I slide my car into the Fulton St. parking lot, narrowly missing the cluster of AQ students haphazardly meandering about. Time check. Fabulous; I have three whole minutes to get to across the parking lot, into the heart of Aquinas, across one road, to the Academic Building, and up three floors of stairs to my class. Those darn stairs.

You would think, for the amount that I run and workout, that I should be able to get to class without being just a touch out of breath. I’ll blame the high heels and heavy backpack…

Regardless, running up a few flights of stairs is a fail-proof way to get your heart pumpin and your lungs heavin a little faster than usual. It’s also a way to see the top of GR’s JW Marriot and support the American Lung Association, just in case you were wondering.

It’s called Climb Grand Rapids, it’s happening Saturday, February 21, and yes, it is a race.

According the posted race info, the first stepper will take the first step at exactly 10am followed by fellow steppers released at 15-20 second intervals {winners are determined by timing chips}. Two points:
1) I wonder who the lucky “first stepper” will be
2) This does not seem like a claustrophobic-friendly race…

The JW has 23 floors. That’s 368 stairs up and the 368 stairs down, to be exact, slightly more than my dreaded trek to the third floor of the AB.

Best of luck to you, steppers! Especially Terrence Reuben. He’s a Physical Therapist, Trainer, myTeamTriumph board member, as well as a dad, biker, swimmer, triathlon and marathon competitor, and is currently training for Climb Grand Rapids by running the stairs at Metro hospital between appointments… Inspiration anyone?