Malaysian tower-running world champ Soh Wai Ching powers up Penang Hill in under 26 minutes on Merdeka Day

Malaysian tower-running world champion Soh Wai Ching poses with the Jalur Gemilang and his Malaysia Book of Records certificate after completing Penang Hill’s 3km Heritage Trail in 25 minutes 55.25 seconds, his second national record in three days. — Picture via Facebook/mypenanghill

By Malay Mail

First Published: Monday, 31 Aug 2026 10:39 AM MYT

Last Modified: Monday, 31 Aug 2026 10:40 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — Malaysian tower-running world champion Soh Wai Ching has made it two national records in just three days after powering up Penang Hill’s 3km Heritage Trail in 25 minutes 55.25 seconds today.

The feat marked the 32-year-old’s fifth Malaysia Book of Records achievement this year and came just two days after he broke his own record climbing the 68 floors of Komtar.

According to The Star, Soh completed the 1,356-step Komtar climb on Saturday in seven minutes and two seconds before turning his attention to a very different sort of ascent on Penang Hill.

Despite arriving in peak condition, the Selayang-born athlete admitted the trail proved tougher than he had expected.

“The weather was very hot, and the process was not as easy as I imagined,” he was quoted as saying.

Soh had tackled the same route around five years ago, when he took roughly 31 to 32 minutes.

Ahead of his latest attempt, he said he repeatedly watched footage of that earlier run and mentally rehearsed the route.

“I kept watching the video last night and visualised every scene along the route in my mind. Today, I arranged for four friends to support me at different checkpoints.

“Every time I passed a checkpoint, they cheered for me, and that gave me a lot of motivation.”

He said conditions were otherwise close to ideal, with cloudy and relatively cool weather and no rain or haze to complicate the climb.

The result also comfortably beat his usual training times. Soh said his personal best on Strava during regular sessions on the hill was around 30 minutes 34 seconds.

He credited the record-breaking effort to a combination of peak fitness and the encouragement he received along the route.

Soh, who describes himself as a “Penang son-in-law” because his wife Chan Yi Chin, 32, is from George Town, said the hill has become one of his favourite training grounds.

The couple live in Macallum, and Soh said he returns to Penang about once every two months, often making time for a climb.

“This is the best training ground because you can run up and then take the funicular down, which saves your knees from the impact of running downhill,” he said.

He estimated that he has climbed Penang Hill between 20 and 30 times since first visiting the state around 2016 or 2017 for the Penang Bridge International Marathon.

And he is already thinking about going faster.

“If I want to break this record again, I need to train here at least three times a week. I would become more familiar with every bend and my pacing, and that could help me save more seconds,” he said.

Soh also hopes the achievement will encourage more Malaysians and tourists to tackle Penang Hill on foot instead of relying solely on the funicular railway.

Coming during the National Day period, he said the latest record carried added significance after his Komtar triumph.

“When you know you have the ability to break a record, it becomes a responsibility. You have to give everything you have and bring glory to the country — like the Spider-Man quote, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’,” he said.

“I want to demonstrate my responsibility as a Malaysian and bring the Malaysian flag onto the world stage.”