BY Matthew Lysiak, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER King Kong, meet Thomas Dold.
The German won his fifth straight "Empire State Building Run-Up" title Tuesday, beating more than 300 fellow racers up 86 flights of stairs in the midtown landmark.
"It's unbelievable. I pushed as hard as possible and ran as fast as my legs could carry me," said Dold, 25, who finished the 33rd annual competition in ten minutes and 16 seconds.
At 10:30 a.m., a loud fog horn sounded to launch a mad dash from the lobby - where Dold grabbed an early lead and never looked down.
Clad in spandex and short shorts, runners huffed and puffed their way up the 1,576 stairs two at a time, navigating the narrow stairwell to the 86th floor Observatory. Women's winner Melissa Moon, 40, of New Zealand, found the venerable skyscraper intimidating.
"It's different from other stairwells. It's frantic. I was a little concerned how I would handle the frenzy," said Moon, who finished in 13 minutes and 13 seconds.
"It's all about how your body tolerates pain."
Competitors ranged in age from 18 to 72 years old. For Christa Hartmann, 68, conquering the iconic building was all about mind over matter.
"You run with your mind, not your legs," said Hartmann, a retired professor from Washington Heights.
She finished the trek in 26 minutes and 19 seconds. But the intense pain left some runners looking for the elevator.
"I can deal with the burning legs, but the stomach cramps are tough to swallow," said Dani Zylberberg, 25, a student from Manhattan, as he reached the observation deck.
"The air was so dry and hot I thought my lungs were going to explode," he said. "But once you see the view from the top, it's all worth it."
Dold, despite his impressive repeat victory, said first place won't be good enough in 2011. "I'm coming back next year for the world record," said Dold.
The record time of 9 minutes and 33 seconds was set in 2003 by Paul Crake.
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