Now that my legs have returned from the jelly-like state induced by the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Stair Climb on Feb. 20 at the Hilton Hotel in Springfield, I’ve had a chance to chat with a few other people involved in the event.
Lori Younker, director of Program Services and Development at the American Lung Association in Illinois, sent over some photos from the event to share: http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/imagesGalleries.php?action=viewGallery&gal_id=11
All photos are courtesy of SMD Photography and Dennis Oehmke.
The ALA blasted through their $50,000 fundraising goal to reach $53,160! Congrats to them, as well as all the climbers and everyone who donated.
Check out the event page here: http://ala.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1271&pg=entry
The winner of the climb was local expert Terry Purcell, whose 2 minute, 24 second ascent was absolutely amazing. (I’m pretty sure he’s a cyborg from the future!) Even cooler is the fact that his wife, Susan Purcell, clocked in at 3 minutes, 46 seconds, not only making her the top female in the race, but also netting her 13th place overall. (She totally blasted my time out of the water!)
As stated before, now is a great time to start practicing for next year. Climb stairs at your own pace once or twice a week for a year and see what happens. I would bet you’ll see your legs grow stronger and your stamina and lung capacity improve markedly.
Best wishes to everybody! Now get out there and Get FIT!
