September 11 Charity Stair Climb
Date: September 11. 2024
Written by: Michael Neece
Each September 11, I look back on the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and an airplane that went down in Pennsylvania and was intended for another target. Such tremendously unkind acts have always left me bewildered. It's like I'm an alien who just arrived on Earth, and I need to have it explained to me. I still don't get it and I'm sure I never will.
Not understanding, however, should never keep us from honoring victims, survivors, and their families.
For the first time that I knew of, there was a charity stair climb put on by the Tunnels to Towers Foundation's local chapter in Raleigh, North Carolina, not too far from my home in Chapel Hill. (It turns out that this is the second year, but it was the first one I knew about.)
So on Saturday, I made my way to the Wells Fargo building not far from the Raleigh capitol building. It's nowhere near as tall as the World Trade Towers, but climbing the flights of stairs a few times (and climbing back down as well!) would make it work.
After a brilliant rendition of the national anthem, a few announcements, applause for our firefighters who would climb in full gear with us alongside other first responders and veterans…we climbed.
The first round of 29 flights (first floor to 30th) had people start strong, dry, and fast. Gradually, the pace slowed and everyone felt perspiration start to stream down in earnest. I am sure there were several people who lapped me including some firefighters.
Then the second round of 29 flights. The group had thinned out significantly even during the first climb, but I am fascinated by how hard everyone tried. I celebrate anyone who does even a few steps. It's not easy, and it's for a great cause - helping first responders and veterans with their mortgage payments, keeping them from homelessness, and so many other great efforts to uplift the kinds of heroes who climb 110 flights of stairs to save people.
By the time I started the third climb of 29 flights, my body was getting pretty tired, but my math brain was zipping around, challenging me to figure out how many flights were left. Three times 29 gives 87. That left 23 more to get to 110.
We were told that the fourth climb was only to the 23rd floor, but my brain kept saying it needed to be to the 24th. (Floor 1 to floor 24 gets you the 23 you need to cap off 100 flights, right?) Thus, I pushed that last time, and got to the 24th where I snapped a selfie with the door marker "24."
When I finished, about an hour after I began, I was glad for the great workout. I was humbled by the memory of heroes trying to get to those in need 23 years earlier. And for me? It was 17 months ago that I suffered a stroke, so…this was a good moment.
If you want to honor first responders and veterans through my stair climb fundraising efforts, check out my page. To read more about the efforts of Tunnels to Towers, check this out: https://t2t.org/.
If you are interested in joining me next year for the stair climb challenge, please reach out. I'd love to have a climbing buddy.