Three Million Stairs!

For the second year in a row, the "3 Million Stair Challenge" is going full speed ahead in the City of Shoreline. The contest, which runs through the month of June, has been hugely successful at getting the city's residents out and exercising on the stairs in Richmond Beach Saltwater Park. The city's Parks Director, Dick Deal, has thrown down the gauntlet: next year, he wants to pit Shoreline against other cities and neighborhoods in the region. Any takers?

For now, the competition is strictly a local affair. During the month of June, contestants try to qualify for prize drawings by climbing these stairs in Richmond Beach Saltwater Park:

There's a cool tracking system in place (see below). At the end of each stairway session, contestants can log their ascents in any of several ways: paper; online via computer; or online via smartphone using an onsite QR code.

 

As of June 2, 68 contestants have logged a total of 122,992 stairs climbed. Last June they blew away their million-stair goal, so this year Shoreline Parks is aiming for at least 3 million stairs climbed. Sure sounds like a great way to mobilize a city or neighborhood around outdoor exercise...especially in view of the fact that stair climbing burns about 3 times the calories that level walking does!

Epic Seattle Solstice Stairway Run!

In recent years some intrepid and hardy people have put together epic urban stairway treks - most notably in Los Angeles, with its roughly 300 publicly accesible stairways. These treks use existing stairway infrastructure to cross vast amounts of city on foot over several days' time.

On summer solstice day June 21, a version of this new sport comes to Seattle!

The route has been devised by Seattleite Michael Yardrick as an all day run, starting at sunrise in West Seattle at 5:12 AM and ending at sundown at 9:12 PM in Queen Anne. It's never been done before, but at least that's the plan. Along the way, runners will traverse 63 miles, 80 stairways, and 11,500 feet of elevation gain!   

If you're interested in this epic traverse of Seattle stairways - maybe even joining part of the route, here's the Facebook page, complete with a route map. We're planning to pop in and out that day, taking photos along the way.