1,500 people climb Tucson Convention Center stairs to honor lives lost on 9/11

More than 1,500 people filled the Tucson Convention Center on Friday morning, turning a downtown gathering into a shared act of remembrance for the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Participants climbed 2,071 steps inside the arena, while Tucson firefighters, police officers, public employees, families and other community members took part around them. The event marked the 25th anniversary of the attacks and gave Tucson residents a physical way to honor the first responders who climbed into the World Trade Center towers and never came home.

The annual 9/11 Tower Challenge was hosted by the 9/11 Tower Challenge Foundation at the convention center, 260 South Church Avenue. The number of steps reflects the stairways in the World Trade Center towers, and the climb represents the equivalent of 110 floors. Inside the arena, the course amounted to four laps. Participants walked, ran or climbed at their own pace, with some carrying American flags and others stopping to watch or reflect before continuing.

Organizers described the turnout as one of the largest they could remember. Josh Randall, president of the 9/11 Tower Challenge Foundation, has helped with the event for about eight years as a committee member, volunteer and participant, including the last three years as president. He said the size of this year’s crowd stood out, an indication that the commemoration remains meaningful in Tucson a quarter-century after the attacks.

For Randall, the event also connects a national tragedy to his own career and to the changing way younger people encounter 9/11. He was studying criminal justice in college when the attacks occurred, and the experience helped confirm his desire to work in public safety. He later joined the Tucson Police Department. Randall noted that some participants today were not yet born in 2001, meaning the event is increasingly introducing the attacks to people who know them as history rather than personal memory.

That distinction was visible in the range of people who gathered at the convention center. The opening ceremony included an honor guard and a presentation of colors. Names and photographs of those killed were displayed at the event, while participants, including a young person waving an American flag, moved through the ceremony and climb. The setting allowed people with direct memories of that day to stand alongside residents who were learning about its impact through family, public service and community tradition.

Michelle Skog, who joined the Tower Challenge for the fifth time, said she remembers watching the towers collapse while she was at work. The climb brought back the fear and uncertainty of that period, including memories of friends who were deployed soon afterward. She said she felt grateful that many of those friends are still alive, while also remembering the people who rushed to help others and did not survive.

Tucson Fire Chief Sharon McDonough also participated. She recalled that she was in labor with her daughter on Sept. 11, and that her daughter is now a firefighter with the Tucson Fire Department. For firefighters who completed the climb in full protective gear, McDonough said the challenge served both as a memorial and as a test of readiness. The strenuous exercise gave them an opportunity to assess their physical condition while honoring colleagues and other first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The event carried a similar significance for Kate Vesely, director of the Pima County Department of Justice Services, who took part for the first time. She said the anniversary brought back vivid memories of the attacks and made it important for her to participate. Vesely comes from a family shaped by public service: her father and uncle were retired police officers, and her grandfather served in the Air Force during World War II. She said seeing firefighters and officers climb alongside civilians, including some in full gear, was especially inspiring.

Although the steps did not become easier for returning participants, the physical difficulty was part of the point. Each lap and each stair offered a reminder of the effort required of the first responders who climbed the towers while others were trying to escape. In Tucson, the event also created a place for residents to express gratitude, share personal memories and teach a younger generation why the date continues to matter. Twenty-five years after the attacks, the crowd’s presence at the convention center reaffirmed the promise at the center of the challenge: to remember the people who were lost and the sacrifices made to save others.