Fight for Air Climb - 2024 recap

When they named this event the Fight for Air Climb, they weren’t kidding!

Hot stairwells. Heavy breathing. Trashed leg muscles. But a finish line like none other. 

There’s much to love and respect about fighting for that air, all for the sake of those who need it most. Many struggle with lung health, and it’s for them that I (and numerous others) return to the stairwells every year. 

Now in its 21st year, Des Moines was the place to be, this past Sunday morning, for the Fight for Air Climb festivities. 

Most know this wasn’t my first rodeo on the stairs. I first took to the stairs in 2013, and I have gone back every year except for 2019 (when I was in DC for the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile) and in 2020 (when the Climb had to go virtual, leaving me to climb at home on my own stairway). I also climbed the Chicago venue in 2014. If you care to read about the previous Iowa climbs, you can check out the recaps ... 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023  (you're welcome).

This year, Jim came along for the adventure. As a first-time climber, he didn’t know what to expect on climb day and was unsure he’d trained properly. In all honesty, training for this event is a bit of a crapshoot anyways, since most of us don’t have access to 85 flights of stairs prior to race day. It’s more a matter of muscle strength, cardio endurance and perseverance (not necessarily in that order, LOL). 

He and I met at the hosting site, the Wellmark YMCA (downtown Des Moines) around 7:30. My scheduled wave had an 8:00 start time, but we were able to sneak in a few minutes early. 

As per usual, all participants gather in a waiting area (based on their assigned waves), and then the group is escorted to the first building. Upon arriving at Building-1's start line, the participants are given the go-ahead, individually, every 10-15 seconds (which allows for even spacing within the stairwells). Each building has its own timing mat, both at the bottom and at the top. As each climber crosses the mat(s), their time is recorded as they enter/leave each building's stairwell. All climbers are required to take the elevators back down, after each buildings' climb, before heading to the next building.

So, let the climbing begin! 

Building-1, EMC office building (15 floors, 371 steps)

Even though I’ve done this climb numerous times, I’m still not efficient with my pacing in the first building. The split stairwells make it challenging because it looks (rather deceptively) like you’re climbing short stairways. It’s really easy to “run” those steps (early on) because they don’t look the least bit intimidating. In fact, you’re climbing two short stairways (and changing direction on a landing in between them) for EACH floor of the building. Thus, even though I feel like I’m pacing myself somewhat conservatively, I usually burnout after 10-12 floors. Anyways, I was able to double-step the entire building, but I did slow down considerably for the final floors. It is what it is. Climb time: 3:32

Building-2, Financial Center (22 floors, 464 steps)

After a brief water break, and elevator ride down, we followed the arrows to the next building. All of these buildings are connected via the elaborate Des Moines skywalk, so there’s no need to go outside. There’s also a huge crowd of volunteers to guide you should the signage not suffice. You're free to take as much time as you need between buildings, which allows for some decent recovery time. Having had several minutes of recovery (while making our way to this next building), I felt ready to hit the steps again…with hopefully a better grasp on pacing. 

Having that recovery time between each building, though, can work to your disadvantage because it's tempting to enter the next stairwell at (almost) full speed. I tried to be mindful of the pacing issue, as I entered the Financial Center stairwell. A trick I learned early on in my climbing "career," is to grab the railings and use them to help pull yourself up with each step. This relieves some of the strain from the legs and glutes, and seems to help in keeping the momentum going smoothly. I was surprised how hot it already felt in the stairwells at the early hour. Even though I'd had some water during the break between buildings, I was feeling very thirsty after the first few floors. I just kept at it, double-stepping with caution, and focusing on the next landing ahead of me as I made my way to the top. Although I had started conservatively, I still needed to slow things down in the final floors (again). I made it to the exit timing mat, and Jim was only a short ways behind me. Climb time: 4:33

Building-3, Hub Tower (16 floors, 324 steps)

Two buildings down, onward to the the Hub! So far things were going well, though the heat was intense. It was nice having water stations along the skywalk, making it easy to hydrate (and cool down a tiny bit) in between the buildings. Did I mention how fun the volunteers made it? Their nonstop cheering and encouraging words were much appreciated.

I can't remember much from this particular building other than my pacing was  better...probably due more to increased fatigue than any concerted effort(s) to keep it easy. My throat was a dry scratchy mess, though, because I was so out of breath. The Hub's 16 floors were much appreciated after the previous 22 floors, though, and a nice interlude before the final building's 32. Climb time: 3:27

Building-4, Ruan Building (32 floors, 637 steps)

The grand finale was in our midst, but 32 floors had to be conquered first. I think every year I've done this climb, the final building has always had the most number of floors to fight. Over the years, the last building has changed, but the high number of flights has not, LOL.

Jim and I took advantage of the downtime between the third and fourth building, and grabbed some extra water enroute to the final start mat. Once in the stairwell, I tried to focus on keeping my steps steady and utilizing the hand rails as much as possible. I was about halfway up the building when I heard a lot of heavy breathing ahead of me. I overheard a gentleman telling the volunteers that he'd had open heart surgery a year ago and that he was so thankful to be doing this event. Although he was going slow, and working hard, he was grateful! How's that for inspiration! As I was nearing the top, I heard another climber coming up from behind. This guy was grunting, gasping, and groaning. He passed me before I had a chance to get out of his way...obviously he was much more concerned about his finish time than I was, LOL. Amazingly, Jim and I both thought these 32 floors of the Ruan felt easier than the other buildings' shorter number of flights; I guess that's a testament to better pacing. Climb time: 7:02 

Whew! As always, the finish line felt most euphoric! Funny how all the heavy breathing, heated stairwells, nonstop thirst, and trashed leg muscles were soon forgotten, and replaced with a major endorphin buzz. Jim has not said yes, no, or maybe (yet) on doing the Climb again, but he was a good sport giving it a try. We may have celebrated with a post-climb Bloody Mary (you know #refueling and all that...there's probably some valuable electrolytes to be had).

How did I do?

My official (cumulative) finish time was 18:35. The stats show I placed 97th overall (out of 511 climbers), 31st out of 276 women, and 8th place out of 55 in my age division. I'm good with that!

As for swag, all participants get a finisher medal and a (cotton) shirt. Although this is a national event, both the medal and shirt are specific to the Des Moines venue.

A few things worth noting:

**The Fight for Air Climb is a national event, with local venues in numerous cities throughout the US. You can find a nearby Climb by clicking HERE.

**While there are four buildings, participants can elect to climb just one, two or three of them (but they do have to climb them in sequence, and have to climb all four to be eligible for awards). 

**Like with running/walking and road races, you do not need to be in optimum physical condition to participate. There are people of every shape, size, and fitness level climbing the stairs. You can go fast or slow; all four buildings or just one.

**There is a $100 fundraising minimum to participate, so it's pretty neat seeing all of the climbers come together for such a great cause.  

**My fundraising page is still open for a short while; if you'd like to donate to the cause, click HERE

As mentioned, I look forward to this event every year. I don't take my fitness or my health for granted. Climbing all those steps, in honor of those who can't, is a small gesture to encourage fitness (as well as fundraising for the American Lung Association...as this goes to press, there's been $235,000 raised from the Des Moines event).

So, that's a quick recap of all that went down (up?) at the 2024 Fight for Air Climb in Des Moines. Rest assured, I'll be back in 2025.

Have you ever participated in a climbing event? Ever heard of the Fight for Air Climb? Do you know anyone afflicted with lung disease?

I'm linking this with Zenaida and Jenn for the TuesdayTopics Linkup. 

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