Fight for Air Climb

4:30 am, the morning of daylight savings and I was up and ready to go. Today was the Fight for Air Climb race, a stair race where competitors  run the 180 floors of the four presidential towers. Unfortunately I was not running today, I was volunteering, the race is set up to raise money for the American Lung Association.

This event is for true competitors and those planning to run the event at a nonhuman pace. The fastest time was just over 16 minutes that’s around 3 stairs per second.

While there were plenty of inspirational people running throughout the day nothing fascinated me more than the fireman race. Wearing full gear which weighs 60-70 pounds, these men climbed the stairs as fast, and faster than the majority of the competitors. Next year I look to run it, but until then I can only talk about the fact that $220,000 were raised from the event. Good Job Chicago!