Altoona Curve hosts stair climb to honor fallen 9/11 first responders

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Altoona Curve hosted over 50 participants in their inaugural 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at PNG Field Wednesday morning.

The stair climb helps commemorate the first responders who rushed into both towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. 23 years later, and those 343 men and women are remembered and honored through stair climbs across the country.

With the help of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the Curve set up the walk to align with their home game that same night against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

“We took it upon ourselves, since we knew we were home here on Sept. 11, that we wanted to bring that incredible walk, an incredible memorial here to Curve, Pa.,” Mike Kessling, the director of promotions, marketing and special events at the Altoona Curve said. “So, we thought, ‘What better way to do it than on the actual game?'”

The climb had runners weave through the aisles of the lower bowl of the stadium, up and down each step of the main concourse area and oscillating the staircases of the upper deck, before finishing on the field. Four laps around the stadium would end up meeting the 2,200 step-climb necessary to honor the fallen first responders.

The climb around PNG Field allowed these climbers to see the stadium from a brand new perspective.

“A lot of people in our area have clearly been to the stadium,” Kessling said. “But to walk through almost every single inch of it, at least on the exterior, it’s kind of a special thing.”

As climbers lapped around from the first base foul territory, they received a stamp on a paddle to count how many laps they had down around the field. They also received a tag from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) that has a fallen firefighter who looked to rescue those from the World Trade Center.

“Not only are they here raising money for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, but they’re memorializing each firefighter that fell on Sept. 11,” Kessling said. “They’ve given us every tool that we needed. The videos, the badges and the t-shirt designs that each walker gets to wear when they sign up. So, working with them has been an honor to be able to do it here in Altoona.”

Each runner that climbed those concrete steps had a story and a reason as to why they did it.

“I just wanted to experience what the firefighters, the EMT’s and the police officers did that day, trying to save people from both towers,” Ryan Foster, a Bedford County sheriff’s deputy, said.

“23 years ago, I was fresh out of the Marine Corps,” Scott Farabaugh, a climber at the event said. “I remember this day like it was yesterday. It was a great way to come out and honor the fallen who died on 9/11 and people who have served this great nation.”

One climber traveled across the country to do stair climbs for 17 years. Blake Mayo, a senior firefighter at the Alfred Station in New York, knew of people who were involved in the rescue mission of Sept. 11.

Mayo grew up near Shanksville, where Flight 93 made a crash landing after a hijacker was stopped by 40 people on board that day. Currently, that crash site is memorialized as a remembrance of that day in Somerset County.

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As he carried nearly 45 pounds of equipment throughout PNG Field, the thoughts of those he knew ran through his head and his years of training helped him get to the finish line.

“I’m thinking about my friends, those that are still battling the cancers and other diseases because of 9/11,” Mayo said. “I’ve thought about families that I know who lost somebody. It’s about reflecting, remembering and reflecting. So, that’s what I was doing while I was out there.”

On his firefighting gear lays a key ring of all the tags of a fallen firefighter, one that he has climbed stairs for over his time doing these events. Each person has their own page on the NFFF website for people to learn about their stories.

“If you see a name and you say, ‘What was he like? Who was he?’, You can look him up in the search engine,” Mayo said. “It will take you right to that person to give you a biography of who he was, how long he had been in the department, what his position was and many things like that.”

As more runners made it to the finish line, the Curve found positive reactions from those around the community.

“Judging by the reaction we’ve gotten, it’s something we’re going to look to do here every year,” Kessling said.

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