Stairs "Flight Club"

As I am preparing for my next stairclimb this week. I realize that this is the one that set it all into motion for me a year ago. Last year when I had to find an alternative form of cardio and sport that I could do after I was told by my surgeon feb 2010 that I  could no longer do any “impact” sports due to my L5 disc being in pieces. And this being after my second surgery. This meant no running, volleyball, soccer, skiing, softball and the list went on. With being in the health field, I had to get creative. I looked for a low or non impact  activity that was going to tone up my legs and give me good cardio. I was out on the Tumwater stairs by the old town center in the summer of 2010.  I had been doing the stairs 3 times a week for 30 mins since May.  One day that summer when I was doing my stairs, a firefighter showed up.  I watched this firefighter put on his bunker gear and started taking 2 stairs at a time. He passed me a couple of times. Here I thought I was in good shape and doing pretty good for being almost 40 and 2 back surgeries behind me. I started up a conversation with him after he was done. He told me about stairclimb racing. I had no clue. I went home and started to research more about the sport and how I could start racing myself. What I found out was that this firefighter that I was talking to was Zach Schade of Tumwater. Come to find out he was the winner of “scale the Strat” in Las Vegas in 2009, which is a 108 flights. No wonder he was lapping me on the Tumwater stairs he was a pro! So since then I have learned so much about stairclimbing from other racers.Like how to use your arms and the hand rails for the climbs.  I have read and watched videos about the sport that I could find. I didn’t realize that this is a world wide sport until then. Here in the USA there are so many stairclimb races in all major cities. All races are fundraisers just like regular running races. 

In the last year I have spread my passion or addiction to stairclimbing to many of my clients and friends. We have now started what many stairclimb racers call a  “Flight Club”  here in the Olympia area. My goal is to get more people aware of the health benefits of stairclimbing and get more racers for our team. This is a great way to  cross train for runners since most of the races are in fall and winter months.

I have raced in 4 stairclimbs in the last year and this week will be my 5th. I have realized that I may not be the fastest racer but I have improved since last year. I have no plans on quitting. I do plan on traveling more across the country in the next couple of years climbing stairs!

If you or anyone you know that are interested in joining Rock Bottom’s Flight Club please have them contact us. We are looking for all ages and abilities!