First vertical marathon

The first vertical marathon in Singapore was held on 3 May 1987. 130 men and 50 women took part in the race up 1,336 steps to reach the top of the 73 storey Westin Stamford, the world's tallest hotel at the time. Winners of the inaugural event, Kenneth Kang and Helen Gilbey, clocked the fastest times of 7 min 20 sec and 9 min 4 sec respectively. The event managed to raise S$20,000 for the Community Chest of Singapore.

Description
The first vertical marathon was organised by both the Westin Stamford and Westin Plaza hotels to raise funds for the Community Chest of Singapore. Opened to the public, its aim was to see who could climb the Westin Stamford's stairs within the shortest possible time. Participants had to be between 16 to 40 years and anyone who was in reasonably good health physically and mentally were encouraged to participate. Each participant was required to find sponsors to raise at least S$73, a dollar for every floor of the hotel.

At 9:00 am on 3 May 1987, the event began with batches of 4 participants running up the steps of the hotel. Seven cameras were placed at various points on the route to telecast the event live to spectators on the ground floor of the building. Officials from the Singapore Amateur Athletic Association acted as marshals, timekeepers and recorders during the event. Eventually, air steward Kenneth Kang, 36, and College of Physical Education lecturer, Helen Gilbey, 33 emerged the winners in the men's and women's event respectively.

Kenneth Kang's achievement got him listed in the Guinness Book of Records, for the fastest world record in stair-climbing in 1987. However, that record was broken on June 4 1989 by Balvinder Singh in the 3rd annual vertical marathon, who clocked the fastest time of 6 min and 55 sec. The Westin Stamford hotel, standing at a height of 227 metres, is the tallest hotel in Singapore today. It was designed by I. M. Pei, and was opened in 1986.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References 
A race up 73 storeys to raise funds for Chest. (1987, 7 April). The Straits Times.

Tall order to break vertical marathon record. (1989, 15 April). The Straits Times.

Vertical marathon nets $20,000 for charity. (1987, 18 June). The Straits Times. 

Westin Stamfords marathon for the upwardly mobile is on again. (1988, 10 April). The Straits Times.

Guiness world records. (2004). Retrieved March 16, 2004, from www.guinnessworldrecords.com/.

Madmac. Singaporean Skyscrapers. Retrieved March 16, 2004, from www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Exchange/7601/Sky/Singapore.html 



The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Recreation>>Sports
Events>>Historical Periods>>Independence and Nation-Building (1965-)
Marathon running--Singapore
Sports-Singapore
Sports, recreation and travel>>Running and jogging