Thousands participate in 13th annual Trek the Tower in Omaha's tallest skyscraper
Stair climbing is gaining a lot of attention across the country. In Omaha, Wellcom held the 13th annual Trek the Tower at the First National Bank building on Saturday morning.
Nearly 2,000 people climbed Omaha's tallest tower. Participants covered 40 floors and 870 stairs.
"Imagine the steepest hill you can think of on a ski slope and steps are steeper than that so you can't run up the steps, you've gotta pace yourself," Jason Larson said.
Larson competed in the the 1 mile vertical stair climb.
"We're climbing up this tower 10 and 1/3 times to climb a vertical mile in total," Larson said.
But he said it's worth it for the cause. The event raises money for workplace awareness programs.
"I'm a big fitness advocate myself. I participate in all sorts of races all the time so I try to get everyone involved all the time in any kind of physical activity -- running, walking, whatever it is, climbing steps," Larson said.
Firefighters made the trek in their fire gear. Papillion fire chief Bill Bowes said it's a great bonding experience.
"So many of us know each other through training and mutual aid so when we see each other in a non-emergency instance it really can be a lot of fun," Bowes said.
He said the trek felt like a marathon, especially in the gear.
"Once you get up past the halfway point you think, 'Oh it's downhill the rest of the way,' but it keeps getting harder and harder," Bowes said. "Once you hit the top it feels so good to finish."
No matter how long it takes, everyone left with a medal.