Over the weekend, I went to the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Towers 5k race here in Orlando.
It was an incredible race where firefighters and police ran in their full gear for the entire 3+ miles.
The race was in honor of Stephen Siller, who was just getting off shift in Brooklyn. On his way home, he heard over the scanner that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
He turned his car around and drove straight to the station to grab his gear.
After he got his gear, he drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel- but it was already closed.
He knew that they needed his help, so he strapped his 60 pounds of gear to his back and ran all the way to the World Trade Center.
Stephen lost his life that day trying to save others.
He left behind a wife and 5 children and his legacy which was to “live life to the fullest and to spend our time here on earth doing good.”
This is just one of the many heroic stories that happened 15 years ago….
And every year, in honor of Stephen Siller and all fallen firefighters and first responders that day, his family holds a 5k to raise money to support first responders and veterans.
Each person who ran in the race was given the honor of wearing a badge of one of the fallen heroes from 9/11.
My husband Keith, was chosen to wear Stephen Siller’s badge during the race because he won fastest firefighter in gear last year.
I’m so proud of my husband and his team of 3 other firefighters who earned the fastest team time this year.
As the fastest team, they got to take home a trophy that was made out of steel from the south tower. (pic below)
It will sit proudly in their Fire Station until next year when they will have to defend their fastest time.
But something even more memorable than that happened.
At the finish line- there were 5 FDNY firefighters who survived 9/11 that were waiting for the runners to help them take off their gear and get them into the portable freezer to cool down.
It was quite an honor to meet them and hear their stories.
And of course, right after the race at 9 am, they all went out for beer to celebrate.
Below is a pic I took of my husband’s Winter Park FF team and 3 of the FDNY firefighters that were there on 9/11. (My husband Keith is the one in the middle)
This email obviously has nothing to do with fitness or business, but I just wanted to share the impact of this weekend.
Just a reminder to live a life that we’re proud of and continue to be a positive light in the this world.
If you want to check out the Stephen Siller Foundation and possiblly keep this 5k on your radar for next year (they have them all over the country), here’s the link: tunnel2towers.org/stand-tall/
Over 93% of all money raised goes directly to their programs.
