Earlier today I finished the Fight for Air Climb, an annual fundraising event supporting the American Lung Association.  A big thank you to all of my family and friends who sent in donations!

Back to the event itself.  I will first admit that it was hard.  And challenging.  And, I'm glad it's finished.  But it was for a good cause and I had never done it before.  Let me tell you about it.

It's running (or jogging, walking, climbing, whatever works for you) up 45 flights of stairs.  And unless you are a Vertical Miler (more on this later), you take the elevator back to the first floor.  There are only two floors where the landing was more than a couple of steps, so you are basically going straight up for about 500 feet.

Participants can sign up for the competitive category, the non-competitive category, or the Vertical Mile.  The Vertical Mile is....

just like it sounds - a full mile travelling up and down, without an elevator!  It is 10 times up and down the stairs, then another 8 flights and 6 steps.  Yes, they actually measured the distance.  Crazy!!!

We registered for the non-competitive category but wanted to do the best we could.  As we were waiting for our start time (it's staggered so the stairwell doesn't get congested), I marvelled at the people there - young and old, men and women, all of different body types.  I saw a few firefighters who were wearing their full gear including oxygen tanks.  Speaking of oxygen, at several floors throughout the event, there was water and oxygen available for those who needed it.

I finished in 8 minutes 30 seconds which I think is respectable.  But I am just one of hundreds of people who are proud of their accomplishment.  In fact, there was this guy who was getting close to catching up to me in the last couple of flights.  After we crossed the finish line, one of the volunteers said that he was a Vertical Miler and then he decided to do it one more time for "fun".  WOW!

Finish times can be important, but we all know that the true importance of this event is to raise money and awareness for the American Lung Association and their efforts to fund health research, education, and advocacy.  I'm excited to see the final fundraising results which will be published in the next couple of days.

As Spring nears, start looking in your local newspapers for 5K walks and other events that help support other good causes.