Hundreds step up
Fighting lung diseases spurs climbers to take on Rhodes Tower stairs
Ryan Garrity had climbed the 880 steps of the Rhodes Tower staircase before, but it is never easy to haul oneself up 40 flights.
He was one of about 400 people who took to the southeast staircase in Columbus’ tallest building to raise money for the American Lung Association. Like so many of the climbers, Garrity lost a loved one to lung disease. His father, Bob Garrity, died in 2014 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“As soon as I feel tired, as soon as I start to struggle,” Ryan Garrity said, “I think about him.”
Cousin Kathleen Garrity was sweaty and smiling as she plopped onto the carpet on the 40th floor of the Downtown tower after a dizzying climb up the spiral stairs. She considered the momentary vertigo a tribute to her uncle.
Dan Allen, part of a team from Big Lots, climbed the stairs for the sixth year in a row. He enjoys the challenge and the cause. One of his cousins died of lung cancer at age 48, and his son
has asthma.
“It keeps you motivated,” he said.
Some of the climbers used their own breathing problems for motivation.
Bryson Dudgeon, 11, took about 11 minutes to trudge up the 40 flights to the top of the Rhodes Tower. It was something he might not have been able to do a few years ago. He battled asthma when he was younger.
“It’s a little on and off,” he said, puffing a bit at the end of his climb. “And I thought the stairs at my school were bad.”
Bryson conquered the course with his dad, Mark, as part of a team from Columbus State Community College.
The seventh annual Fight for Air event raised about $100,000 this year, said Brittany Sinzinger, development manager for the Lung Association’s Columbus office.
First-time climbers Kim Walters and Laurie Marbaugh were there to honor family members who suffered lung diseases, but they also wanted to tackle an extreme sports challenge. Prior to the stair climb, both women ran 17 miles Saturday morning. Their friend and teammate, Lisa Janusz, stormed up the stairs in less than seven minutes.
“We didn’t plan on taking it easy,” Walters said.
The final climbers were teams of firefighters, about two dozen in total, from several central Ohio departments. The firefighters carried a load far heavier than most other climbers, as they wore full gear — boots, air tanks, coats, pants and helmets that added at least 40 pounds.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” said Jeff Fowler, a firefighter with the Washington Township Fire Department. “It’s a bucketlist thing. We’ve been training for this our whole careers.”
Bryson Dudgeon had advice for the firefighters and other climbers.
“You just tell yourself,” he said, “not to stop.”