
Despite the postponement of his attempt in October and again in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Wai Ching was still fully focused on the prize.
“In the face of uncertainty that we all faced, it did not stop me from continuously trying to achieve greatness by training hard to achieve my ambition to be the best in the world,” said Wai Ching.
He also shared with The Vibes how it was very frustrating and mentally taxing to prepare for the event months ahead, only to have it postponed not once, but twice.
Yet, by breaking all three records with tenacity and grit, and despite a couple of technical hiccups along the way, Wai Ching has officially achieved his Malaysia Book of Records goals.
“For some reason, I wasn’t in my best shape and really struggled after the half way mark. It was a continuous effort of pushing and recovering, and pushing again.
“But the spectators created a very good environment and I am grateful for their cheers especially at the last 10minutes.”
When The Vibes spoke to Wai Ching, he also expressed how he took a risk in the beginning by starting faster than during his trial run, and it paid off in this final results.
“Apart from the last attempt, I exceeded my expectations in the first two. My personal target for the first attempt was around 17minutes, and 37 minutes for the second. Even my third attempt was just a little off from my personal target of 1.7 kilometres.”
The three attempts that he targeted and achieved are as below:
Fastest Time to Climb the Height of Petronas Twin Towers on a Stair Climb Machine (451.9 Metres) - 16 min 16 sec (with the benchmark set at under 25 minutes*)
Fastest Vertical Kilometre Climb on a Stair Climb Machine - 35 min 37 sec (with the benchmark set at under 45 minutes*)
Longest Vertical Climb Distance on a Stair Climb Machine in One Hour - 1.694 Kilometre (with the benchmark set at a minimum of 1.61km*)
Wai Ching has, virtually, climbed twice the height of @burjkhalifa which lays at 829.8m.
As co-organisers of the event, the Malaysia TowerRunning Association (MTA) and Technogym Malaysia have worked long and hard for this day; especially with TNB by Wai Ching’s side as his main sponsor.
“When Wai Ching started off his journey into tower running back in April 2017, he told me that he wants to be the World No.1,” shared MTA president and Wai Ching’s mentor, Ravinder Singh.
Country manager of Technogym Malaysia, Lester Francis, added, “Technogym Malaysia proudly supports Soh Wai Ching and the Malaysia TowerRunning Association’s initiative in promoting an active lifestyle, and of course, in breaking more records, as he continuously trains on our latest EXCITE LIVE CLIMB machine.”
The three Malaysia Book of Records holder, Wai Ching, is ecstatic with his new achievements, especially after the mental torture of being on the machine continuously for an hour.
And he assured The Vibes that there are many more records he is going to break and among them are running up trails and biking.
“In life, we cannot stick to just one plan. We must have multiple plans even if things don’t work out the way we want it to. We must learn to adapt, and not just stay stuck in a stage or time,” stated Wai Ching who wants people to take note of all of his attempts.
But for now, he is looking forward to a fun-filled day playing board games with his friends and going on bike rides for future endeavours. - The Vibes, April 10, 2021.
*Benchmark set by Malaysia Book of Records
Instagram @mastowerrunner
