September Rising: My 2026 9/11 Stairclimb

On September 11th 2021 I attended the Greensboro 9/11 Stairclimb for the first time ever on the 20th year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Because 9/11 had a big impact on me my whole life growing up I felt it was my duty to attend and participate. Walking to preserve the history of 9/11 and all its heroes is very important to me. What I actually could’ve imagined was that 5 years later I would still be attending and I’m glad to say that this year was the biggest and perhaps most important year I’ve ever attended.

Friday, September 11th 2026 marks the landmark 25th year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that changed the world. It was also the day the city of Greensboro decided to hold the Stairclimb and this time it was held in the evening at the legendary Greensboro Grasshopper baseball stadium. As soon as I got off work at 4pm I made my way to Grasshopper stadium to do my due diligence for the 6th year in a row. Normally downtown Greensboro on a Friday evening is the last place you’d try to find a decent parking spot, but on this particular day space was clear across the street from the stadium and I found the perfect parking spot and made my way inside.

As soon as I walked in I saw what looked like the biggest turnout for the Stairclimb I had ever seen. It looked like the stadium was packed to capacity and all the participants hadn’t even fully arrived yet. I made my way to the sign in where we do the traditional pick a photo of one of the deceased 343 firefighters who perished that day and for the sixth year in a row I was able to wear the photo of fire Marshall Ronald Bucca who was one of the only two firefighters who made it to the impact zone of the World Trade Center that morning. After clipping my photo onto my shirt I searched for my friend and hero Jimmy Avuso, a veteran on the New York fire department who was at the twin towers that morning and lost so many of his peers.

After I found him I gave him and his wife a big hug letting them know I had been looking for them both. To my surprise, as I was talking to Jimmy I saw a teenage boy come out of the bathroom behind me and it turns out the boy was one of my nephews. I was shocked to see him as I didn’t know he would be there. It turns out he and another one of my nephews were there with their high school to sing the National Anthem to commence the Stairclimb. When I introduced my nephew to Jimmy he told Jimmy why he was there, to which Jimmy thanked him for paying his respect for his fallen comrades.

As the crowd continued to gather the commencement and opening ceremony for the Stairclimb began with the words from the city mayor, law enforcement and fire department personnel to discuss the traditional opening statements of the Stairclimb’s significance. My nephew and his classmates sang the national anthem very well and on a Jumbotron screen in the center of the field a five minute video presentation retelling the history of the attacks was shown for the giant crowd as we sat in the stands. It was during this time that I realized how many young people were there. This is why the Stairclimb crowd had gotten bigger over the past couple years, because younger people who weren’t even around when the attacks happened decided to get their own sense of history about that fateful day.

After the opening statements concluded the Stairclimb began. We chalked and ran up and down all the bleachers of the stadium as a highschool band marching band played behind us continuously. Countless police, firefighters and fitness experts expeditiously made their ways through the stadium as the Jumbotron screen displayed the photos of the 343 firefighters who perished that day. Even my nephews ran a couple of laps before my sister came to pick them up.

As we walked we were given countless bottles of water by the local high school and college kids who volunteered for their support. While I walked I had my music in my ear playing my plast called “Patriot Day” which is a big list of the music that was dedicated to 9/11. The only thing missing for me was my former high school English teacher and mentor, Tara Pidgeon who hails from New York and my friend Sarah Bishop who I first met at the Stairclimb two years ago. Sarah attended the 9/11 Stairclimb in Chapel Hill where she is at college UNC. Chapel Hill is also where I lived during the time of the attacks. Since we both couldn’t make it to the Stairclimb together this year we sent each other pics of our respective stairclimbs later in the day.

By 8’ o’clock I had completed the Stairclimb. I was tired, sweaty and full of water. I knew I’d be sore in the morning but it was all worth it, as it always is. It was great watching everyone cheer each other on and congratulate one another on a job well done. This was truly the biggest and perhaps most important Stairclimb yet because after all these years the history and impact of September 11th 2001 lives on in the hearts of the next generation who have made a conscious effort to never forget that defining morning that changed the world. They certainly made me proud and I was definitely proud to see my nephews were part of the younger generation preserving that September morning and what it means to the generation that lived through it all.

~Dedicated to the memory of September 11th 2001. We have never forgotten and we never will.