The 17th Annual Firefighter Stairclimb
	The 17th Annual Firefighter Stairclimb to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was held Sunday March 2, 2008.  Team Seattle Fire Department put in another strong performance.  Thanks to all 56 members who participated in this year's event, and all contributors to this very worthy cause.
Zach Schade successfully defended his 2007 championship with a time of 11:37.
Click here for complete results. Click here to see event pictures by Brother Peery.

Highlights from 2008:

Zach has now won this event 2 consecutive years, at age 39 and 40.  He is the oldest firefighter to have won the event.  This is a remarkable achievement.

On the subject of age, look over the numbers from Team SFD.  The age group of our top competitors is worth mentioning.  6 of our top 10 members are over 40.  The average age of our top 10 members is just shy of 39. Their average seniority in the SFD: 10.5 years.  Their average time up the tower: 15:23.  Overall, the average age of all 56 members of Team SFD is 37.  These senior firefighters send a powerful leadership message.  They are clearly determined to maintain their fire-fitness.  They honor this profession with their commitment to stay fit.  There is an important lesson here for the younger firefighters: Firefighter fitness doesn't come easily for aging firefighters, but it is a responsibility that comes with this job.  You will have to work hard for it, but the alternative is not acceptable.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Assistant Chief Hepburn successfully completed the climb in 28:02, over 3 minutes ahead of Renton's Fire Chief Daniels.

Our senior competitor in 2008 was the amazing Dan Nelson who completed the climb in 21:52 at age 57!

These are the stories that should serve to inspire us all to work hard to stay fire-fit.  The profession deserves nothing less.

Of course, the most important story in all of this is the collective effort to fight the blood cancers.  Team members will continue to collect donations throughout March to support the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Please give through any of the team members listed or simply go to http://www.active.com/donate/17thscottstairclimb/2008jhillia to donate online.  Fundraising is on schedule to surpass last year's totals.    Final fundraising results will be available in mid-April.