NEW YORK (AFP) – More than 300 runners skipped the Empire State Building elevator Tuesday and took the stairs instead -- all 1,576 steps.

The annual race is the Olympics of stair climbing, with athletes and enthusiastic amateurs dashing from the marble-clad lobby to the 86th floor observation deck of the iconic 1931 skyscraper, New York's tallest.

Germany's Thomas Dold -- who is also world champion at running backwards -- won for the fourth consecutive year. His time of 10.07 minutes was about 10 times slower than the high-speed elevators which whoosh tourists to the spectacular rooftop.

In the women's category, Suzy Walsham from Australia won for the third time, finishing in 13.27 minutes, despite cutting open her lip during jostling on the ground floor.