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Bobcats Gather at Peden for 5th Annual 9/11 Stair Climb

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Under the lights at Ohio University’s Peden Stadium, Bobcats gathered Tuesday evening to honor first responders and civilians who lost their lives during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The goal of the evening was for every participant to climb 2,071 stairs, the same amount in each of the old World Trade Center towers.  Jake Hall, one of many Bobcats involved, wore a 30 pound vest to help simulate the amount of gear many first responders had to wear eighteen years ago. He says he thinks about those who lost their lives in the attack as motivation to keep going.

“I have a friend who lost a family member in the towers,” said Hall. “So I’m thinking about that person, thinking about her family, and using that as motivation to keep going, to keep pushing.”

The event was hosted by Ohio University’s ROTC program, with ROTC students like Zach Kumiakoski highlighting the shared bond between those local first responders and other Americans serving around the world.

A color guard opens up the Bobcat Batallion's 5th Annual Stair Challenge. The annual stair walk is host to honor the lives lost and heroism displayed on 9/11, and participants are required to climb 2,071 steps of stairs to represent the number of stairs of a single tower in the World Trade Center. (Photo by Yukai Peng/WOUB Public Media)
Participants climb the stairs at Peden Stadium during the Bobcat Batallion's 5th annual Stair Challenge in Athens, Ohio on Sept 11, 2019. (Yukai Peng/WOUB)
Participants climb the stairs of the stands at Peden Stadium during the Bobcat Batallion's 5th annual Stair Walk in Athens, Ohio on Sept 11, 2019. The annual stair walk is host to honor the lives lost and heroism displayed on 9/11, and participants are required to climb 2,071 steps of stairs to represent the number of stairs of a single tower in the World Trade Center. (Yukai Peng/WOUB)

“Everyone who serves, we all share a certain bond, everyone from first responders to military men,” said Kumiakoski. “So we’re out here honoring the first responders that day who went up the world trade centers.”

Tuesday was the fifth annual Bobcat Battalion Stair Climb in honor of 9/11.