Last year I started off the New Year with a fun and somewhat crazy activity. I decided to join the Coney Island Polar Bears for their annual New Years Day Swim.  

I was thinking about swimming again to start off 2013 but it turns out that Kim, Lucas and I will be flying back from Nashville on New Years day. I’m not planning to make the swim an annual event but I’m still a bit bummed to be missing out in 2013.

To make up for missing out on the Polar Bear swim, I decided to enter the New York Road Runners Club lottery in hopes of winning a spot in the Empire State Building Run-Up. 
Due to anticipated high demand for a spot, a random drawing was held to select participants for this race. I didn’t expect to get a spot but was happy to receive an e-mail that I was in!

This is another one of those wacky and odd events that I’ve wanted to participate in for a while now. However, while filling out my application I was close to exiting from the page a few times. 
I can not imagine how my legs (body?) will feel after running up the Empire State Building! 
(It also costs $100 to enter. Definitely not cheap!)

Here is a little about the Empire State Building Run-Up according to the NYRR:

Run like King Kong in the ultimate uphill race: Climb 86 stories to the top of the world’s most famous skyscraper! Get vertical as you climb nearly a quarter-mile—and be sure to take in the spectacular view of Manhattan at night as you circle the Observation Deck to finish.

This unusual race was the brainchild of Fred Lebow, and it may have been the first of its kind. The inaugural Run-Up was held in 1978 and was won by Gary Muhrcke—the former firefighter who was already renowned for winning the first-ever New York City Marathon in 1970. While visitors can reach the observation deck via elevator in under a minute, the fastest runners cover the 1,576 stairs in about 10 minutes.

Image from Google search

I’ve been having fun running 5Ks and participated in a 5 mile race on Thanksgiving this past year but I have a feeling that this is going to be the toughest quarter-mile that I’ve ever ran!

It’s almost time to start doing some sort of training for this race. Any suggestions for training ideas would be a big help!

If you’ve ever entered a crazy race or event, I’d love to hear about it!

Check out the NYRR event page for the Empire State Building Run-Up HERE