Thomas Dold of Germany on Tuesday won the annual race up the Empire State Building, the city's tallest skyscraper, for the sixth consecutive year.

A 26-year-old economics student from Stuttgart, Dold scampered up the 1,576 steps from the lobby to the observation deck on the 86th floor of the building in 10 minutes and 10 seconds, organizers said.

The first woman to reach the top of the city's most famous skyscraper was Alice McNamara, a 24-year-old Australian, who made it in 13 minutes and three seconds.

In the windowless stairwells, painted lead gray, the cramped space is itself an obstacle for the runners who must push their way through the throng to win