•  First Vertical Run competition held in Vietnam

Participants will have to race up 1,914 steps in the 350m tall building to earn a total of US$5,000 in cash prizes ranging from US$300 to US$1,500.

The event is one of nine competitions in the 2012 Vertical World Circuit (VWC) organized by the Sporting Republic company from Hong Kong.

This year's race in Vietnam has attracted more than 300 runners from 20 countries, 75 percent of whom are Vietnamese. Suzy Walsham from Australia, the three-time winner of the New York Empire State Building vertical run, will also be taking part in the event.

Ho Thi Hue, a handicapped athlete from the central province of Quang Tri, the first Vietnamese disabled athlete to win a silver medal in swimming at the Asian Paragames, will also participate in the competition.

Each participant must pay an entry fee of US$18. All money collected from the competition will be used to buy sports equipment for handicapped people in Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province.

In 2011, the Sporting Republic organized the Bitexco Vertical Run in Ho Chi Minh City, which attracted over 500 runners.