Sports

 

Jason Mitchiner would do anything to get noticed by a publisher – and that includes running up all 86 flights of stairs in New York City’s highest building.

 

Wearing nothing but a metallic blue Speedo.

 

In February.

 

“I want to show the world my determination,” Mitchiner said. “I just can’t wait at home for things to happen.”

 

Mitchiner – aka “The Naked Author” - was one of more than 250 enthusiasts who participated in today’s Annual Empire State Building Run-Up. In its 31^st year, the event was organized by New York Road Runners and drew athletes from 21 states and 15 countries.

 

Most, of course, ran for victory. But some, like Mitchiner, came for other reasons: to get in shape, find a mate, or face their fears. Ariel Kohane, 36, sporting a blue running outfit, said he was there in search of the perfect Jewish wife and eager to be photographed wearing his yarmulke.  

 

Jessica Purcell, 28, said she had “never even walked up more than seven flights of stairs” and prepared herself both physically and mentally for the 1,576-step climb. “You naturally tend to start to hurt and back off,” she said. But getting to the top is about “learning to accept pain and push through it.”

 

The Naked Author, on the other hand, did not seem to worry about the pain, or the weather for that matter. (He stayed in his Speedo even after the race.) He said his motivation for participating in the preliminary run-up was to draw attention to the books he has written about his family, which have been repeatedly rejected by publishers. “Just like the Giants are the underdogs of the NFL, I am the underdog of the literary world,” he said.

 

And in the stair-climbing world, runners from Germany and Australia were victorious for the second consecutive time this year. Champions Thomas Dold and Suzanne Walsham reached the finish line at 10:08 and 12:44, respectively. As for The Naked Author, he finished the race in 23:05.

 

An automotive manager from Brick, N.J., Mitchiner said he trained for the run-up using the stairs outside the New York Public Library until security told him to leave. He and his book, “Full Moon Rising” – about the journey of three brothers living in 18^th Century rural America - have also jumped out of an airplane and surfed along New Jersey’s Belmar shore. The book has been accepted by a Maryland-based firm called PublishAmerica Inc., which prints one or more copies of books through digital “print on demand” technology; it is available through some online booksellers. But Mitchiner said that for his next book, “Red Sea Divided,” which is also historical fiction, he is aiming for a contract with Random House or Time Warner.

 

Mitchiner said that in addition to attracting a publisher, he wants to set a good example for his 2-year-old son, Donovan. “I didn’t have that, a role model, growing up,” said Mitchiner, adding that he was a foster child. “I want my son to know that I gave everything I had.”

 

If all goes well, the author and the two books he has completed so far will also participate in this year’s New York Marathon and raise $2,500, which he plans to donate to charity.

 

Having reached his short-term goal at the Empire State Building, Mitchiner picked up his bag and headed for the Giants Parade downtown, a copy of “Full Moon Rising” and a camera in one hand and “nakedauthor.com” scribbled across his back.