This year, the annual event will take place on October 6 at 8 pm, and it will see over 100 runners trying to get to the Empire State Building's 86th floor in the shortest time possible. Facing 1,576 stairs and a vertical height of a little over 1,000 feet, the race is not an easy quest. So far, the 2003 men's record of 9 minutes and 33 seconds is still undefeated, as is the women's 2006 record of 11 minutes and 23 seconds.