Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
Someone tell these guys about the StairMaster.
Two Havre firefighters joined nearly 1,100 others from across the country
to climb 69 flights of stairs - 1,311 steps - in Seattle's Columbia Center to raise money and awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Beau Paulsen and Cody McLain joined firefighters from Missoula to make the trip. Paulsen estimated the team raised more than $1,200 in fees and pledges for the March 5 event.
Firefighters dress in full gear for the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, weighing themselves down with 70 pounds of protective equipment and air packs.
“It's a tough competition, with everything on,” Paulsen said. “You just climb.”
Paulsen had entered the event last year, but this was McLain's first competition.
“It was harder than I expected it to be,” McLain said. “It was pretty tough stuff, but it was fun.”
Paulsen finished the climb in 19:15, and McLain reached the top of the West's second-highest building in 20:23.
The pair upped their training
before the event by running plenty of stairs and lifting weights.
“Pretty much anything and everything that will get your legs and your breathing down to run it,” Paulsen said.
Both said they'd like to compete again next year, and Paulsen said some of the other Havre firefighters are interested in joining the competition.
