Hanwha Life, '2026 Signature 63RUN' Held

*This content was translated by AI.

Hanwha Life's vertical marathon was held again this year.

On the 23rd, Hanwha Life held the vertical marathon event '2026 Hanwha Life Signature 63RUN' at the 63rd Building.

Marking its 22nd edition this year, the event is Korea's first vertical marathon, climbing 249 meters in height from the 1st floor to the 60th floor of the 63rd Building, covering a total of 1,251 steps. Hanwha Life has opened the stairs of its headquarters building to the public for one day each year, and this year the event was held under the slogan 'RUN TO THE LIMIT'.

The event was divided into two categories: Signature (one climb) and Challenge (six climbs). In the Signature category, the men's winner was Oh Ye-seok (35, from Gwanak-gu, Seoul), who recorded 8 minutes 15 seconds, and the women's winner was Moon Sae-bom (28, from Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong), who recorded 11 minutes 18 seconds. In the Challenge category, the men's winner was Yoon Young-seop (29, from Gyeyang-gu, Incheon), who recorded 54 minutes 56 seconds, and the women's winner was Kim Bo-bae (30, from Seo-gu, Incheon), who recorded 1 hour 1 minute 18 seconds. This year, filming of 'The Match (2026 63RUN THE MATCH)', a team competition, was also added.

A Hanwha Life official, speaking by phone with this newspaper, said, "63RUN has established itself as a sport that goes beyond a simple vertical marathon, utilizing familiar urban spaces to help participants break through their own limits."

Meanwhile, the vertical marathon is an unusual sporting event where participants climb the stairs of a super-high-rise building from the bottom to the top floor, unlike regular marathons run on flat ground. Overseas, it is also well known by the names 'Tower Running' or 'Skyrunning'.

In the United States, the Empire State Building Run-Up (ESBRU) is famous. It is one of the oldest and most iconic vertical marathon events held in New York City.

Globally, numerous tower running events are held, circulating through world-famous landmark super-high-rise buildings such as Taipei 101 and the Eiffel Tower.

Compared to regular marathons, this event places a greater load on the knees and cardiopulmonary function, making sufficient pre-training and stretching essential.

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*This content was translated by AI.