“Made It To The Top!” (2018 Los Angeles Fight For Air Climb Race Recap)

I competed, on Saturday, for my seventh consecutive year, in the American Lung Association’s Fight For Air Climb in Los Angeles. The title for this post comes from a sign I saw on the roof after the race, which echoed exactly what I was feeling after a particularly tough climb.

The race was up 63 stories in the stairwell of

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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

How Do You Say ‘Joy, Pride, Exhaustion and Tears’ in French? (Eiffel Tower Vertical Race Recap)

16 minutes and 17 seconds. That’s how long it took me to race up all the stairs in the Eiffel Tower.

16 minutes and 17 seconds, during which I smiled, sweated, screamed, cried, and pushed myself as hard as I could go, and then even harder.

This wasn’t just another stair race. This felt like an event I’ve been working towards for eight years; a destination that I was always meant to reach, even though I didn’t even know it was on the horizon until a few months ago.

The race was La Verticale de la Tour Eiffel – the Eiffel Tower Vertical. It’s one of the most

Vegas Baby, Vegas! (2018 Scale the Strat Race Recap)

Wanna see a picture of a man pushing himself to his absolute physical limit?

I was about four steps from the finish line of Scale the Strat when this photo was taken. And those four steps hurt. Every part of my body hurt. What you’re looking at is

Help Me Support the American Lung Association… And Support My Stair Racing at the Same Time!

My big Parisian adventure is about six weeks away, but the Eiffel Tower race isn’t the only one on my calendar. I’m criss-crossing the western United States before and after I go to France, and I need your help!

I’ve signed up for FOUR Fight For Air Climbs. All these events are hosted by

I Competed in the Dallas Vert Mile and Climbed More Stairs In One Day Than EVER Before

I was lying on the carpet, unable to move. Pain and fatigue pulsed through my body, and every limb felt heavy, like I was being pressed into the floor. A woman appeared, looking down at me. “Are you finished?” I nodded, and she disappeared, only to return a few seconds later, ripping open a little plastic pouch with her teeth. She pulled a gorgeous multi-colored medal from the pouch, and I reached up, slowly, and took it from her. I pushed a few words out, in between gasps for air: “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She laughed and walked away, and as I rested the medal on my chest, my vision suddenly got cloudy. My eyes were filling with tears, and I started sobbing, nearly 500 feet above the Dallas sidewalk.

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Before I begin this recap of my experiences at the Dallas Vert Mile, I want to remind everyone reading this that

I Competed in 18 Races in 2017. A Brief Look Back Before I Start Looking Forward.

I published my 2017 Year-End Progress Report a week ago, but it occurred to me the other day that something was missing. It covers my weight loss and maintenance, my workout progress report, and my cardio miles, but there was no mention of my races. And I raced a lot. 

Time to remedy the situation! In the future,