Was Completing My First Stair Race In Over A Year A Terrible Mistake? (Cincinnati Fight For Air Climb Race Recap)

I was woefully under-prepared, and nursing an injured foot. Why did I sign up to race up and down thousands of stairs?

This morning I collapsed on the grass (actually, it was turf), after a job well done, and felt a specific sense of pride that I haven’t felt since February 2020. It’s a mix of accomplishment, exhaustion, pain, and invincibility – and I only experience it when I complete a stair race.

So, the answer to the question at the beginning of this blog post is… Because I love stair races. Period.

I Just Want To Be Able To Move After This! (SkyRise Chicago 2019 Race Recap)

Hello, Willis Tower!

You may know this towering skyscraper as Sears Tower. I know it as the home to the tallest stairwell in the Western Hemisphere and the tallest stair race, too!

SkyRise Chicago, which benefits the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, has a start line two floors below ground, and a finish line on the 103rd floor. There’s 105 floors, and 2,159 steps, in between.

Can You Help Me With My Final Few #40Years40Races Events?

The finish line is in sight, folks. I recently competed in my 36th race of the year, which means… I only have four to go! I’m already registered for three of them, and those three are all stair races in skyscrapers. That alone is exciting, because I haven’t raced in a skyscraper since my Cleveland race in June.

These three races are also all fundraisers, and that’s also exciting, because who doesn’t love helping worthy causes? I wish I

I’ll Be Competing in a SIX-HOUR Stair Race Next Month! Here’s How You Can Help!

Hello again! I’ve been busy and haven’t updated this blog in nearly two weeks. Wow. Nothing to worry about – I’m taking good care of myself. But there is a lot of change coming, and I’m very excited. I’ll share everything in due time, but for now, I’ve registered for a few races I wanted to tell you about, including the longest, hardest, most challenging test of endurance I’ve ever signed up for: A SIX-HOUR STAIR RACE!

I get goosebumps just thinking about it:

A Record-Setting Skyscraper is Calling My Name… Help Me Answer the Call!

My recent performance at the Stair Climb for Los Angeles, where I did much better than I was expecting, has gotten me pumped about my upcoming races. Here’s my race schedule for the rest of the year – keep reading to see how you can help me reach my goals by supporting some incredible charities!

I’m very excited about my next race, in less than two weeks. It’s a brand new race in a brand new record-setting skyscraper.

Using Every Method Possible to Get to the Top! (Stair Climb for Los Angeles 2018 Race Recap)

I didn’t think I was ready for a stair race. Not yet. It was only a few weeks ago that I was cleared to exercise again after recovering from my LASIK surgery, and getting back into shape has been challenging. And yet, on Friday, I pinned a bib to my shirt and looked up at the skyscraper housing the tallest stairwell west of the Mississippi. Gulp!

This was my sixth year racing at the Stair Climb for Los Angeles, a fundraiser benefiting the Downtown-Ketchum YMCA, so I knew what to expect:

Break? What Break? I Just Did the Lemon Climb Denver! (Race Recap)

On Saturday, my sister Sarah and I competed in The Lemon Climb Denver, a 43-story stair race to the top of a tall Colorado skyscraper.

You: Really? A stair race? I thought you were taking a break!

Me: I am taking a break. But the break, while necessary, was a spontaneous decision, and I had registered for this race months ago, accepted money from

Five Races Under My Belt So Far This Year… and Five More in the Next Five Weeks!

I’ve been thinking lately about my very first stair race, at the Aon Center in Los Angeles. It happened six years ago, and while I can remember it vividly, it also seems like a lifetime ago.

I’ll be returning to the Aon Center a week from Saturday, for my seventh consecutive year racing up the 63-story stairwell. It will be

I Think I’m Gonna Barf (Los Angeles CF Climb 2017 Race Recap)

On Thursday, I woke up feeling ill. Typical cold symptoms: sneezy, snotty, stuffed up. On Friday, I felt a little better. On Saturday, I felt a lot worse. On Sunday… I competed in a stair race.

This race has been on my calendar for a long time. It was the Los Angeles CF Climb, organized by and benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I felt achy, sniffly and exhausted as soon as I woke up on Sunday, but I didn’t

Milwaukee CF Climb Race Recap AND Photos From My 17 Hours in the Badger State

Milwaukee is COLD! I was only there for one night, but the temperature, with wind chill, was in the single digits. Brrrr! Preparing for my latest race in my hotel room meant dressing for the race, then layering on a hoodie, two jackets, plus a hat, scarf and gloves.

I was staying in a downtown hotel (more on that later), and I walked to