For the sixth time in the past seven years, the men's portion of the Wisconsin Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Climbing For A Cure stair climb, held this year on Thursday, Nov. 13, was dominated by an elite climber from south of the Illinois border. Eric Leninger, who made the drive from the Chicago area for the climb, took home his third win in three tries in races at Milwaukee's US Bank Center. It was the 31-year-old's second CFF Climbing For A Cure victory. His 5:09 finish tied his personal best, set in 2008, also the building's sixth-fastest ever finish. The victory ties him with another elite Chicago climber -- Jesse Berg -- for most US Bank Center victories. Illinois success at the Milwaukee climb extended to the women's competitors as well, as a Chicago-area climber took home a first-place female finish at the CFF climb for the seventh time in the past 10 years. A newcomer to the sport of stair climbing, Liz Ruvalcaba, 30, took home top female honors and became the fifth woman to crack the 7-minute mark at the US Bank Center. Her 6:37 finish, which came in only her second-ever stair race and was also good enough for a second-place overall finish to Leninger, ranks as the fourth-fastest female finish in the building. Kenosha's Brian Rummelhart, 45, was Wisconsin's fastest climber, finishing third overall in 6:44. Stephanie Vetter, 33, of Menomonee Falls, was Wisconsin's fastest woman and the second-fastest woman of the night with a time of 7:35. In its 25th year, the Wisconsin CFF's 2014 Climbing For A Cure saw 339 participants scale 47 stories and approximately 1,000 steps -- an increase from 287 in 2013. Full results from the climb can be found HERE. Members and friends of Stair Club Milwaukee will come together to represent the club for the first time ever at this fall's Climbing For A Cure in Milwaukee.
So far, one coed club team will compete together as a combined time team at the event on Thursday, Nov. 13, which benefits the Wisconsin chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Combined time teams are comprised of three participants per team who each scale the entirety of the 47-story US Bank Center. The team members' individual times are added together to get a total team time, which is then ranked against all other participating combined time teams. Teams with the lowest total times win. In past years, Climbing For A Cure combined time teams compete in three separate divisions: men's, women's, and coed teams. While Stair Club Milwaukee has entered a coed team into the event, it is seeking to enter both a men's team and a women's team as well. Those interested in competing as part of a Stair Club Milwaukee team, or who are interested in joining the club beyond just this climb, should contact the club HERE. To help support Stair Club Milwaukee raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and participate in this climb, please click HERE to donate on behalf of anyone who has yet to raise his or her $50 fundraising minimum requirement. by Josh
In advance of this November's Climbing For A Cure at the US Bank Center, the Wisconsin Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation changed its event info to decrease the listed amount of steps for the climb from the building's widely-accepted 1,034 steps to a smaller number: 985. While the number of floors and flights listed remain at 47 and 94, respectively, CFF Wisconsin Development Director Julie Nilsen, who took over organizing the event in 2009, said in an email that she changed the total step count after recently scaling the stairs herself. "When I began (organizing) this event, I was told it was 1,034 steps," she said. "That is wrong. I climbed and counted myself a couple weeks ago. It is 985 steps from the Clybourn level, and 899 from the Galleria level." Thanks to the US Bank Center always having been considered a "1,000-plus" climb, even if just barely, some may argue that a decreased step total downgrades and tarnishes the stature of climbs held at the building, especially in comparison to climbs in other cities with much taller buildings. But is it really less steps? For an event organizer to dispute a stair total shouldn't be a surprise, as the advertised step counts in many buildings where stair climb events take place are often questionable, or outright incorrect. US Bank Center General Manager Gina Jaeckel said Milwaukee's tallest building is no different. "The number of stairs is much debated," she said. "There are several 'counts' out there, but no official total that we publish." According to Megan Cordova, special events director for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, the ALA has been using the 1,034 figure since the start of its Fight For Air climbs in 2009. "In our first year we had a volunteer count the step total," she said. "I am not sure how the count differs now, but we also start on the Clybourn level." While the total number of stairs may remain in dispute for now, there's less argument over the effort it takes to climb them. When you're in the stairwell, stairs are stairs. Of course, the obvious solution would be for someone to create a stair chart, such as what competitive towerrunner Stan Schwarz has done for a handful of buildings around the country. His charts can be found HERE. Unless someone with access to the US Bank Center stairwell can get in there and create an official chart first, Stair Club Milwaukee gladly offers its services to do so, and settle the debate once and for all. Much like its participants, the sport of stair climbing is on the rise.
Also known as "towerrunning," the sport has developed both devoted participants and dedicated competitors. But while it has already established a cult-like participant base, the number of new climbers and new races continues to grow each year. That growth has paved the way for the launch of Stair Club Milwaukee—the first stair climbing club in the state—which aims to unite the established climbers within, and the newcomers to, the Wisconsin stair climbing community. Akin to a running club, Stair Club Milwaukee is the first of its kind. The hope of the club is to foster community, opportunity, and improvement for the area’s climbers by providing group training climbs, forming club climb teams at stair races, hosting club events, providing information about upcoming races, and much more. In seeking to serve as home to a collective of those interested in the sport of competitive stair climbing, Stair Club Milwaukee welcomes climbers of varying levels: from avid recreational enthusiasts of the sport to experienced competitive tower runners. Come climb with us! |