KUALA LUMPUR – National tower-runner Soh Wai Ching has once again made history, setting the record for the “Farthest Simulated Distance Climbed on a Stair Machine in One Hour” with a distance of 1.649km last night at the Technogym Experience Centre in Bangsar.
Although the record is still unofficial as the data and video footage will be reviewed by the Guinness World Records, Wai Ching surpassed the 1.61-km benchmark, equivalent to four KL Towers.
Pounding over 8000 steps in the course of an hour, Wai Ching said it was tough maintaining a high pace from the start, but he persevered.
“I started with 190spm (steps per minute) for the first 30 seconds to get the machine up to its pace, then I went back down to 130spm and eventually raised it back to 135spm.
“I then tried to pick up the pace to about 140spm after 15 minutes. My heart rate spiked up to about 180bpm and I had to reduce my pace again, and slowed down to 130spm after 35 minutes,” he said in a statement.
It was not all smooth sailing for Wai Ching as the stair machine faced some technical difficulties in the second half of his attempt.
“The dashboard screen went out, but the machine was still working at 130spm. I kept going on while maintaining my pace and the technician had to come and figure out what was going on with the machine.
“Towards the last 15 minutes, I was supposed to pick up the pace as I was ready to put in more effort, but the machine maintained the same pace.
“Sometimes things are just out of your hands and all you can do is stay calm and carry on,” he said.
Despite the troubles, Wai Ching knew that he would snatch the record even if he maintained his 130spm pace for the remainder of his attempt.
“I told myself that I will have to go on and finish it as there is nothing I can do. I can come back to do it again in the future with more preparation work to clock a much higher height,” he said.
Wai Ching made his record attempt in conjunction with World Health Day yesterday and hopes that the public will opt to take the stairs more in their daily life.
The record attempt will take up to two months to be certified as official by the Guinness World Records, as Wai Ching chose to not have an official adjudicator present given its high cost. – The Vibes, April 8, 2023
