Stride 'n Climb: 2012 Springfield Hilton Stair Climb Pictures

Quite the spread of pictures from the 2012 Springfield Hilton Climb. This race was filled with drama from start to finish. My first time up the 32 floor Hilton was 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Breaking my previous course record last year (2:21) by 14 seconds. Equivalent feats would be comparable to cutting a 2:00 minute 800m race PR by 10 seconds in a matter of on race. I surprised myself with this run up. Continued on to climb the Ultimate, where you continue after your first climb for a remaining hour. Climbed 13 times total in an hour for 32 floors each. I felt amazing, unexplained energy, maybe the adrenaline from my first climb carried me through that hour of pain. Once I saw my time from the first climb it didnt matter to me what happened the rest of the race. Anyways here are a handful of pictures that captures the moments of pain and suffering and joy as well.

In mid sprint towards the beginning of the first climb.

Somewhere on my 2nd or 13th time up the Hilton. After the first climb I settled into more of a consistent pace, while using the railing more to make life easier, my legs thanked me for this later on in the race, but my triceps and traps not so much.

There were 80 total runners in the Ultimate Climb for an hour. On my first climb up I had a clear stairwell but after that there was quite a bit of traffic in that small staircase. This was two fold, because it slowed down some of my times yet I received and handed out many words of encouragement, which in the end is what its all about.