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9/11 Step Strong
9/11 Step Strong is an annual event where participants, including first responders and community members, climb the equivalent of 110 stories (roughly 2,200 steps) of the World Trade Center to honor the 343 firefighters and other first responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
Our Goal
We have two goals. One is to "Never Forget" the ultimate sacrifice made by hundreds of first responders who ran into the towers to save others. Each participant often climbs in tribute to the fallen, symbolically completing their heroic journey.
Two is to bring awareness and remembrance by Stepping Strong together and Raising Funds for bluelinetennesse.com.
What is the 9/11 StepStrong challenge?
Climb 110 Floors - the equivalent height of the World Trade Center towers
Complete 2200 Steps
Climb stairs for 9 minutes 11 seconds
Walk/Run 5K
When is the 9/11 StepStrong Challenge?
Friday, September 11 MIdnight - Sunday, September 13 11:59 pm. You choose when you want to complete it.
Where is the event?
EVERYWHERE! Your gym, parks, stadiums, tracks, your home, your local trails and stairs, VIRTUALLY anywhere. You choose what challenge you want to compete in. You where you want to do it.
How to participate?
Register below. Pay entry fee of $35.00. You will receive an original event T-shirt. Download Strava app. You will be sent an invitation to the 9/11 StepStrong Group. Join the Social Media Groups. You will be sent links to join.
T-Shirt and signup here
Now what?
- Begin to prepare for the challenge and share on social media your progress and why you are participating.
- Show off your T-shirts.
- Share with and invite your friends.
- Tag us in Social Media and use the hashtags.
Hashtags…
#9/11StepStrong
#StepsForTheFallen
#Remember9/11
#NeverForget
#NeverForgetSteps
Challenge Details and Personal Options
- The Goal: Participants climb 2,200 steps or 110 flights.
- Symbolism: Each participant often wears a lanyard with the name and photo of a specific fallen hero, symbolically completing the journey that those responders could not.
- First Responder Gear: Many firefighters choose to complete the climb in full turnout gear, which can weigh between 60 and 80 pounds, to simulate the actual physical toll faced by responders that day.
- The "78th Floor" Tradition: In many climbs, participants ring a fire bell upon reaching the equivalent of the 78th floor, which is the highest level firefighters are known to have reached in the South Tower before its collapse.
Do you need a training plan to prepare for the 110-story climb?
- A 9/11 Stair Climb is physically and emotionally demanding. The physical challenge involves approximately 2 hours of continuous stair-climbing. What’s more, many firefighters complete the event in full firefighter gear (up to 60–70 lbs.). The climb challenges one’s cardiovascular endurance, leg strength and stamina, and mental grit. Additionally, the atmosphere is reverent, intense and often deeply personal.
- Reach out to a personal trainer at your local gym and/or here is a Prompt to put in ChatGPT to help guide you.
-I am going to do 2200 steps (Stair climber) by September, How can I figure out how many steps i need to do to train between now and then?
You Got THIS!
What Happened on 9/11/2001?
What happened on 9/11?
“9/11” is shorthand for four coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group, that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001.
Nineteen terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, deliberately crashing two of the planes into the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex and a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The Twin Towers ultimately collapsed because of the damage sustained from the impacts and the resulting fires. After learning about the other attacks, passengers on the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, fought back, and the plane crashed into an empty field in western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes by air from Washington, D.C.
The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations: 2,753 people were killed in New York; 184 people were killed at the Pentagon; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93.
What happened at the World Trade Center on 9/11?
The hijacked Flight 11 crashed into floors 93 to 99 of the North Tower (1 WTC) at 8:46 a.m. The hijacked Flight 175 struck floors 77 to 85 of the South Tower (2 WTC) 17 minutes later at 9:03 a.m. When the towers were struck, between 16,400 and 18,000 people were in the WTC complex. Of those, the vast majority evacuated safely. As they rushed out, first responders rushed in trying to save those still trapped or injured.
The fires from the impacts were intensified by the planes’ burning jet fuel. They weakened the steel support trusses, which attached each of the floors to the buildings’ exterior walls. Along with the initial damage to the buildings’ structural columns, this ultimately caused both towers to collapse. The five other buildings in the WTC complex were also destroyed because of damage sustained when the Twin Towers fell.
The collapse of the buildings left the site devastated. Thousands of volunteers came to Ground Zero to help with the rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts, and on May 30, 2002, the last piece of WTC steel was ceremonially removed
Timeline September 11, 2001
- 8:46 a.m. ET - American Airlines Flight 11 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) strikes the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 9:03 a.m. ET - United Airlines Flight 175 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) strikes the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 9:37 a.m. ET - American Airlines Flight 77 (traveling from Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles) strikes the Pentagon Building in Washington.
- 9:59 a.m. ET - South Tower of WTC collapses in approximately 10 seconds.
- 10:03 a.m. ET - United Airlines Flight 93 (traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco) crashes in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- 10:28 a.m. ET - North Tower of WTC collapses. The time between the first attack and the collapse of both World Trade Center Towers is 102 minutes.